Antonín Panenka

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Antonín Panenka

Panenka in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Antonín Panenka
Date of birth	(1948-12-02) 2 December 1948 (age 72)
Place of birth	Prague, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team	Bohemians Praha (chairman)
Youth career
1958–1967	Bohemians Praha
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1967–1981	Bohemians Praha	230	(76)
1981–1985	Rapid Wien	127	(63)
1985–1987	VSE St. Pölten
1987–1989	SK Slovan Wien
1989–1991	ASV Hohenau
1991–1993	Kleinwiesendorf
National team
1973–1982[1]	Czechoslovakia	59	(17)
show Honours Representing  Czechoslovakia UEFA European Championship Winner 1976 Yugoslavia
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Signature of Antonín Panenka (2004)

Antonín Panenka (born 2 December 1948) is a Czech retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent most of his career representing Czechoslovak club Bohemians Prague. Panenka won UEFA Euro 1976 with the national team of Czechoslovakia. In the final against West Germany, he notably scored the winning penalty in the shootout with a softly-chipped ball up the middle of the goal as the goalkeeper dived away; a style of penalty now known as a panenka.^[2] In 1980, he won Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year and his team finished third at Euro 1980.

Club career[]

An attacking midfielder known for the quality of his passing and his free kicks, Panenka played for Bohemians Praha for most of his career, joining the club in 1967. In 1981, Panenka left Bohemians for Austrian club Rapid Wien, where he won two Bundesliga titles and an Austrian Cup. In 1985 Rapid reached the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final; Panenka played as a substitute, but his side lost 3–1 to Everton. Later that year, Panenka moved to VSE St. Pölten and played two more seasons before moving into the lower leagues in Austria, playing from 1987 to 1989 for Slovan Vienna, from 1989 to 1991 for ASV Hohenau and from 1991 to 1993 for Kleinwiesendorf.

Panenka penalty[]

Panenka came to international prominence playing for Czechoslovakia at UEFA Euro 1976, where Czechoslovakia reached the final, facing West Germany. After extra time, the match finished 2–2, and so the first penalty shootout in a European Championships final ensued. The first seven kicks were converted until West Germany's fourth penalty taker, Uli Hoeneß, ballooned his shot over the bar. With the score 4–3, Panenka stepped up to take the fifth Czechoslovakian penalty, to win the match under immense pressure. He feigned shooting to the side of the goal, causing German goalkeeper Sepp Maier dive to his left, and then gently chipped the ball into the middle of the net.^[3] The sheer cheek of the goal led a watching French journalist to dub Panenka "a poet", and to this day his winning kick is one of the most famous ever, making Panenka's name synonymous with that particular style of penalty kick.^[2]

Since 1976 there have been numerous attempts to emulate Panenka, both successfully and others unsuccessfully, at every level of the sporting pyramid across the world, including in critical match winning moments such as international cup finals.^[2]

Post-playing career[]

Following his career, Panenka has worked as a president at former club Bohemians 1905. On 7 October 2020, the club confirmed that Panenka had been admitted to hospital and was in intensive care after testing positive for the novel coronavirus.^[4]

Honours[]

Club[]

Rapid Wien

• Austrian Bundesliga: 1981–82, 1982–83
• Austrian Cup: 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85

International[]

Czechoslovakia

• UEFA European Football Championship: 1976

Individual[]

• UEFA European Football Championship Team of the Tournament: 1976
• Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year: 1980^[5]
• Golden Foot Legends Award: 2014^[6]

References[]

External links[]

• Antonín Panenka at FAČR (in Czech)
• Antonín Panenka and his famous goal – photos
• Antonín Panenka's penalty (EURO 1976 in Belgrade. Czechoslovakia vs. Germany) on YouTube – video
• Antonín Panenka with presidential nominee Jiří Dienstbier in Talk show Czech TV 8 November 2007