Could you have saved the shots that shaped soccer penalty history?

Johan Cruyff’s lay-off pass It was December 5, 1982 and mid-table Dutch club Helmond Sport was visiting three-time defending league champion Ajax on Matchday 16 of the Eredivisie. The game would go on to be a 5-0 rout, but there was a memorable moment in the 21st minute after Ajax was awarded a penalty. Up stepped superstar Johan Cruyff, who calmly placed the ball on the penalty spot. Then, to the surprise of almost everyone, he quickly tapped the ball to the left where winger Jesper Olsen burst into the box, controlled the ball and passed it back to Cruyff, who was facing an open net due to Helmond keeper Otto Versfeld running out to face Olsen. The trickery technically went down as a penalty miss, but it still worked out as the win eventually helped Ajax to its 21st league title.

Roberto Baggio’s heartbreaker Sometimes, as a keeper, you are given a freebie – a player shoots just wide in a 1-on-1, the ball clangs off the post or, in the unfortunate case of Roberto Baggio in 1994, they miss the goal by a mile. Italy talisman Baggio had guided the Azzurri to the final in Pasadena, CA, against Brazil with a great World Cup, so it was quite a shock – Baggio himself said there was “no easy explanation for what happened” – when he came up to the spot in the penalty shootout and rocketed his effort over the bar, handing the Seleção its fourth title. The image of Baggio standing heartbroken on the pitch has become one of the World Cup’s most iconic moments, but as he said in his autobiography, it was “the worst moment of my career.” He added: “I still dream about it. If I could erase a moment from my career, it would be that one.”

Zizou’s audacious – and fortunate – Panenka In what was his final ever game as a professional, France midfielder Zinedine Zidane went to the spot after Les Bleus were awarded a penalty in the 7th minute of the World Cup final. “Zizou” was facing arguably the greatest keeper in history, Gianluigi Buffon, and needed something special to beat the Italian icon. Well, look no further than one of our previous entries: Zidane took a Panenka in the most pressure-filled of circumstances, which glanced off the bottom of the crossbar and across the line before bouncing back out of goal. The Azzurri protested, but the goal rightly stood. Unfortunately, the match was made infamous after Zidane was sent off for headbutting Italy defender Marco Materazzi in the chest before France lost on penalties.

Jorginho’s stutter jump penalty If you have followed the career of Italy midfielder Jorginho, you are very familiar with what just happened. But it all started back in August 2017 when the then Napoli star was playing a Champions League qualifier. Jorginho stepped up to take a penalty and then proceeded to do an awkward stutter step and mini-hop before shooting and converting on the left. The Euro 2020 winner had found a very effective penalty method – which slightly became a trend in the sport – but it all began as a training ground joke. "I just jumped naturally," Jorginho told the “Rio Meets” podcast. "I just did it and I saw (the keeper) moving and then I put it the other way … and then the keepers were like, ‘OK, that works. You have to do it in a game.’” And the rest is history.