The £47 Million Kick

It’s suggested that if you add up the prize money, enhanced media rights and the increased value of the squad, winning the Champions League benefits the club to the tune of £110 million. The losers benefit by £63 million – a difference of £47 million. For Chelsea in 2008 and 2012, this came down to a single kick. In 2008, John Terry had the chance to win the cup, but missed his penalty when his non-kicking foot slipped and his shot sliced wide. In 2012, the final would again be decided by the non-kicking foot. When you take a penalty with an instep shot, the direction of the non-kicking foot is a pretty reliable (80%) guide to the direction the shot is going (Franks & Harvey 1997). If it’s a side foot shot, you need to look at the angle of the hips (Williams & Burwitz 1993). David Luiz gave a demonstration of the perfect penalty. A fast run-up made it difficult for the goalkeeper to see which way the non-kicking foot was facing. The shot was hit with such power and placement into the top corner that the goalkeeper could never have saved it anyway. Didier Drogba had a short run up which would have made it easier to spot that his non-kicking foot was facing slightly left, so the ball would go to Manuel Neuer’s right. However, Neuer didn’t spot it, and dived the wrong way. Of course if you’re a Chelsea supporter watching the ball hit the back of the net, the answer to the question “Where was the German?” is “Frankly, who cares?” (B Davies 1988). David Donner