Fortress culture
There's got to be an elite club or some secret organization in the world where the only people who've ever stood in the way are the people who have stood in the way.
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
Twelve-yard penalty kick keepers are only eligible to join.
They probably come to a coastal town like Benidorm once a year and gather in a quiet restaurant for an event that might include welcoming new members (probably not many, after all)
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
rarely miss), as well as exchanging information and sharing with each other
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
Recent Penalty Tendencies. The group will discuss whether he's been shooting to the left of the goal more often lately, how to stop the la paradinha move (a last-minute boost to a sudden stop before shooting), or what to do about the
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
Say what secret words can influence his mood in the moments before the shot.
Galicia-born goalie Diego López is the most qualified to be the president of this secret organization, as he is the only man to have made two saves against
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
Twelve-yard penalty kick goalkeeper, and both times in the Copa del Rey. The first time was in January 2008, when he kept a goal for Villarreal, and the other time was ten years later, in January 2018, when he played for
Spaniard
(Espanyol) period, fought to pounce on the
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
The shot.
The vice-presidency shall be given to Rubén, the goalkeeper of Deportivo de la Coruña, a fellow Galician, who has likewise let the
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
Missed two shots from the twelve-yard penalty spot - the first one he pounced on; the second, to borrow a common fan metaphor, was the
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
Jerked himself off and kicked the ball up into the air.
Twelve-yard penalty kicks do
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
The hoodoo that is his Achilles heel, but we don't have to be too anxious for him, because even this weakness has its logic. Compared to other top scorers in soccer, the
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
The 12-yard penalty is a slightly less impressive statistic, but we're so shocked simply because we're not used to
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
There was a program that failed to dominate the world, and we had a preconceived notion that the free throws would be as easy for him as they were for him, and that he would surely break the net.
As of today (April 2, 2019).
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
In total, they have played for Barcelona and Argentina in all major tournaments.
the national team
Took 105 penalties and also missed 24 of them, almost a quarter.
There are two ways in which we can explain this phenomenon - one is physical; the other is on a psychological and spiritual level.
The physiological reason for this is simple; a survey done by the Herald noted that the success of guarding the
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
Half of the goalies on the twelve-yard penalty kick were over 190 centimeters tall. So just 170 centimeters
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
Those goalkeepers must have looked like big giants towering over the goal when they stepped up to take the penalty kicks, and would have stretched out their arms, jumped from side to side, and lunged as if they could easily have defended the goal from post to post, completely blocking the goal range. However, this is just an optical illusion. Every Goliath Goliath on the field has a little David that he can't handle.
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
Always kicking the ball to the most unexpected locations.
And if we scrutinize
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
The penalties that he missed, it's easy to see that he showed his adaptability even when he missed the twelve-yarder. Some of the penalties he missed were to the right, some to the left, some too softly, and some with too much force. He was sometimes caught guessing by the goalkeeper, he slipped just before kicking, he hit the post, and three times his shots were deflected by the goalkeeper, bounced back to his feet, and made up for it in the back of the net.
The other mental explanation makes much more sense -
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
The reason why you miss a twelve-yard penalty is because it's just too easy to make it.
Yes, listen up, I really do say that! It's actually not intuitively difficult to understand that the lack of that thrill of overcoming hardship when taking a penalty kick, with only the helpless goalkeeper at your mercy, and even the fact that most penalty kicks break the net, are all against the
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
Unfavorable.
When punting free kicks, there is at least a wall of men in front of you. On top of that, there is so much to think about when taking a twelve-yard penalty, so many options to choose from, so many paths to take. From the fateful moment when the referee points to the penalty spot in the penalty area to the moment when
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
The process of putting the puck on the penalty spot, looking at the goalie, assisting, and shooting is long as hell, with a thousand thoughts racing and darting through your head about the
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
It's definitely mental torture. Think about it.
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
But a player accustomed to making split-second decisions is almost entirely intuitive.
Years ago, when Maradona returned to Argentina after his European adventure, he missed five consecutive 12-yard penalties. This shows how much pressure there is to go into the penalty area and take 12-yard penalties over and over again.
Although being assigned as the team's punter for 12-yard penalty kicks is tantamount to laying down a major offense, leading the team with a big flag in hand and racking up more goals for himself, but the
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
Occasionally, the honor is still ceded to a teammate. This is in addition to showing
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
The selflessness of envisioning for his teammates also allows him to avoid the dilemma of having too many options to choose from when taking a penalty. We've seen him concede penalties to Suarez,
Neymar
, as well as, as mentioned earlier, giving way to Real Zaragoza in the match against
Ibérico Ibrahim (1964-), French footballer
Rahimovic.
