Mission: Masterclass – Dimitar Berbatov and Ben Foster on the art of penalties
Tuesday, April 18, 2023
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"As strong as the player who's taking the penalty is, he is still a human," says Dimitar Berbatov as he and ex-Manchester United team-mate Ben Foster consider the psychology of penalties.
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"I'm watching your knees, basically," Dimitar Berbatov tells Ben Foster as the Bulgaria goalscoring great explains how he managed to consistently confound goalkeepers from the penalty spot.
In this piece presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, three-time UEFA Champions League finalist Berbatov and his erstwhile Manchester United team-mate Foster challenge each other to a mini shoot-out and discuss what it takes to be a master from the spot.
In a 20-year playing career, Berbatov proved to be a cool finisher for the likes of CSKA-Sofia, Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham, Fulham and Monaco, as well as Man United. At 42, Bulgaria's joint all-time record international scorer has not forgotten any of his tricks. "I hate those stutters," says former England goalkeeper Foster of Berbatov's staccato run-up.
"The goalkeeper hates that," Berbatov explains. "Simple as that. You hating it makes you probably a bit like insecure."
For Berbatov, the key to a good penalty is a balance between striking intention and awareness of the target, and of course where the goalkeeper is. "It's not even about the power sometimes," he explains. "You're just watching where the goalkeeper goes."
A goalkeeper's understanding of the way a striker's mind works has led to all sorts of subtle mind games before a spot kick is taken: movement on the line, stretches, lunges, dances. They have become familiar tactics but, for Berbatov, they remain effective.
"The goalkeeper will try to do some funny stuff," he says, adding: "As strong as the player who's taking the penalty is, he is still a human. He sees you filling the goal and it's, like, 'Oh, my God, Oh, my God. Maybe I hit it strong, maybe I stay true to my way of thinking penalties.' So mind games are good."
Takers, meanwhile, need to recognise their limits and, if they know they are not in the right place mentally, be brave enough to hand the spot-kick responsibility to a team-mate.
"Maybe the striker is not [focused] enough, maybe he had a bad game, maybe he missed a couple of chances and then he's not feeling confident enough," Berbatov says. "There's no shame in that, you know, and then someone else will step up and score it."
Watch the video above to see whether Berbatov gets the better of Foster from the spot.