Putting players on the spot

OVER the last few weeks, we’ve seen two aberrations. First, in the Under-17 European Championships in Slovenia, Germany lost a penalty shoot-out. Worse, they lost it to the Dutch — a country with a dreadful record from 12 yards.

Second, in the Champions League final last month, a seasoned German international in Bastien Schweinsteiger actually missed one. That only followed Lukas Podolski seeing one saved in normal time against Serbia in their 2010 World Cup match.

Quite simply, such sights would have been unthinkable over most of the last three decades. Because, throughout that time, the evidence suggests the Germans did perfect the art. Indeed, the stats say they did.