Comments on: Penalty Shootouts – There Is An Alternative

By: teaman

teaman — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 03:11:14 +0000

I believe a corner kick competition is the best alternative. Each team takes turns attempting a corner kick, using a different kicker for each attempt. The kicker must kick the ball from the corner into the penalty area (no short passes to nearby teammate). The referee chooses which goal to use, but the kicker chooses from which corner to attempt the kick. To prevent a frenzy/injury by players desperate to win, a minimum of 2 players from each side must be positioned outside the penalty box before the kick is taken (not counting the kick taker). The turn ends when either 1) a goal is scored or 2) the defence clears the ball from the penalty box, or 3) the kicker fails to send the ball into the penalty area.

The advantage is that corner kicks are already a regular event in football matches and the entire team is involved, rather than just kicker vs goaltender as is the case in PKs.

If the concern is that it may be a long time before there is a score, then perhaps limit the corner competition to a certain number of attempts per side. Or if the concern is the risk of injury to tired players who have already run around for 90 minutes, perhaps use the corner competition in place of extra time itself.

By: theman

theman — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:42:43 +0000

This idea is far too radical for what Pele coined as the ‘beautiful game’. Football is no hockey or gridiron, basketball. It is played worldwide and is far more popular then any other sport, a decision such as this will affect the game all across the world form the grassroots level up all the way to the elitist FA cup, world cup level. Football is a game of possession, of passing, controlling the ball and moving it from one end of the field to the other all in the hope of creating scoring opportunities. The team who scores more is the victor. This is why sometimes in football the team with less possession, and scoring opportunities may win. This is what i hope to see when i watch a game of football. By eliminating players in extra time it will turn the game into something it is not. Many of these ideas, mind you were brought in by Americans, Australians and many other non-footballing nations. Lets keep the western Americanization out of football and leave it for what it is -the beautiful game.

By: nick girolami

nick girolami — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 22:21:21 +0000

why not simply make extra time last another 15 mins ( 2 periods of 22. 5 mins each) and reintroduce the golden goal for this ? the extra 15 mins would make it more probable for a game to be settled since the thought of 45 mins of sudden death would make even the less talented teams who previously relied on penalties try to win it in normal time! if after sudden death extra time there is still no winner then try the american system of an attacker having 5 seconds to score against a goalie. this as a last resort clearly involves more talent than penalties.

By: Glen

Glen — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 12:05:54 +0000

Great Idea but never gonna happen. Unless of course, the current FIFA president Sepp Blatter steps down and a more professional one comes in.

By: Kuen-Wah Cheung

Kuen-Wah Cheung — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 11:38:26 +0000

t’s great that you have an idea that:
a) relates to what happens within the actual match to decide.
b) is more team orientated than penalties
c) rewards attacking play
The biggest downsides to this alternative is that if you keep removing players:
a) you might get the farce of 2 v 2 on a giant football pitch, and players exhausted to a standstill
b) it will reward teams that are lucky enough not to suffer injuries and able to make fresh substitutions late on
c) heightened risk of exhaustion leading to injuries and lack of freshness for the next match
The alternative to penalties I like best is keeping a ‘woodwork score’ – so if a team hits to post or crossbar, they get a woodwork score, and after extra time if the game is level the team that has hit the woodwork most wins. Of course, you’d have to define things such as a shot that goes in off the post only counting as a goal, and that if it hits crossbar then post, that only counts as one. it has all the three advantages above and unlike a corner count, possession count, foul count etc, you couldn’t really play for it (as you might as well go for goal rather than post if you can shoot).

By: CR

CR — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:06:15 +0000

wow, very creative idea. I am embarking on project work, a sch assignment, and i happen to be doin on “e modernisation of football”. This proved to be one useful article for me. Thanks a lot! The idea of reducing players was quite similar to the idea our group has came up with.. it is such a coincidence.. anyway, i am lucky to have chanced upon this. =D

By: AJ

AJ — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:03:52 +0000

Although a very interesting idea, it would never work. A 5v5 situation at the end of 120 minutes is almost impossible on a big field and teams would continue to defend first in order to rest their players.

I have no problem with penalty kicks, but if the rules had to change, I like the idea of moving the spot back. So far, that idea makes the most sense.

By: MC

MC — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:52:49 +0000

I submitted a similar idea last year to the Football League in the UK, with a little twist. I proposed playing extra time in 10 minute segments, switching every 5 minutes to account for unfavorable wind conditions, with no golden goal. At the conclusion of each 10 minute segment, teams would remove 2 players each. You would certainly figure that teams playing 7v7 during the segment from minute 110-120 would create plenty of scoring opportunities. It would create interesting post mortems about coaching decisions, would the Italians pull their strikers, would the Netherlands pull their defense, etc.

The FL responded, “Thank you for your communication, the content of which has been noted. Such suggestion would however require a change to the Laws of the Game and this would therefore be a matter for FIFA’s International Board who are responsible for the Laws. We can advise that similar suggestions have been put forward in the past but never found the necessary support.
Thank you for contacting The Football League. ” Blah blah blah.

If FIFA wants to keep penalty kicks one other thought worth considering would be to move the spot that the kick is taken back to the edge of the area. That way both the shooter and the keeper would be on equal terms. Today a shooter in a penalty shootout that doesn’t score or hits the post like Terry did, will carry that stigma for the rest of his/her career, and the keeper typically has to “guess right” in order to save a goal — which is certainly fair in a penalty situation — but a silly way to end a game. Moving the spot back would be a much fairer test of skill for both the shooter and the keeper and still provide plenty of excitement for everyone concerned.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:43:26 +0000

I’ve seen an indoor soccer tournament playoff game involve this exact rule. It was really entertaining and it was back and forth like you’ve never seen before… chance after chance after chance. However, the players were getting extremely tired very quickly, even though it was on a small pitch.

On a professional sized outdoor pitch, the room available would be too vast, and starters would never be able to play a full match. Based on this reason alone, if a game can go until 120 minutes resulting in a 5v5 situation (or something), a true professional football player should be able to complete a match to its entirety. This new rule would essentially result in most professionals not being able to do this, which would be a tragedy. Imagine the best player in the world incapable of playing a full match into extra time whilst being incredibly fit!

A lot of people don’t give a penalty shootout enough credit. As mentioned previously, it is a test of skill, stamina and class. Being able to step up to the ball and smoothly execute a nice shot requires utmost class, say for a Champions League Championship match. This beautiful yet simple part of the game at all levels should remain intact.

Lastly, penalty shootouts allow weaker teams a fighting chance of playing defence against a power house team (say Chelsea or Real Madrid, who each spend a rediculous amount on their players that other teams can’t come close to matching).

An interesting idea for indoor tournaments at the local level, but for professional club or national teams on a full sized pitch, it is too strenuous.

By: Arinze

Arinze — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:09:09 +0000

Sounds like a good idea. Until you factor in that the 5 or 6 players left will be running the WHOLE 110 yards x 75 yards chasing the ball and this would most certainly cause multiple fatigue related injuries.