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Missing a Panenka is one of adulthood's great embarrassments.

Ranking the 10 worst Panenka penalties we’ve ever seen after Enzo Le Fee’s shocker

Michael Lee •

A Panenka penalty requires plenty of skill, composure and fortune – which has eluded the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Francesco Totti and Gary Lineker in the past.

Missing a Panenka is worse than your regular spot kick failure, with team-mates shunning you and the humiliation cutting your ego to microbe-sized proportions.

We’re ranking the 10 worst attempts at recreating the Panenka, which made each of these players look hilariously foolish.

10. Troy Parrott

Only players infused with confidence have the cojones to attempt a Panenka and Irishman Parrott made this attempt days after scoring five goals against Portugal and Hungary.

But it’s the ability to actually pull one off that separates the wheat from the chaff. This injury-time Eredivisie effort is still rising.

9. Andrea Pirlo

Not even Pirlo gets it right every time.

At least he saved his bloopers for when it didn’t really matter, having his bluff called by Jose Pinto in a friendly against Barcelona in 2010.

8. Raheem Sterling

Danny Ward literally laughs in Sterling’s face after this Carabao Cup humbling.

7. Francesco Totti

Like Pirlo, it really hurts us to admit that Totti did not always get things right. Similarly, like Pirlo, he at least got it right when it mattered, with his Panenka against Edwin van der Sar helping Italy beat the Netherlands at Euro 2000.

Bu this effort against Lecce was a stinker. And Totti’s face says it all.

6. Gary Lineker

Trailing Sir Bobby Charlton’s England goalscoring record by one, Lineker was presented with the perfect opportunity to become his country’s joint-top goalscorer when the Three Lions were awarded a penalty against Brazil in 1992.

But in his final appearance at Wembley, Lineker completely fluffed the chance. Speaking afterwards, he said: “I saw the goalkeeper commit himself early and tried to lift the ball over him…but I scuffed up some grass as I shot and couldn’t get any height.”

Graham Taylor was much less apologetic, commenting: “You could argue that we played Brazil with 10 men.” Ouch.

5. Enzo Le Fee

After failing to chip Kelleher, a man with the composition of an oak tree, rumour has it that Le Fee was made to walk back from London barefoot.

4. Sergio Aguero

Aguero had the chance to double Manchester City’s lead against Chelsea in 2021, but was left red-faced after his cheeky penalty attempt was comfortably saved by Edouard Mendy.

The Blues then turned the game on its head to seal a 2-1 win, delaying City’s Premier League title-winning party.

“I would like to apologise to my team-mates, staff and supporters for missing the penalty,” Aguero tweeted after the game. “It was a bad decision and I take full responsibility.”

Still, he wasn’t all bad.

3. Peter Crouch

Oh, Crouchy.

This was Crouchy at the height of his robot-dancing fame, Crouchy at his ‘but look at his England record’ best, Crouchy at his ‘well maybe we don’t need Wayne Rooney or Michael Owen’ level of heroism.

Then it was a reminder that England will always be doomed when it comes to penalties. He still scored a hat-trick though, and we still absolutely love him.

2. Javier Hernandez

Stoppage time. This to win it. This for the hat-trick… Oh, mate.

1. Ademola Lookman

It’s never a good sign when your team-mates are coming out post-match to make clear they haven’t killed you… yet.

“He has apologised, so we will brush it under the carpet and move on,” were the words of Fulham midfielder Harrison Reed after Lookman spurned the chance to earn the Cottagers a crucial draw at West Ham in 2020 with the last kick of the game.

Tom Cairney echoed the sentiment of Reed, but something tells us some stronger language may have been used after this.

READ NEXT: Five of the craziest excuses for missing a penalty: Grass, refs, absent partners…

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