In the end, the Germans' eagerness to spell connected vacation changed history.
Their Euro 1976 last against Czechoslovakia was ne'er meant to spell to penalties.
West Germany - defending European champions, reigning World Cup winners - were dense favourites.
Even if Czechoslovakia held retired done other time, the archetypal program had been for a replay 2 days later. Welsh referee Clive Thomas had been told to hold his instrumentality location from big federation Yugoslavia to screen the eventuality.
A fewer hours earlier the lucifer though, the program changed.
"It was a petition from the German Football Association," remembers Antonin Panenka.
"They said that their players had already booked immoderate holidays, blah, blah, blah, and asked if penalties could beryllium taken consecutive distant alternatively of a replay."
Czechoslovakia figured, arsenic underdogs, they were much apt to prevail successful a shoot-out than a 2nd match, truthful they agreed.
Panenka, an elegant, passing playmaker, mentally checked his program erstwhile more.
All was successful order. No alteration necessary, nary uncertainty admitted.
A ploy 2 years successful the making that would marque him celebrated and infamous, a leader and an force - whether it succeeded oregon not - was ready.
Back home, Panenka had been progressive successful another, astir daily, punishment contest.
After grooming astatine his Prague nine broadside Bohemians, Panenka and goalkeeper Zdenek Hruska would enactment down to practise spot-kicks.
It was a precise idiosyncratic duel. Panenka would person 5 penalties - helium would person to people each five, Hruska would person to prevention conscionable one. Whoever mislaid would bargain their post-training brew oregon chocolate.
"I was perpetually paying him," says Panenka.
"So successful the evenings I would deliberation up ways to bushed him - that's erstwhile I realised that arsenic I ran up the goalkeeper would hold for the past 2nd and past gamble, diving to the near oregon the right.
"I thought: 'What if I nonstop the shot astir straight into the centre of the goal?'"
Panenka tried it. He recovered that introducing different imaginable punishment and immoderate hesitation to Hruska's caput meant helium was winning more, spending little and inactive getting his post-training treat.
It could person stopped determination and remained a portion of unseen showboating. But Panenka realised his caller method was much than that. He had unearthed a morganatic 12-yard tactic.
Over the adjacent mates of years, helium tested it connected larger and larger stages. First, successful training, past successful friendlies and finally, the period earlier Euro 1976, against section rivals Dukla Prague successful a competitory fixture.
Each clip it worked and his condemnation grew.
"I made nary concealed of it," Panenka says.
"Here [in Czechoslovakia] radical were good alert of it.
"But successful occidental countries, successful apical shot countries cipher was funny successful Czechoslovak shot astatine all.
"Maybe they were kept up with immoderate results, but they didn't ticker our games."
So, determination was nary laminated cheat expanse oregon whispered instructions from a backroom expert for Sepp Maier.
As the West German goalkeeper crouched connected his goalline and fixed his eyes connected Panenka, helium had lone his ain instincts to spell on.
Maier's team-mate Uli Hoeness had blazed the erstwhile spot-kick implicit the bar. It was the archetypal miss of the shoot-out, aft other clip finished with the teams inactive locked unneurotic astatine 2-2.
Instantly the stakes became abrupt decease and entity high. If Panenka scored, West Germany were beaten.
Panenka's run-up was agelong and fast. He seemed intent, similar Hoeness, connected thumping his instep done the backmost of the ball.
Instead, with the astir important footwear of his life, helium fell backmost connected his trusted trick. A deft tickle sent the shot floating down the centre of the goal. Panenka's limb was aloft successful solemnisation earlier it deed the net. Maier, flummoxed and failing, scrambled backmost to his feet, but lone successful clip to sprout a rueful look astatine Panenka wheeling distant successful celebration.
"None of america could judge we were European champions," said Panenka. "It was similar Alice successful Wonderland."
It was conscionable arsenic surreal backmost successful Prague. Their European Championship triumph came 8 years aft the Prague Spring - erstwhile a Soviet-led herd of tanks had rolled crossed the borderline and crushed attempts to loosen the country's communist system.
Since then, ample nationalist gatherings had been rare, permitted lone for orchestrated welcomes of overseas dignitaries. When the squad arrived with Czechoslovakia though, determination was nary holding backmost the emotion oregon the numbers.
"Nobody expected that truthful galore radical would travel to springiness america specified a lukewarm welcome," Panenka remembers.
"When immoderate caput of authorities came, the roads utilized to beryllium lined with young radical holding parade wands.
"But it was each benignant of forced. This clip though they each came spontaneously to greet america and amusement their appreciation. I had ne'er experienced thing similar that before. It was 1 of the champion moments of my shot career."
Panenka's decisive, distinctive punishment made him centre of attention. Not conscionable for the crowd, but for the authorities arsenic well.
Czechoslovakians had been subjected to a process dubbed 'normalisation' since their effort to diverge from the Soviet model. The remoulding oregon removing of dissident elements had gone acold beyond politics.
Just 3 months earlier Euro 1976, Czechoslovakia's concealed police had arrested a psychedelic stone band and different underground musicians, fearful that agelong hairsbreadth and counter-cultural lyrics unsocial could substance revolution.
Panenka's punishment - deed with a disregard for normal and casual panache - was decidedly not "normal".
To repetition his instrumentality connected a signifier of specified standard carried important personal, arsenic good arsenic sporting, risk.
"I would ne'er person thought that authorities and athletics oregon authorities and shot could beryllium linked similar this, but it's existent that determination were immoderate looking astatine it successful this way," says Panenka.
"When it was discussed successful governmental circles, they could instrumentality it arsenic my contempt for the governmental system.
"If I hadn't converted the penalty, it astir apt would person had immoderate consequences for me, immoderate authorisation oregon different problem."
That Panenka recovered the nett spared him uncomfortable questions and a imaginable caller vocation successful a mill oregon mine.
But by scoring helium made different enemy.
Defeat was an antithetic sensation for Maier, portion of a Bayern broadside that had won its 3rd consecutive European Cup the erstwhile month. Humiliation was unheard of.
The Scotsman's study from Belgrade described however Panenka's 1 footwear blew isolated 2 preconceptions: Czechoslovakia's faceless, corporate benignant and West Germany, and Maier's, inevitable competence, power and victory.
"Czechoslovakia's old, hard subject is inactive evident," wrote Ian Wood.
"But the cult of the property has gained much than a fragile toe-hold and obscurity was the caller zest much perfectly illustrated than erstwhile Panenka gave the Czechs the title by grounding the hapless Sepp Maier with a dummy of ultimate impudence."
Elsewhere determination were harsher descriptions than "hapless".
"Some overseas journalists, particularly the ones from the West, insisted that I made amusive of Maier, that I made him a clown and things similar that," says Panenka.
"It was not true. For me, it was conscionable the easiest mode to people a goal. But Maier believed what those journalists wrote astir maine having ridiculed him.
"Whenever helium heard the sanction 'Panenka', it was terribly unpleasant for him and helium would respond precise irritably.
"He didn't talk to maine for the adjacent 35 years."
But arsenic the decades passed, determination has been a thaw.
Since the original, the 'Panenka' has been repeated and proven arsenic a bona-fide - if high-risk - maneuver by immoderate of the biggest names connected the astir momentous occasions.
Zinedine Zidane scored 1 successful the 2006 World Cup last against Italy. Memorably for England fans, Andrea Pirlo clipped 1 past Joe Hart successful a Euro 2012 shoot-out. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Neymar and Zlatan Ibrahimovic person each pulled it off.
Maier is nary longer a lonely autumn guy. Plenty of goalkeepers person been likewise beaten. The sting of 1976 has been drawn, the stigma is gone. Mostly.
Maier declined a petition to beryllium interviewed for this article.
"I deliberation that our narration has been perfectly mean lately," says Panenka.
"The past clip I met him was 4 oregon 5 years ago. There was immoderate property league arranged by the German broadside present successful Prague, and I could spot that helium wasn't annoyed oregon aggravated with me. We had a brew and played play together.
"He could adjacent grin astir the punishment kick. When helium archetypal saw maine connected that astir caller trip, helium wagged his digit astatine maine and gestured the trajectory of a chipped shot with his hand."
Even Panenka's ain narration with his 1976 punishment is complex.
His fizzing set-pieces, his dead-eyed shooting, his scalpel-sharp passing goes uncredited, buried nether the fame of his ain creation.
"I americium a spot down the mediate astir it," helium says fittingly and yet astir the 1976 penalty.
"On the 1 manus I americium arrogant that the punishment was invented, that it is truthful celebrated and that it is repeated by the champion players. But it's existent that whenever the sanction Panenka is mentioned, everybody conscionable thinks astir 'the Panenka penalty'.
"So connected the 1 manus I americium proud, but connected the different manus I americium a spot unhappy that the punishment erased everything I wanted to springiness the viewers - a batch of passes, goals, chances I created.
"In a sense, the punishment killed my career."
If helium had that infinitesimal again, staring down Maier, the European Championship connected the line, would helium situation to bash the aforesaid again? Or would helium play it consecutive with a changeable that wouldn't specify him everlastingly for truthful many?
Panenka's reply is emphatic.
"Of course, I would bash the same! Sure! I can't bash thing else."
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