BK, you're on. $1000, DN has to score at least 1 of 5 standard penalty kicks. Personally I doubt it will happen but if it does. The Camel any good for escrow ? Happy to go with any mod really.

I'm not going to argue about this all day but people who talk about the keeper guessing are way off. Keepers have to guess against pro strikers because if they go for power the keeper can't afford to wait and see where it goes. Reina will not have to guess against DN.

I don't think this is a lock (as I may have implied early on) but I like my chances.

That has nothing to do with skill, thats all about nerves

wtf, since when was slide tackling not allowed?

idiot

go slide about on some ice

hatin' cos football is the most popular sport on earth

i'd estimate in ONE weekend more people around the world go to watch a football match than a years worth of baseball/hockey/american football matches

No I'm not American, I'm English (where football was invented). I have not once said soccer in this thread. Please direct m to where I mentioned the word soccer or stfu. I have also played football at an amateur level. And if you're an ex semi-pro pics of trophies etc or gtfo!

Reina is the best goalkeeper in the world at saving penalties. His save from Bobby Zamora's penalty in the FA cup final a few years ago was hilariously good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LD7s...eature=related - 5mins 30

I like Reina's side of this bet alot.

I played high school soccer and we were lucky enough to have a keeper coach who had played at the professional level. Our coach played for Ghana's national team and also played for a club in Germany. End of the season we would do penalty kick drills in preparation for our playoffs; even after being well out of his prime he didn't need to guess what side any of us were shooting. No one had the power+accuracy to make it an almost automatic goal like you see on T.V. That' not to say we didn't score, a well placed shot is very difficult to save, but I bet DN fails miserably at this challenge. I wouldn't be surprised if 3/5 shots weren't even on frame.

Because the source is The Sun.

The percentage success rate of penalties in shootouts in the World Cup is 71.2%. The success rate of each penalty kick changes throughout the competition:

* First kick 86.6%
* Second kick 81.7%
* Third kick 79.3%
* Fourth kick 72.5%
* Fifth kick 80%
* ‘Sudden death’ kicks 64.3%

The lower score in sudden death is probably due to increased pressure, and drop in skill level between the top five players choosen.

For everyone saying this is easy for DN, what percentage do you think he scores? Is he half as likely to score as one of the sudden-death penalty takers in the world cup?

Welsh, what f'ing suprise

Bonus for a Panenka shot imo.

(btw I'm guessing the real question isn't if the speed of a pro hitting the ball is under/overrated, but actually, how hard/precise a total novice is and if he would stand a chance in this bet. And how much his chances will improve with little practice).

It's not even if the goalkeeper can stop all of them. A lot of penalties actually are totally over/aside/on the post/etcetera.

Even for a pro it's pretty tough to get a perfect penalty in, they either have to place it perfectly in the corners, which usually is unstoppable if it has the right speed. The only thing DN has going for him, he won't have to deal with the psychological pressure that a lot of pros are having when they have to score one in a big game. The money is peanuts and I doubt it is being held in a packed stadium

This is what pros can do without pressure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLrxVPlZLMg

This is what can happen with even the best pro under pressure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUMoHq0ywVU

This happens when a pro tries to get fancy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6LqnUlYgmw

This is the way to execute that one properly (the original Panenka):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd1Hr96IenI

LOL fail on every level (particularly the edit)

Has no-one yet worked out that some shots are simply un-saveable? A goalkeeper who is 6foot tall cannot reach all parts of the goal, even with the benefit of an edge. All DN has to do is practice firing the ball into the postage stamp corner of the goal. No goalkeeper in the world can save it if it's out of reach.

Lev Yashin could not save a penalty taken by a ****in chimp if it's placed well enough.

If DN wants this, it's a lock

I think Negreanu has the edge with the bet

Any moderately athletic person should be able to put in 1/5 penalty shots with enough practice (an hr a day for a week probably fine), idk whether Negreanu played soccer as a kid of what not before but I'm going to assume he has some experience to take this challenge

If the bet was to make 2/5 shots this would be much closer

I have no idea how athletic he is or how good is his technique, but if he doesnt score once, its really sad. If he just closed his eyes and kicked the hardest in the general direction of the goal, he should score at least once

Also, your penalty kick analysis of penalties on the WC is completely irrelevant.

No way. Some people play soccer recreationally for years and never develop any extra strength in their shots.

Then watch the video on the top, the penalty was PERFECT and he still saved it!

And you wanna bet on that? I am willing to bet on the outcome if it's happening, would be kinda cool if DN could confirm and even name dates.