‘I never planned to ridicule Sepp Maier’ – Antonin Panenka on penalty fame, Troy Parrott and the modern game
exclusive | Czech legend looks forward to Ireland showdown, fifty years since his spot kick became famous and repeated across the world ever since
'I’m accused of making a clown of Sepp but I never planned to ridicule him. This sort of penalty was just for me to score, not to humiliate a great opponent, that’s the opinion of foreign journalists who accuse me of making a clown out of Maier. He didn’t talk to me for five years, though.' Photo: Karl Schnörrer/Getty ImagesIn the few seconds it takes to park his car — it’s not a designated parking spot but as a national icon, he parks where he wants — and walk to meet his guest from Ireland, the 77-year-old is stopped for a selfie by a woman in her 20s. She’s young enough to be his granddaughter, but she is well aware of who he is.There’s not just one halo of fame over the head of Antonin Panenka, but two. Here in Prague, he’s on home ground, literally, as we meet at the stadium of Bohemians, the club he served as a player and where he still has a background role.
