Antonín Panenka

Antonín Panenka was born on December 2, 1948, in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He joined Bohemians Prague when he was only 11 years old. There, in this team representing the working class, he would flourish and become one of the best attacking midfielders in Eastern Europe.

During the Cold War, Czech players had to be both 30 years old and have 50 caps to receive permission to leave the country to play for a club on the other side of the Iron Curtain. He remained with his club until 1981, a total of 21 years spent with Bohemians Prague.

At 32, he joined Rapid Vienna, where he would prove he was still at the top of European football. In four years at the club, he played 146 matches, scoring 74 goals, including 11 in 19 matches in European competitions such as the predecessor to the Champions League, the Europa League, and the Cup Winners' Cup. He also reached the 1985 Cup Winners' Cup final. Playing as a central midfielder, the player had a fantastic season, playing 33 matches and scoring 19 goals. He also put on a masterclass against Dynamo Dresden in the quarter-final second leg, scoring one goal and providing two assists, helping his team qualify in a 5-0 comeback after a 3-0 first leg loss. A slight-looking player, Panenka developed his leadership skills over the years. He was one of the most technical players in Europe, a football genius with a rare elegance. His offensive range was broad; he was notably known as one of the best free-kick takers in the world and an excellent penalty taker.

With the Czechoslovak national team, Panenka would become a prominent figure and one of the best players in his country's history. A starter from 1973 to 1982, he would become his team's playmaker. He participated in several competitions, including Euro 1976, Euro 1980, and the 1982 World Cup. Each time, he raised his game and led his country to great results.

He had an exceptional Euro 1976 where he provided an assist against the Netherlands in the semi-final, then during the final, he would perform a legendary, mythical gesture. While Czechoslovakia created a surprise in the competition and reached the final, the final score of the match led to a penalty shootout, during which Panenka was the last shooter for his country, if he scored his country was the winner, if he missed, the shootout continued. Antonín Panenka then had all the pressure on his shoulders, facing one of the best goalkeepers of all time, Sepp Maier, he could not miss his shot, he would then perform a unique gesture. He rushed forward, struck the ball and wrong-footed the German goalkeeper by shooting in the center, a slow, lobbed, unique shot, a gesture was born: the panenka. Czechoslovakia were then European champions after a legendary run.

During Euro 1980, Panenka had one of the best matches of his career against Greece: 1 goal, 1 assist, 88 touches of the ball, 86% pass completion, 6 key passes, 2 successful dribbles, 8 duels won, and 3 fouls won. He also had two other strong performances against West Germany and Italy during this tournament.

Then, during his last international tournament, in 1982, at the age of 33, the player put in a superb performance against Kuwait: 1 goal, 82 touches of the ball, 79% pass completion, 3 key passes, 1 successful dribble, and 1 interception. He also had a rather good match against France.

Reaching the end of his career, Panenka decided to join VSE St. Pölten in Austria in 1985, which was playing in the second division at the time. There, he was still very decisive and far from finished, in 50 matches, he scored 31 goals. He then moved to SK Slovan HAC where he maintained similar statistics, thus marking the end of his professional career, he then joined local clubs in Austria.

- Top scorer in the 1985 Cup Winners' Cup (5 goals) (Rapid Vienna)

- Voted Czechoslovakian Player of the Year in 1980

- Named to the 1976 Euro Cup Team of the Year

- Voted one of the "legends" of football by Golden Foot in 2014

- Awarded the Czech Republic Medal of Merit in 2008

- Awarded the Vaclav Jira Award in 2008

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