It is 50 years since Antonin Panenka won the European Championship for Czechoslovakia with the most audacious penalty ever taken. His signature chip wasn’t instantly eponymous. A search of the British newspaper archives shows that it was barely mentioned until Francesco Totti dusted it off for the internet generation at Euro 2000.It was at least another decade before Panenka was commonly used as a noun, and it did not have its own Wikipedia page until 2014, but in 2026 every football fan has an idea of what it means. The 50th anniversary is the perfect time to remember 50 of the most famous – and infamous – attempts.A Panenka is in the eye of the beholder. Ben Lyttleton, doyen of penalties and author of the superb Twelve Yards, asked the man himself what constituted a true Panenka. Their criteria is strict, based on the line of the ball, its trajectory and where it hits the net. But that disqualifies, among others, Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final (“This penalty is the obvious misuse of the Panenka classification!”), so we’ve used a looser definition. If the ball was kissed rather than kicked, the penalty is eligible. Rob SmythThe man himself, pictured earlier this year. Photograph: Björn Steinz/The GuardianAntonin Panenka, 1976Czechoslovakia 2-2 West Germany (5-3 pens)This one needs no introduction. RSAntonin Panenka, 1979Czechoslovakia 2-0 FranceThe next high-profile Panenka came almost three years after Belgrade, when he fooled the France keeper Dominique Dropsy with a sensual chip in a vital European Championship qualifier. Czechoslovakia ultimately pipped an emerging France – Michel Platini et al – and finished third at Euro 80. RSDiego Maradona, 1984Napoli trainingMost of Diego Maradona’s penalties were high-wire acts, Panenkas in spirit, with the ball pointedly passed nowhere near the corner to ensure maximum vaccination. We can’t find any examples of him taking an actual Panenka in a professional game, so we’re including one he took in training at Napoli. Two reasons: one, it’s Maradona; and two, the arc of his penalty shouldn’t be possible. But then we’d already seen him do it in open play. RSEric Cantona, 1989Bordeaux 1-1 Beauvais (3-4 pens)In February 1989, Eric Cantona was famed more for attitude than ability, having served bans for a tackle of comic-book violence, insulting the France coach, and greeting a friendly substitution by blootering the ball into crowd and tossing his shirt. So Marseille loaned him to Bordeaux and, when a cup game against lower-division Beauvais went to penalties, he went last. Juggling his way to the spot, he tried a Panenka, but the effort held up in the wind before landing in a puddle, allowing the keeper, who’d gone the wrong way, to wander over and pick it up, confirming the upset. Daniel HarrisGianluca Vialli, 1990Monaco 2-2 SampdoriaIn the 20th century, certainly in England, a Panenka was generally referred to as a “cheeky chip”. It was also a favourite of a cheeky chap. Gianluca Vialli scored several for Sampdoria, often under extreme pressure: against Genoa in the Scudetto-winning season of 1990-91, and twice during Samp’s Cup Winners’ Cup triumph of 1989-90. The first was against Borussia Dortmund in the last 16, the second in the first leg of the semi-final against Arsène Wenger’s Monaco. Vialli scored two goals in four minutes that night, then two in three when Sampdoria beat Anderlecht 2-0 in the final. RSMichal Bilek, 1990Czechoslovakia 5-1 USAIt’s neat that another Czech player was the first to try a Panenka at a World Cup, even if the circumstances were completely different. Czechoslovakia were 4-1 up in a group game against the USA when Michal Bilek, who had already scored one orthodox penalty, tried to pay tribute to 1976. He fluffed it. After making a simple save, the USA keeper Tony Meola barked: “Get that shit outta here!” RSGary Lineker, 1992Nottingham Forest 1-1 TottenhamNobody ever talks about the Panenkas that Gary Lineker scored. There were at least three for Tottenham, and we’re pretty sure he’s the first serial Panenka-er in English football. The first completed a hat-trick on live TV – a big deal back in 1990 – and led to a brief post-match discussion in which only one of Elton Welsby and Glenn Hoddle knew about the Euro 76 final. Lineker also scored “a nifty little Panenka”, as he put it, in a Rumbelows Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest. This one was particularly sweet – the keeper was Mark Crossley, a penalty-saving expert who had denied Lineker from the spot in the previous season’s FA Cup final. RSGary Lineker, 1992England 1-1 BrazilA kick remembered for comedic reasons, largely through Micah Richards and Alan Shearer chuckling about it every few months on their podcast. But at the time this was a moment of pathos and heartbreak, as Lineker passed up his best, if not his last, chance to equal Bobby Charlton’s all-time England goal record. Jonathan LiewWith a share of England’s goalscoring record for the taking, Gary Lineker dinks tamely into the arms of the Brazil goalkeeper Carlos. Illustration: Mark Leech/Offside/Getty ImagesEric Cantona, 1994Manchester United 1-1 Newcastle United (5-6 pens)In May 1994, Eric Cantona was untouchable, having inspired Manchester United to a league title then a double. In the FA Cup final, he’d gently rolled two penalties into the same corner of the net, Chelsea’s Dmitri Kharine diving the wrong way as if compelled by the shamanic power of Gallic flair. But in a shootout against Newcastle at that summer’s illustrious Ibrox International Challenge Trophy, the success of his previous Panenka in 1989 persuaded him to try another. Pavel Srnicek obligingly dived out of the way only for the kick to sail over the bar as United lost 6-5. DHDjalminha, 1995Guarani 2-1 InternacionalBrazil’s Djalminha, the maverick’s maverick, is best remembered for his signature rainbow flick, so it’s no surprise he was partial to a rainbow kick from the penalty spot. The first of many was scored against Sergio Goycoechea, whose elastic penalty saves had taken Argentina to the final of Italia 90. “I noticed that he always jumped early and committed to a corner,” said Djalminha, “so I thought that was the moment to try the chip.” It quickly became tried and trusted. RSDwight Yorke, 1996Sheffield United 0-1 Aston VillaDwight Yorke was so sick of Mark Bosnich saving his penalties in training, he tried something completely different. It worked, so he promised to do it for real the next time Aston Villa were given a spot-kick. That was met with ridicule, but Yorke was true to his word and settled an FA Cup tie at Bramall Lane with a goal that changed his life. “Suddenly,” said Yorke in Born to Score, “the football world was very aware of this cheeky young buck who had dared to execute such an outrageous spot-kick. I definitely detected an increased interest in me after that match.” RSGianluca Vialli, 1996Chelsea 2-4 WimbledonThere’s no Internet Panenka Database (IPDb), which makes it impossible to say categorically who did what when. But Vialli’s consolation Panenka, at the end of a game in which Chelsea were thrashed by a rampant Wimbledon, may be the first of the Premier League era. Neil Sullivan, who had been beaten from the halfway line by a very different kind of chip earlier in the season, came tantalisingly close to saving it. RSDwight Yorke, 1998Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal“If the penalty taker has the bottle to do that, good luck to him,” said David Seaman, who was Panenka-ed on the last day of the 1997-98 season. “There isn’t much a goalie can do except look pretty stupid when it goes in.” Or hold their position, which Seaman did when Yorke took another penalty against him nine months later in an epic league match between Manchester United and Arsenal. His bluff called, Yorke sidefooted wide. RSJohn Eyre, 1999Torquay 0-1 Hull CityIf only there was a transcript of the great Neville Southall’s internal monologue as this piece of effrontery floated gently past him. RSFrancesco Totti, 2000Netherlands 0-0 Italy (1-3 pens)In their Euro 2000 semi-final with the co-hosts, Italy put on a defensive masterclass while down to 10 men. In the inevitable shootout, Frank de Boer was denied by Francesco Toldo and Jaap Stam blasted his kick into orbit. Stam was immediately followed by Francesco Totti, whose falling leaf penalty foxed Edwin van der Sar and had the Dutch lurching towards despair. It also introduced the Panenka to a new generation. John BrewinFrancesco Totti brings the Panenka into the 21st century. Illustration: Henri Szwarc/Bongarts/Getty ImagesMixu Paatelainen, 2001Hibernian 0-0 HeartsA last-minute penalty to win an Edinburgh derby is the stuff of dreams – and nightmares. Mixu Paatelainen only took it because Hibs’ usual taker, Russell Latapy, had gone awol two days earlier. After scoring a hat-trick against Hearts earlier in the season, Paatelainen probably thought he could do anything. As his chipped effort sailed over the bar, he was disabused of the notion. RSThierry Henry, 2003Arsenal 3-2 NewcastleFive days after the Battle of Old Trafford, Arsenal kickstarted their Invincible season with a ding-dong win over Bobby Robson’s Newcastle. The winner was teased softly down the middle by Henry. Maybe it was an unspoken message of defiance that Arsenal would continue to do things their own way. Maybe it meant nothing. Or maybe he was just trolling Ruud van Nistelrooy. RSThierry Henry went full va-va-voom for his winning penalty against Newcastle. Illustration: Jamie McDonald/Getty ImagesMickaël Landreau, 2004Nantes 1-1 Sochaux (4-5 pens)For all the spot-kicks these keepers face, surely they’d understand the right and wrong way to disguise a Panenka. Not poor Mickaël Landreau. He had the chanceto secure the 2004 Coupe de la Ligue final for Nantes, but his headlong dash failed to give his lob the requisite power. Sochaux ultimately flipped the result and won the cup. Jeff RueterLiam Lawrence, 2004Huddersfield 0-0 Mansfield (4-1 pens)Liam Lawrence scored 12 penalties, one short of Francis Lee’s English league record, to help Mansfield to the Third Division playoff final in 2003-04. When that game wheezed to a penalty competition, Lawrence was standing on the halfway line with his teammate Bobby Hassell (“a proper angry little fella”). On the Under the Cosh podcast, Lawrence remembered their exchange.