The Clutch
I think cluch in soccer comes through more in terms of consistency. Because scoring tends to occur rarely, it usually involves either a touch of brilliance or a mistake by the defence. While players may rarely acknowledge it, the more demanding the situation, the more difficult that genius may prove to find. By the same token, under extreme stress the odds of an error increase. The most “clutch” players typically transcend the moment and play equally well regardless of the circumstances. For example, C. Ronaldo frequently faces criticism for not showing his typical capabilities on the largest of stages, something he’s likely now put in the past (although I still loathe the man).As for PKs…for the life of me I fail to understand the logic of many players in this situation. God knows I’m not all that great at the game, but after numerous years of chasing a damn soccer ball I fairly certain about one thing: the hardest shot for a keeper to save is low and in the corner. Imagine yourself the goalie. Stick your arms out as wide as you can and then wave them up, down, and over your head; that’s the area you can cover without even diving. Where’s the biggest hole? Why, it’s anything under the waist. Would someone please explain why fucking amazing talents like Ronaldo and Anelka keep fucking kicking the damn shot waist high?!? It makes No. Fucking. Sense.
Also, remember, you can never put the ball UNDER the goal, only over it.
That sounds about right, with respect to clutchness. As for PK strategy as a team exercise, you’ve gotta kick it to different spots from just the two bottom corners. Individually, it makes sense, like if I was doing a one-off PK maybe at the end of a game which would determine its outcome, I would go for one of the bottom corners. But imagine if a team always shot to the corners in a PK shootout. Sure, a well-placed shot to the corner is probably impossible to stop even if the keeper knows you’re going to one of two corners. But not every shot will be perfect. If the keeper knows you’re going to one of two spots, he probably has something just lower than 50% chance to stop your shot, which is pretty dang good. So for the PK shootout as a team strategy exercise, some of your players have to switch it up to keep the keeper guessing. Why not have one of your best players, e.g., C. Ronaldo, take the most difficult placed shot? I agree, though, that in the end, too much thinking about strategy and you’ll outsmart yourself.
