Japan on Monday, Spain on Tuesday: both countries went completely wrong during their penalty shootout in the 1/8th finals at the World Cup. The edges of a penalty shootout? Villa Sporza counted on Hein Vanhaezebrouck for further training.
Even before the first penalty is taken, the most important decision has to be made: who takes responsibility and kicks?
“Forget that list,” says Hein Vanhaezebrouck firmly about the list of who gets to the spot.
“You need to know 3 things: yes, doubt or no. And as a coach you have to ensure that there are as few “nos” on the field as possible.”
What is the share of the trainer and his staff in that process? “As staff, you decide that and check whether your yes is also a yes for them. You don’t even have to check with the nos, even if you do so out of respect.”
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“The goalkeeper must have the most charisma of the 11”
In a penalty shootout there are two main players: the one who kicks, the one who wants to keep the ball out of his cage.
“It is much more about the quality of the keeper than the quality of the trappers.”
The Moroccan goalkeeper did not collect eleven meters. “He is a top specialist with his body language, explosiveness and his range.”
“It’s old school what he does on the line. Spain could have kicked 10 more times, they would have missed 6 more.”
“I look up to that, hey”, Vanhaezebrouck added. “I would have loved to be a goalkeeper, but my father wouldn’t let me. There is only 1 place in goal, 10 on the field. Smart of him.”
“But the keeper must have the most charisma of the 11. If you have one of these, you can go to war with it. And this Bono is in the top 5 in the world.”
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“1,000 penalties in training? Doesn’t make sense”
Luis Enrique had reported on the eve of Morocco-Spain that his players had been given homework to their clubs in recent months. They had to kick up to 1,000 penalties as drill practice.
“That makes no sense”, the AA Gent coach told Villa Sporza. “I also let my players kick in a different way: grab the keeper against the foot, for example.”
“That’s how some discover something different,” it still sounded. “Something that suits them well. You have to make it something that makes them feel: this is the best for me.”
In the cup final that turned out to be the right recipe. Gent beat Anderlecht after penalties. “We then turned that into an item and we were ready.”
