The godfather of penalties

World Soccer takes a trip to Prague to chat to the man behind football's most famous penalty

- Lewis Watson

Antonin Panenka barely flinches. It’s 20 minutes into the final day of the regular season in the Czech First League and his team, Bohemians 1905, are awarded a penalty. The urge to deploy a jovial elbow to the 74-year-old, whose name is more associated with penalties than any other footballer in history, is irresistible.

“Believe it or not, the Panenka penalty isn’t very popular in the Czech First League,” he explains to World Soccer, as the awarded spotkick is successfully dispatched into the bottom-left corner of the goal to put the hosts 2-0 in front. “I don’t believe I have ever seen one here. It’s never something that you should just do. If you don’t have it, don’t try it.”

Despite a language barrier, Panenka’s spirit and affable nature are translated through his beaming smile, sitting under his trademark moustache. It’s a special day for Bohemians and he is in the party spirit. Panenka is an honorary ambassador of the side where he enjoyed the majority of his playing career between 1967-81. After fighting relegation for the nine years since their most recent promotion, the 2022-23 season is one of celebration.

“Finishing fourth in the regular season is a huge achievement for us,” he adds, with help from his interpreter and friend Petr Nosalek. Bohemians had just beaten Jablonec 4-1 on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Prague to cement their spot in the Championship Group play-off finale.

“It’s been an enjoyable season. In Czech we translate Alice in Wonderland to Alenka v Risi Divu, so I call this season Pan-enka in Wonderland.