Criticisms
As a way to decide a football match, shoot-outs have been seen variously as a thrilling climax or as an unsatisfactory cop-out.
Paul Doyle describes shoot-outs as "exciting and suspense-filled" and the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final shoot-out as "the perfect way to end a wonderful ... final". Richard Williams compares the spectacle to "a public flogging in the market square".
The result is often seen as a lottery rather than a test of skill; managers Luiz Felipe Scolari and Roberto Donadoni described them as such after their teams had respectively won and lost shoot-outs. Others disagree. Mitch Phillips called it "the ultimate test of nerve and technique." Paul Doyle emphasised the psychological element.
Only a small subset of a footballer's skills is tested by a shoot-out. Ian Thomsen likened deciding the 1994 World Cup by shoot-out to deciding the Masters golf tournament via a minigolf game. The shoot-out is a test of individuals which may be considered inappropriate in a team sport; Sepp Blatter has said "Football is a team sport and penalties is not a team, it is the individual".
Inferior teams are tempted to play for a scoreless draw, calculating that a shoot-out offers their best hope of victory. The 1990 FIFA World Cup was notable for many teams playing defensive football and using time wasting tactics, including Argentina, who scored only 5 goals but reached the final by winning two shootouts. Red Star Belgrade's performance beating Olympique Marseille in the 1991 European Cup Final is often condemned for having "played for penalties" from the kick-off; a tactic coach Ljupko Petrović freely admitted to. On the other hand, the increased opportunity for giant-killing may also be seen as an advantage, increasing the romance of a competition like the FA Cup. Some teams have regarded, or been accused of regarding, a loss on penalties as an honourable result or "no defeat at all."
Read more about this topic: Penalty Shoot-out (association Football)
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