The Real Madrid captain added to his collection of specialist penalties against Celta Vigo after reading Goal’s exclusive with the Czech legend
Sergio Ramos paid tribute to Antonin Panenka with yet another chipped goal from the penalty spot on Sunday after reading Goal ‘s interview with the Czech legend.
In an exclusive with Goal published on November 9, Panenka, synonymous with the penalty technique that bears his name, suggested that the Real Madrid captain had perfected the routine that helped him go down in history as one of football’s great innovators.
Sources close to Ramos have since confirmed that the World Cup winner read Panenka’s comments and decided to replicate the cheeky feat for a third time in his professional career during his side’s 4-2 win over Celta Vigo as an acknowledgement of the great man’s praise.
The Panenka has been successfully imitated by players such as Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane, and Andrea Pirlo, but, speaking to Goal, the 69-year-old said: “Yeah, he [Ramos] had already done that twice, right? So I guess he could be the best imitator, because he made it more than once.
“People know it about him, and he still makes it, so that is great for him.”
After scoring from the spot Ramos tweeted: “Great win lads! We overcame difficulty and regain difficulty by working together.
He added: “And another to the collection, Antonin.”
The goal was Ramos’s fourth of the season, with all four coming from the penalty spot. Real’s win saw them maintain their 100 per cent record under interim manager Santiago Solari, and moved them within four points of league leaders Barcelona.
In his interview with Goal Panenka admitted that he practiced his audacious penalty for two years before finally unveiling it to clinch victory over West Germany in the final of Euro 1976.
He said: “I just figured that every ‘keeper always jumps to one side, so it could be good to kick it in the middle.
“After every practice I competed with our goalkeeper [Zdenek] Hruska in penalties.
“He was really good, so I was losing a lot of money, chocolates, etc.
“Then I started to use my little trick, and suddenly I was winning often.”
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