If there’s an aspect of football that has always had a feature of unpredictability, that has to be the penalty kick. Whether is kicked during a World Cup final or a youth tournament, penalties have always been considered some sort of random lotto and that’s why every time a game is decided after the extra times people talk about the penalties lottery. But from today, thanks to Wyscout, “penalties aren’t a lottery anymore”.
In fact, our Penalties App allows Wyscout users to analyze penalty kicks in every little detail, helping them to remove the unpredictability element from this feared and respected gesture and preparing them when the time to shot from the penalty spot comes. Penalties offers a deep analysis of teams, players and goalkeepers’ habits, providing lots of useful data about it. For example, who is Boca Juniors’ most effective penalty taker? Where does Paulo Dybala usually land the ball? And how can Diego Alves save all those penalties? Wyscout Penalty App can answer these and many other questions. Let’s see how in detail.
Shots
Starting from penalty-takers, the most important element has to be the shot. There are many opinions about the best technique to kick a penalty but the most important aspect for those who have to prepare a match or study an opponent are the footballers’ habits. Penalties analyze this gesture in detail, giving detailed data about the kind of shot – inside of the foot, straight foot or maybe panenka – the shot’s power and the footballer’s focus while kicking the ball. Does he look at the goalkeeper, at the ball, or changes the look direction every time?
Run
For a goalkeeper that has to save a penalty, is very important to know how his opponent normally approaches the shot. This is why there’s the ‘Run’ section, that analyzes how a penalty-taker runs towards the ball. From which zone he prepares the run, how many steps he takes before kicking the ball, the speed of his run, and if he normally has a steady movement or delays the run in order to confuse the goalkeeper. Neymar Jr, for example, has delayed his run 22 times in the last 23 penalties taken. An indicative data, also very useful for goalkeepers.
Goalkeeper reaction
Another useful insight can be the one about the goalkeepers’ reactions, that can also determine the effectiveness of the shooter. If the keeper reacted to the shot or if he guessed one side, trying to anticipate his opponent. If his dive direction was correct, maybe also touching the ball, or wrong, being wrong-footed by the shooter. Here probably lies Flamengo goalkeeper Diego Alves’ secret, that has saved the 47% of the penalties – 9 out of 19 – guessing the right direction the 70% of the times.
Match Situation
As we said earlier, not every penalty has the same importance within a game. And that’s why the ‘match situation’ section in the Penalty App is so important. In fact, this will help users to know at which time of the game the penalty has been kicked, which was the current score at that time, and if the penalty-taker was in the home or away team. A penalty, taken in a hostile environment, in the extra time, and maybe good for the win has to count more.
All the data of Wyscout Penalty App comes with the respective videos, offered in many angles and with a 2D graphic to highlight the penalty’s main details. Penalties offers specific data for every team, every penalty-taker, and every goalkeeper, picking out stats, habits, and effectiveness. Penalties will change the match preparation forever, both for footballers and goalkeepers, that will be able to study their opponents and consult their own stats to improve.
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