Anatomy of Panenka’s 50th anniversary penalty

Q. And how do you remember that time you lived through?

A. I lived it in a quite positive and pleasant way, because at the end of the day athletes and well-known people had a slightly better, easier life. There were good conditions to train, good conditions to play. So, deep down, I can’t complain. I remember it quite pleasantly, although here there was a different system that did not allow, for example, trips abroad, and did not allow many other things. There was a problem here, for example, in that the system made us all be on the same level. As soon as someone began to stand out, whether as an athlete or an artist, they were immediately put in line with the rest. But we had excellent conditions for football and that, for me, was enormously important. So, that being said, I guess I can’t complain.

Q. If you had not scored that penalty, do you think you would have suffered any retaliation?

A. If I hadn’t scored that penalty like that, today I might be a turner at CKD – ​​an industrial company -, a turner with 59 years of experience, right? But it’s true, and I say it a bit with sarcasm, but it’s true that at that time, just after the European Championship, very varied things were circulating here, and it was even commented on in some central committee of the Communist Party, where the opinion fell that, if he hadn’t scored that penalty in that way, it could have been interpreted as a lack of respect for the political system, which seen today seems like a joke, right? So, luckily, it ended well, but for me it was outrageous that someone could relate something like that to politics, because for me it was completely inconceivable.

Q. At 32 years old you were able to go to Austria. What was the locker room and training like? Did anything surprise you?

A. There were quite a few players who smoked. At one point I was also among them. I smoked too, of course not as much, but there were a lot of players. And that was also given because, more or less, we were prohibited from smoking, we were prohibited from drinking alcohol, we were prohibited from eating on Sunday, and they recommended that, at least four days before the game, we not have anything with a woman. They were curious things. These rules are there to be broken. Those people are also normal people, so I don’t see anything wrong there.

Q. Did you think about playing in Spain?

A. You had to be over 32 years old, which was a ‘murder’, because at 30 here you were already finished, you had already finished your degree, right? And, furthermore, you had to have played a minimum of 50 times with the national team, which was also very difficult, because then it was not like today, where 10 or 15 games are played a year; We played three, four at most. So getting that was difficult, and it is true that it seems that there was a lot of interest in me from abroad and I even had a Spanish offer: it was Real Murcia. Then they played in the first division and they were interested in me, but in the end, let’s say I gave preference to a certain security, so I preferred to play in Austria, because, for my style, for the way I played football, Spanish football is already at a much higher level, so at that age I would hardly have been able to achieve something there, and I didn’t want to risk being sent back home after a year. That’s why I chose security at Rapid Vienna, and I’m glad I was there, finally, four and a half years, and I think I did well.

Q. And what is your life linked to Bohemians like now?

A. I have always felt more like a player than a leader or coach. I am honorary president of this club. My role does not consist of directing the club, participating in negotiations, having an authorized signature, etc. My role is more of a representative type: some relationship with partners, sponsors, media, etc. So it is, I say, an honorary position. For the rest, I try, because sport as such continues to give me great pleasure, great joy, so I try, to the extent that my own state of health allows me, to still hit the ball a little bit. I like tennis, I like golf, I like paddle tennis, so I try to be very active in sport, because, as I say, it makes me feel good and it amuses me enormously.

Q. Are you good at it?

A. I can say that I am better at sports that are played with my feet than sports that are played with my hands.

Q. You also trained goalkeepers here. Did any of them get a penalty in their style?

A. They didn’t dare. Training with goalkeepers is a little different. We had other problems, because I always had good hitting technique, and when I shot against those goalkeepers, one time the coach told me: “Why don’t you score goals against them? Then they don’t have confidence, they lose confidence.” So I had to loosen up a little, and rather placed the balls directly on them, so that they could save them, so that they would have confidence.

Q. Do you feel that football has become a business?

A. Unfortunately, today the economic part of sport surpasses sports competition. It is clearly seen only with the fact that, for example, 48 teams are going to participate in the World Cup, which seems exaggerated to me, too much. For the rest, of course, football still interests me, but personally, physically, I only go here to our club if we play at home. Of course I also go to the lower categories, where one can see interesting players, new and interesting things that are not seen in the League. As for the players, of course I have two players who fell from the moon: they are Ronaldo and Messi. I think those surpass all the other players on this planet. But I like to watch players who play with a style similar to the one I played. That is to say, I like players who are creative, technically excellent, who have good hitting technique, who have the ability to carry out that idea, to realize it. Players like that, flashy, are the ones I like to watch.

Q. The Czech Republic returns to the World Cup after a long time.

A. I do not plan to fly to America, nor see him there physically. Of course I’m going to follow it. I’m glad that our team qualified, even if it was with some small difficulties, but we made it to the World Cup, which is positive. I’m going to follow our games, I’m excited, and I hope that the Czech Republic does not disappoint and that, at the very least, they pass the group stage, which would be a great success for us, I think.

Q. He could be a millionaire, due to the copyright of that Panenka-style punch. Have you thought about the topic?

A. I don’t give it much thought anymore. Today I think it’s too late to try anything. But it’s true that then, about half a year after the European Championship, I had the opportunity. My wife worked in Prague in the patent office. And when I went to see her there from time to time, once in the hallway I ran into her boss. And, rather jokingly, or with that kind of irony, I asked him if the penalty could be patented. And I remember it as if it were today. He put his hands on his head and said: “You have gone crazy. This is not something material. This simply cannot be done, this does not exist.” Well, a few years passed, a few decades, and it turns out that this idea can be patented. But I think that today is so late that it’s not worth it. It is true that if I had done it at the beginning, perhaps I would have had a better, richer life. But I don’t regret it at all, I prefer not to think about it.

Q. What dream does Antonín Panenka have left to fulfill?

A. I am already at an age, in a position, where one no longer imagines many dreams or much future. I am happy, I am doing well, I have no health problems. I am happy to be able to step on the field, any field, to have a lot of friends, old teammates, old rivals around me, that we continue to see each other. Of course having a good family environment, which I think I have, because this year it has been 54 years since I got married and I still have the same and only woman as always. So that’s very important for well-known people: when they have a good environment at home, they are satisfied, and I think you don’t need anything else. I always feel satisfied and I’m always happy with what I can do.