Harry Kane’s Bundesliga penalty record remains a most impressive accomplishment not worthy of any sort of asterisk. It is nevertheless worth mentioning that Kane has not converted every one of his p...
Harry Kane’s Bundesliga penalty record remains a most impressive accomplishment not worthy of any sort of asterisk. It is nevertheless worth mentioning that Kane has not converted every one of his penalties since moving to German football. In the opening round of Germany’s domestic cup this year, Kane saw a penalty saved in a narrow 2-3 away victory at 3. Liga side SV Wehen Wiesbaden.
In the 76th-minute of the late August DFB Pokal tie, Wiesbaden keeper Florian Stritzel actually made a double save against Kane before keeping the ball out of the back of the net after it ping-ponged back to him.
Kane ultimately redeemed himself, heading home the winning goal at 90+4 to help his team avert extra time. Stritzel still remains the only keeper to have stopped one of Kane’s 29 efforts in a Bayern jersey.
In an interview with Kicker, Stritzel revealed that he ruined the day of many “smart-phone prop bettors” who quickly laid down bets on Kane converting the penalty.
The 31-year-old also spoke on the scene itself and what it’s like to participate in the famous “game theory” side of football.
The matter of football penalties remains a topic that intrigues fans and mathematicians alike.
“People [on social media] wrote that I cost them money,” Stritzel said in the interview. “A lot of it was ‘below the belt’ [abuse].”
Stritzel also revealed that he had a personal conversation with Kane on the pitch during the match. The England national team captain converted against Stritzel earlier in the game. In the 16th-minute Kane (after a brief stutter-step) went for a low effort into the right corner. Stritzel dove left.
“Towards the end of the first half,” Stritzel recalled, “I took advantage of a pause in the action and said ‘That was the perfect penalty for me, you can’t save that.’
“Referee [Daniel Siebert] came back to me and said, ‘He might take a delayed run-up like Lewandowski. Don’t hop off your line too early.’ ,” Stritzel also noted when recollecting the 16th-minute penalty. “Of course, that messes with a keeper’s mind. Then I start thinking about whether he’s going to stop or not.
“I have to admit that he didn’t hit it the way he actually wanted to,” Stritzel said of the 76th-minute penalty save. “The ball wasn’t placed well. Normally, he shoots very close to the post. In that case, it worked out for me.”
Beyond the discussion of what it felt like to face Kane twice from the spot in a single match, Stritzel acknowledged that training and preparation naturally played a role. Stritzel, a former Hamburger SV academy man, is by no means a rookie.
In 11 years as a professional in Germany’s lower divisions, Stritzel has worked 157 matches in the German second, third, and fourth divisions.
Together with goalkeeping coach Mohamed Amsif, Stritzel had tried to “simulate Kane’s penalty routines” in the days leading up to the Pokal tie.
“Two days before the game, Mo mimicked Kane’s penalties,” Stritzel noted. “He has a very precise inside foot and shoots very sharply. So I prepared myself for precisely for that ball, five to ten times in a row.“
“As far as I’m concerned, he can convert every penalty again now,” Stritzel concluded with a laugh.
Category: General Sports
