Twelve Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty Kick

by Ben Lyttleton

An all-encompassing look at the penalty kick, soccer’s all-or-nothing play—its legendary moments and the secrets to its success

No stretch of grass has been the site of more glory or heartbreak in the world of sports than the few dozen paces between goalkeeper and penalty kicker in soccer. In theory, it’s simple: place the ball beyond a single defender and secure a place in history. But once the chosen players make the lonely march from their respective sides of the pitch, everything changes, all bets are off, and anything can happen. Drawing from the hardwon lessons of legendary games, in-depth statistical analysis, expert opinion, and the firsthand experience of coaches and players from around the world, journalist Ben Lyttleton offers insight into the diverse attitudes, tactics, and techniques that separate success from failure in one of the highest-pressure situations sports has to offer.

Genres: Football, Sports, Nonfiction, Soccer, Psychology

706 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 22, 2014

About the author

Ben Lyttleton is a journalist, newscaster,and soccer consultant. He is the author of Twelve Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty Kick. He lives in London.

Reviews

[Keen Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!

At times this can feel like one of those books which is ultimately just a padded out promotional tool for someone’s latest corporate venture – which I suppose you could argue what most books are anyway – but there’s a lot of quirky, interesting bits and bobs in here which make for worthwhile reading for those with a genuine interest in football and in particular penalties and of course the psychology behind it.

[Dave Gagnier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twelve Yards is a book whose title and subtitle unfortunately and almost certainly prevent a deservedly wider readership. Lyttleton’s investigation of “soccer’s legendary all-or-nothing play” will, to the less enthusiastic or patient follower of the sport, likely feel like a read bogged-down by the writer’s obsession with the minutiae of football and more specifically the one play that has created simultaneous triumph and tragedy since its invention by Irish goalkeeper William McCrum and the play’s inception in a professional league in 1891 (the final fact I learned in the final chapter).

In my reading experience, Twelve Yards’ eight main chapters - each followed by an exploration of a related player “penalty icon” - can be divided into three sections that each hold a significant measure of immediate and lasting value. In short, Twelve Yards, spoke to me as a reader in three senses:

1) The Reader as Fan of the Sport

Lyttleton is, foremost, an invested spectator of the sport he loves. This comes across clearly in each section as he illuminates moments and narratives well-known to most who have followed or played the game for any significant length of time. Through interviews with career sports psychologists, managers and players, Lyttleton builds a series of stories of how the penalty has defined some of the most consequential moments in the game.

Some of this does get quite technical as Lyttleton cites the findings of various statisticians that help uncover the specific causes and symptoms of “The English Disease” (an historic inability for The Three Lions to find success in the shootout, and arguably something now cured if Southgate detractors can allow themselves a moment of clarity) and reflecting with Norwegian sports psychologist Dr. Gier Jordet on which moments in game-ending shootouts produce the most anxiety (the break after extra time, the mid circle gathering of shooters, the walk to the spot, and waiting to shoot - the answer may surprise). Lyttleton posits a few points worth considering: that it’s the scars of past failures that most affect current performance (even if those scars are felt vicariously).

There is a lot of rich discussion here around some notable findings - that player’s scoring rates plummet from club play to international tournaments, that scoring rates plummet as a player’s fame grows, and that the “paradinha” (the “little stop” in the run-up made famous and effective by Neymar and Balotelli in more recent years) may soon cause a rule adjustment to bring the process more in line with the spirit of the game.

Much of Twelve Yards sheds significant light on some of the most well-known penalty moments in the game, a favourite passage being Andrea Pirlo’s recollection of the before, during and after penalty experience against Joe Hart’s England in the 2012 Euros. This is good stuff, and while the micro-focus is at times dialled up to 11, if the reader is the right combination of knowledgeable and still-curious, this makes for memorable and enriching reading.

2) The Reader as a Coach

Lyttleton doesn’t always dwell on the mechanics of the play for the book’s 341 page duration, though he does make room for some useful take-aways in the form of (at times competing) perspectives on what makes penalties work. The author does honour Dutch legend Johan Cruyff’s insistence that penalties cannot be practised and that it is all down to luck, but Lyttleton does overall side with the argument that the opposite is true, and a significant amount of what’s presented here is immediately transferable to a coaching session, effective in contexts where the players are of a certain age and skill level.

Some of what I will hope to take with me into preparation sessions with my student athletes include Matt Le Tissier’s (statistics supported) note on how he found success targeting the non-natural side first (the natural side for most penalty takers being across body - right footed shot into the corner on the goal-keeper’s right side), then making a change to the natural side if the keeper moves early as this change is infinitely easier to produce than the opposite would be. Other voices argue strongly for practising the entire process (selection, mid circle line-ups, the walk… everything) and define expectations at each stage.

These elements in Lyttleton’s book will forever alter the way I watch (and aim to coach) penalty shootouts. There is a lot to pay attention to, but it’s useful to be reminded that not all players are ready for the same level of focus and detail. One who was ready is former Chelsea, Arsenal and Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Čech, whom, Lyttleton tells us, was able to study and memorise a list of 12 cues or “tells” for each player he might face in a penalty situation in any given match. Though 12 tells were memorised, he would be able to notice only 2-3 in each penalty situation. That was enough overpreparation, however, to make Čech one of the best penalty shot-stoppers in the game.

Beyond the technical side of football, Twelve Yards focuses for a chapter on the value of pursuing excellence in and understanding of other competitive sports in order to transfer that physical prowess and knowledge into better performance on the pitch. This section pays attention to the psychology of consistent winning as well: Dave Brailsford, who served as performance director of British Cycling, recalls that after Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky won the Tour de France in 2011 and 2012, they had to decide how to manage expectations for the next tour:

“We’ve thought about this and there are two ways to do it. One, we say, ‘We won the Tour again and now, blimey, we have to defend our title, as if we lose it will be a disaster.’ Or we can say, ‘Wasn’t it brilliant to win it once, we won it for a second time, now we want to win it again, and that might be in 2014 or 2015.’ There is a different psychology to that: one is looking backward, defending the title, and the other is looking forward to win it again” (306).

Lyttleton’s book was published in 2014. Team Sky did not win the Tour de France again until 2015. Currently on a team of coaches working with a team of exceptional footballers about to host an international tournament we have won for two years running, I’m honestly not sure which approach to take.

3) The Reader as a Human

Twelve Yards is generally catalogued under “Sports Psychology” with good reason. The moment of the penalty kick - awarded during open play or used in a series to determine something as consequential in the sporting world as Olympic Gold, a Champions League Final or the World Cup Final - defines careers for good or bad, and reinforces or shatters long-established narratives about a country’s footballing DNA or a particular player’s (or manager’s) ability to be an executioner or a bottler of the big moment.

Lyttleton gives time to recently withdrawn English manager Gareth Southgate who reflects on the narrative surrounding his ‘96 European Championship penalty miss. Here, Southgate speaks of moments in the walk-up that pushed him past “the tipping point of failure”, his mind “switching to the negative” of what would happen if he didn’t score. Elsewhere, France’s Christian Karembeu compares the penalty shootout to Russian Roulette: “It is loading the bullet into the chamber of the gun and asking everyone to pull the trigger. Someone will get the bullet; you know that. And it will reduce them to nothing.”

Why would anyone want to be a part of this? Lyttleton also turns our attention to a few other names who have found passion, playfulness and joy in the process of executing the penalty: Czech attacking midfielder Antonín Panenka who “saw the penalty as an extension of [his] personality”, who “wanted football to be more than just kicking a ball” (59), and who credits his country’s literature (Jaroslav Hašek’s 1921 novel The Good Soldier Švejk) as the main influence on his national side’s footballing philosophy.

A later chapter introduces readers to Doug Blevins, former American College football coach and NFL assistant coach born with cerebral palsy, confined to a wheelchair and arguably the most successful private coach in NFL history - a man who loved the game and, though he was never able to play it, was able to coach New England Patriots placekicker and NFL’s all-time points leader Adam Vinatieri to refine his process. “You absolutely have to channel the same techniques and the same mental tools to be successful,” Blevins argues. “You get one chance to make the shot and once it’s done, you can’t change it”. Blevins passed away in March of this year (2024).

Lyttleton has a gift for harnessing human interest into sport-as-story, and he doesn’t shy away from those stories that are hardest to look at. The most memorable chapter in Twelve Yards, for me, returns to the semi-finals of the Euros in Spain, 1982, when West German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher, riding a wave of aggression throughout the tournament, charged advancing French winger Patrick Battiston, turned his body and drove his hip into Battiston’s face, knocking out two teeth, fracturing vertebrae and putting Battiston into a coma. This is a story about a global sporting moment, but it's also a story about public violence, injustice, doubling-down and the process and limits of forgiveness. The personal and political fallout of the collision, the moments that followed (including the psychology of the penalties that decided the match), and how the incident went on to influence the lives of these two men and the national sides for which they played, collectively contribute to a narrative of significant dramatic weight that goes a long way towards explaining why this reader appreciates sport as much as he does literature.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good read. I learned so much about soccer (football) in general, and it really opened my eyes to how complex the penalty kick is. There was a lot of good insight and interviews done for this book and it really gave readers an in depth look. It was obvious that Lyttleton did a lot of work and research for this book and I truly appreciate it.

I gave it a 4 out of 5 only because I did find myself skimming the book. While it was informative, I did lose interest in parts of this book.

Overall, I feel like a better fan for reading this book.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book that was taken seriously by its author, with a wide range of qualified sources quoted and a studied look at the reasons for penalty success or failure. There just wasn't enough substance to keep me interested, with a lot of speculative psychology filling the pages, so it felt too long.

In order to ensure this was an extensive look at the subject, Lyttleton interviewed well-known penalty takers, professors of pschology, and experts in other sports to try and ascertain the secret of success when it came to penalties. With such a wealth of data available in domestic competitions (though I accept it may be less freely accessible) it seemed to limit the sample size by looking only at international tournaments and the Champions League, but nonetheless there were some insightful statistics that showed how some countries have been good at excecution, and some have been lucky. There was one glaring discrepancy that Lyttleton didn't really acknowledge though - of course penalties are likely to be more successful during a game as they are always taken by first choice kickers, whereas those in the shootout are not - but this difference was attributed to pressure of major tournaments. This is where a comparison with domestic competitions would be more useful.

There was also the incongruous mix of stats that showed greater shootout success from players who had been on the pitch for a shorter amount of time, wand then the unqualified opinion of Rickie Lambert that players need a warm up first - American Football shows that players can be brought on just to kick a dead ball without getting a feel for the match first. Clive Woodward also made a convincing case for practice despite the extra pressure in a shootout, whilst other managers throw their hands up as though preparing for it is pointless.

In the course of the book there are quite a few retellings of penalty shoot-outs which get a bit repetitive, as there is a limit to how much artistic license you can put on a player kicking a ball at the goal from the same spot - I lost quite a lot of interest in the Italy-France description for this reason. The other problem with individual kicks is that they are subject to biases in self-reporting, and normally overlook the poor penalties where the goalkeeper happens to dive the wrong way. It's why the stats were needed, as despite the undoubted drama of the shootouts at the time, reading them back is dull, and the testimony is unreliable and dependent on outcome bias.

I feel bad being quite negative as this was written from an objective viewpoint, but there were so many conflicting views on the psychology side that I can't really draw any conclusions from it - except that maybe nobody really knows. I didn't think the content really warranted a standard 300 page book so despite the author's good intentions it fell a bit flat - it's not his fault that some of the findings have been quoted in the more broadsheet football media since, but there was still a 'new' factor missing.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Largely my fault for electing to read an entire book about penalty kicks when I'm only a casual soccer fan -- i think ideal for me would be one online article about main points, with illustrative video links to examples from games. Instead, there were nuggets of interesting info surrounded by punishingly (to me) long verbal descriptions of key kicks from long-ago games.

As to my takeaways......

1. I get the criticisms about shootouts being a somewhat unfair way to determine the outcomes of games, but it does create exciting moments. It's a sufficiently stationary, repeatable situation that you can practice it and analyze it endlessly, but there's an interpersonal component too (which way will goalie dive? They might be thinking i'll go to the side I usually go to, but they might also expect that I'm thinking this way, but.......), so it's more complicated than, say, free throw shooting, a contrast case that came to me when I realized from his stats that players apparently convert penalties at roughly the same rate as a good shooter makes free throws.

2. I guess it makes sense given how low-scoring soccer is, but wow do people take these seriously. One after another story of someone's being haunted the rest of their lives, and reminded constantly by disgruntled fans, if they miss one in a clutch situation. Since I'm coming up on 48 years of regret over missing a reverse layup in the final seconds that would have given us the upset win over Gonzaga in HS freshman basketball, I get that it stays with you, but at least I don't have to deal (too often) with the public nagging me about it. Sympathies to major soccer stars!

3. A lot of the research seemed to draw sweeping conclusions from inadequate sample sizes (England can't make PK's!), but some of the data-based analyses were interesting -- i wouldn't have guessed that 60% of shootouts are won by the team shooting first, for instance. I guess it's not like NCAA football overtimes where "knowing what you need to outscore" is an advantage. No matter what, you're trying to make the kick. Same in tennis with serving first I suppose.

Anyway, if you're a big soccer fan you might find this more of a 3- or 4-star read, but even so I think some skimming is in order unless you have ample time on your hands.

[Russio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and detailed, this analysis takes nine key issues and applies the, predominantly to particular scenarios, often for a single nation or club. It reveals a blueprint for dealing with the hoodoo of repeated failure and considers how kickers should be selected. In between chapters, penalty heroes are assessed, i.e. Panenka and the legacy of it.

Lyttleton knows lots about penalties and has interviewed some real luminaries. He is not afraid to place them in their national context, suggesting for example that the Czech excellence may be down to the humorous calm under fire nature of the central character of their great literary masterpiece, Svejk. He even likens Roberto Baggio's challenges from the spot to a 12th Century papal resignation. You have to love this.


I now feel that I can stop watching England take penalties from between my fingers - and perhaps we all should if we want them to win. Also, I reckon I might have a fair idea of who will score before they do, due to factors in approach (physically) that the book has taught me to look for. Here come the Euros - let's see...

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non dovrebbe essere difficile. In fondo si tratta solo di calciare un pallone in una porta alta 2,5 metri e larga 7,3 con una sola persona che può fermarlo.
Ma come ben si sa niente nella storia del calcio ha prodotto tanta ansia, gioia e disperazione quanto i calci di rigore.

Con questa premessa comincia Undici metri arte e psicologia del calcio di rigore, un viaggio lungo quasi un secolo che studia, analizza e trae conclusioni per quanto riguarda una particolare situazione del gioco del calcio.

Il capitolo iniziale è il punto di partenza di questo viaggio e la condizione che l’autore Ben Lyttleton, giornalista sportivo inglese, intende ripudiare con statistiche e casi reali, è che la vittoria o la sconfitta dopo una serie di calci di rigore sia frutto di casualità assoluta.

La denominazione “lotteria dei rigori” è quella che spesso si sente nominare, ma in realtà sono gli sconfitti, i perdenti che solitamente utilizzano quei termini.

In particolare gli inglesi, che hanno visto la loro nazionale uscire ben 6 volte su 7 nel corso di Campionati Europei o M0ndiali, seguiti a breve distanza dagli olandesi con 5 sconfitte su 7.

La malattia inglese la chiama Ben Lyttleton.

Quella sindrome che porta gli sconfitti a dire che è frutto del caso, che non è possibile allenarsi in modo da arrivare preparati al momento di una soluzione ai rigori, perché puoi anche tirare centinaia di calci di rigore in allenamento, ma non è possibile ricreare le condizioni di stress che vengono affrontate in gare ufficiali così importanti.

1990 – Nessuno è riuscito a batterci sul campo (Bobby Robson)

1998 – E’ impossibile ricreare in allenamento le dinamiche di una vera sessione di rigori (Glenn Hoddle)

2004 – Si riduce tutto a quel dischetto. Quando arrivi a quel punto è una lotteria (Gary Neville)

2006 – Ci siamo allenati tantissimo, ma quando ci troviamo sottoposti a quel tipo di pressione non siamo abbastanza bravi (Sven-Goran Eriksson)

2006 – Puoi allenarti quanto vuoi ma non è mai la stessa cosa quando ti ci trovi davvero (Wayne Rooney)

2012 – In allenamento non si può simulare quella stanchezza alle gambe, quella pressione e quella tensione nervosa (Roy Hodgson)

Dunque quando si perde non è colpa di nessuno.

Ben non è per nulla convinto di questo, anche perché nazionali come la Germania vantano 5 vittorie in 6 sessioni e molte altre fanno meglio degli inglesi.

Nasce così una voglia di studiare il fenomeno dal punto di vista prima statistico e poi psicologico, con risultati veramente sorprendenti.

Qualche esempio:

– il portiere medio si tuffa verso il lato naturale con percentuale 60-40 (dunque non del tutto a caso);

– il calciatore che gira le spalle al portiere per prendere la rincorsa sbaglia più di chi retrocede (paura di subire l’influenza dei gesti del portiere);

– quello che parte appena sente il fischio dell’arbitro sbaglia più degli altri (voglia di farla finita al più presto anche a discapito del risultato);

– chi effettua una rincorsa con angolazione tra 15-30° segna decisamente più di chi utilizza angolazioni con meno di 15° o più di 30°;

– la squadra che nel corso della partita ha segnato per ultima vince molto più spesso di quella che ha subito l’ultima rete (inerzia positiva);

– chi deve calciare il rigore che può dare la vittoria segna con oltre il 90% di media (voglia di vincere);

– chi deve calciare il rigore per rimanere in partita segna con meno del 70% (paura di sbagliare);

– chi calcia dopo che l’avversario ha segnato con un “cucchiaio” ha percentuali di errore più alte (subisce inconsciamente il rigore precedente);

e tanti altri dati che portano alla conclusione che il richiamo alla lotteria non è ammissibile e rappresenta solamente un punto di debolezza da parte di chi la chiama in causa.

Non solo, dopo una lunga analisi statistica che passa in rassegna numerosissimi casi di portieri e rigoristi (bello andare su youtube a vedersi i filmati dei rigori chiamati in causa), il libro si sposta verso il lato psicologico.

E qui si vede come sia possibile allenare dei rigoristi importanti; non tanto dal punto di vista tecnico, ma da quello psicologico, che in situazioni del genere è fattore ancora più determinante.

La conclusione di un famoso psicologo dello sport è che si possano individuare ben 4 situazioni differenti sulle quali è possibile lavorare per ridurre lo stress e le sensazioni negative che un rigorista deve affrontare.

La numero 1 riguarda il bordo campo e prevede come dovrebbe comportarsi un allenatore tra il fischio finale dei tempi supplementari e la chiamata al centro del campo dei giocatori.

La numero 2 riguarda come essere Squadra dentro al cerchio di centrocampo durante tutta la sessione di rigori.

La numero 3 si focalizza su quali pensieri devono attraversare la mente del giocatore mentre si dirige verso la porta per calciare il proprio rigore.

La numero 4, infine, definisce un metodo di comportamento da utilizzare tra il fischio dell’arbitro e l’atto del calciare verso la porta.

Quando questi 4 fattori sono ben preparati, ecco che il risultato finale è percentualmente molto più positivo che negativo.

In sostanza non si tratta di allenare i giocatori a calciare un rigore, ma ad affrontare la situazione dal punto di vista psicologico, perché un buon risultato dipende per oltre il settanta per cento dalla mente e meno del trenta per cento dalla tecnica.

Studi di psicologia dimostrano che eventi negativi influenzano negativamente l’individuo molto più di quanto quelli positivi lo influenzano positivamente.

Dunque concentrare lo sforzo per eliminare parte di questi elementi negativi (la paura di sbagliare, il dubbio sul dove e come calciare, la distrazione che può dare l’avversario, il timore di deludere i compagni, il pensiero ai titoli dei giornali, ecc.) può portare a grossi risultati.
La conclusione che ne deriva è ovvia e non riguarda per nulla lotterie e casualità.

Tempo di lettura: 9h 49m

[Val Asker · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book! What appealed to me most was the psychological side and the author spoke to many experts about the mental aspect of penalty taking. My favourite chapters were the one that looked at why England do so badly at penalty shoot outs, 'The Oslo solution' that went into the psychological side in depth and the final chapter where Sir Clive Woodward and Dave Brailsford talked about how to have a positive, winning mental attitude. This book was truly global in its scope - lots of penalty tales from around the world and I liked this - it went well with the 2014 World Cup! Some great characters emerged - coaches and players alike, from the goalkeeping coach who works with Peter Cech to the Northern Irishman who invented the penalty. We really need to get our act together with the England team and practice penalties properly in the right setting. One thing's for sure - I'll never watch another penalty shoot out again without remembering this book!

[marcus miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author should be happy to know England seems to have overcome its inability to win games in the penalty kick phase as yesterday England squeaked by Columbia in the semi-final round of the 2018 World Cup. All the English kicks were on frame though the Columbia goalie made a save on the second English kick. The English keeper saw one Columbia shot hit the frame and made the save on Columbia's final shot.

Beyond that this is an "everything you want to know about the penalty kick but were afraid to ask kind of book." The science and psychology, the strategy, statistical analysis, historical pks and more. Given the growth of the women's game the only mention of women's soccer was Brandi Chastain's shot which clinched the first World Cup win for the American women

[Justin Bitner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional book. Penalties are a fascinating aspect of soccer, with a high-intensity combination of psychology and physical skill involved.

In a book filled with references to Men's soccer, most of it being South American and European, I was pumped to see a special section dedicated to Brandi Chastain, taker of one of the most seminal penalties in US Soccer history.

Lyttleton talks to tons and tons of famous and not-so-famous soccer players, and doesn't shy away from learning about some of most emotionally taxing and/or uplifting moments of these players' careers.

A must read for any soccer fan.

[morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

i was bound to enjoy this as it’s three of my favorite things in one... books, soccer, and psychology. even though i wasn’t totally familiar with a lot of the individuals/players/games that were discussed in this book i still found it to be really interesting. all the experts that were interviewed gave great insight that was fairly easy to follow. there were a lot of stats and graphics that i really enjoyed. it’s one of those books that you can read a chapter or two at a time, put down and then come back to whenever you want.

[Ilmaji · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vorrei che l'Inghilterra vincesse una partita ai calci di rigore, solo per rendere felice e sereno l'autore del libro.
Il libro in sè è ben studiato, strutturato e racconta la psicologia di chi deve affrontare una serie di calci di rigore. Racconta aneddoti interessanti di personaggi più o meno conosciuti della storia del calcio.
Consigliato per una lettura leggera!

[Andreas Kennardi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides popular sciences about taking penalty from psychology perspectives. The immense quantitative “data” combined with vast histories about soccer key moments make the narrative very compelling to read.

However, since i’m not a fan of soccer, I was having a hard time to find the context when reading some legendary player feature stories.

[Bach · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light, fun read into the history, thought process, and under discussed mental impact of penalty kicks. It was a timely read with the World Cup and made watching this year’s even more enjoyable as the championship unfolded with many penalties that reflected stories from Twelve Yards. A rec for soccer fans.

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book organized around the idea of the penalty kick. It starts by being about the mechanics and psychology of it. Later chapters deviate a ways from this concept. It's all interesting. He wrote this in 2014 with the idea being England always chokes on PKs. That narrative has changed some, though not completely, since then, which left me wondering what has changed for the better.

[Riccardo Lo Monaco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took my two years to read this book, but not because it’s bad… it’s because I literally have no time to read physical books anymore. How sad.

This book was great. Really interesting for any player or admirer of the beautiful game. I’m both, so this one was for me for sure.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on penalties with a special focus on shoot outs. He really breaks it down and refutes the notion that it is a lottery.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I work in soccer but learned my lesson I can’t force myself to get into the history of bro so that this book would require of me.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's no Captain Blood but it's pretty good

[jedioffsidetrap · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goes on a bit, but has some good stats. Covers several “Penalty Icons” in short sections, including Antonin Panenka & Brandi Chastain.

[Carlos González · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una obra de arte. 300 páginas que analizan meticulosa y rigurosamente los penaltis, demostrando (una vez más) que están lejos de ser una lotería o un azar.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone who likes football should read this book.

[Isaiah Minick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was fascinating to me. Lyttleton appeals to me in two main ways. First he has gripping interviews and stories penalty kick takers. He showed me how much pressure is put on one kick. The implications of somebodies career that rest on that moment. I loved being able to revisit the past to games where I sat watching and getting the players and managers scope on the situation. I was also glad to learn more history about soccer before I was watching. The other part of the book was all about data and to me was just as gripping. What factors have more impact on scoring? Is it the time you take to shoot, the eye contact with the keeper before hand? Do you choose a side and go for it or adjust to where the keeper is diving? As a soccer player I could relate to this book so well and Lyttleton went through extensive research to provide the best data and stories and then told them to me in a way where I didn't want to put the book down!

[Ugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A whole book on penalty-taking, you ask? Quite. This was a present, and although I like psychology, stats and, to some extent, football, I wouldn't have bought it myself. Sure enough, it didn't sustain my interest. The psychology is dealt with in pretty much the first chapter, which leaves the entire rest of the book to deal with the art. This is an article masquerading as a book. And although you have to credit Lyttleton in one respect - he interviewed a lot of big names - a lot of the content feels like padding. Half was all I could manage.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5+ stars. A good and insightful take on penalty kicks and how both the taker and keeper approach the experience, as well as how coaches try to prepare each for it. Sometimes Lyttleton seems more interested in selling his services as an analyst - which likely speaks more about my foibles than his - but on the whole, it's a strangely emotional and uplifting psychological study. Recommended to football players and coaches, and managers of all types.

[Paul Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

In some ways, this book over-complicates penalties, as much of the tactical wisdom can be boiled down to a few pages. But the details and intricacies make the book good. It's an enjoyable deep dive into the statistical, physical, mental and psychological sides of the seemingly simple penalty kick. And it's filled with great stories and quotes that provide a thorough history of soccer's most notable penalties.

[Jon Newswanger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me a bit to finish this one, just because I had to return it to the library and it took me a while to get another chance to check it out.

Overall, an amusing look at one of the most quirky little bits of the game of soccer, even if it wasn't the most compelling book I've ever read about the game. It goes without saying that I found the chapter on referee's the most enjoyable.

[Andrew Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Veers between great, when interviewing people and shite, when it's like reading a journal. Alreet, no better

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and informative book devoted solely to the topic of penalty kicks in soccer. Full review is posted here:

http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...

[Brian Boscolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew you could write 100s of interesting pages on PKs. Good read both soccer history and anaysis of the PK process.