Penalties - You're On Son - What A Call

HAS any football manager ever made a braver call than Luis Van Gaal did on Sunday night - when he sent-on Toni Krul simply for the penalty shoot-out.

 

A place in the World Cup semi-final at stake and, with seconds remaining, he takes off the goalkeeper who has just kept his side in the competition with a fantastic blocking save, and sends on the guy who is - by squad number anyway, his number three goalkeeper.

 

Another well-known Scottish actor might have slipped into character and said, for us all: "I do not believe it".

 

But, Van Gaal did it and, it worked, as the giant Krul dominated the Costa Rican penalty-takers to emerge as the hero of the night.

 

If I was a Manchester United fan, I'd be rushing to buy my season ticket - next season should be fun. If I was a Manchester United player, I'd be worried, this guy will brook no nonsense, but, will demand the Reds get back to the top. I'd be similarly worried if I was another English Premiership manager. The guy has balls of steel.

 

 

 

OK he still is, what he has always been - a thrawn, greetin-faced wee ynaff. He dives far-too-much, he's got the kind of face you'd never get tired putting on the end of a Glasgow Kiss, but, Robben can play.

 

I don't think any player in this World Cup - Messi, Neymar, Rodriguez, Muller, Van Persie, has been chopped down as often as Robben. Sure, when it happens he does his two-and-a-half sideways somersault, with pike; screams like a female porn star, or a top woman tennis player, then he gets up and makes exactly the same surging run - to be chopped down again.

 

When the ball goes out to Robben, I am thrust back to my younger days, when the ball going wide to Willie Henderson, or Jinky, to my first winged hero, wee Billy Muir at Kilmarnock, or Davie Wilson or Bud Johnston, or Bobby Lennox, or, the great Gordon Smith, whom I saw in his two post-Hibs cameos at Hearts and Dundee; or, the finest wingers I ever saw in the flesh, the late Sir Tom Finney and George Best - forced a roar of anticipation from the terraces - it's primal.

 

Wingers who could beat men at  pace got crowds going - Robben is a throw-back, long may he wreak havoc.

 

 

 

A FINAL word on that penalty shoot-out. I had a cousin who played professionally, got to sit on the bench for Scotland, but was shamefully, never capped. He was a goalie; not so hot on crosses, but a superb reflex keeper, who, with his English club, built-up a great reputation as a penalty saver. When he retired, he had saved over 50% of the spot kicks he had faced.

 

He always reckoned I, who never got past the juniors, was a better reflex keeper. Mind you, I was even more of a "Dracula" keeper than him - which was strange for, when I switched to rugby, I was our club's go-to line-out jumper when the ball had to be won.

 

Any way, I was nae bad at stoppping penalties, and it was great to realise, during last night's shoot-out, that I could still call the kick. I knew where every penalty was going.

 

Had Jim'll Fix It been around when I was growing-up in the 1950s, I'd have been looking for him to fix-it for me to face a Johnny Hubbard penalty.

 

Wee Hubbie, still hale and hearty, living in Prestwick in his ninth decade, was Scotland's Penalty King. He took 68 penalties for Rangers, scoring 65 of them, Davie Walker of Airdrie, Bert Slater of Falkirk and Jimmy Brown of Kilmarnock saved three of the kicks, the other 65 were scored.

 

I'd have loved to have taken him on - maybe, after a wee afternoon session in the Wee Windaes, we can get it together at long last.

 

The best I ever saw at calling penalties, however, was Harry Coles, the former Kelburne and Scotland hockey goalkeeper. Harry had the uncanny knack of knowing where the penalty flick was going before the taker did.

 

Believe you me, the odds in a penalty shoot-out in hockey are more-skewed in favour of the taker than in football. Harry was a magician.

 

 

 

I SOMETIMES feel, this World Cup has been fixed for an Argentine v Brazil final, in which case, I fancy the Germans, now Neymar and Silva the skipper are out of the Brazil team for the semi-final, might do their legtendary party-pooper act.

 

Neymar has gone, but, Messi is still there, although I still cannot believe he couldn't convert that one-v-one late on in the Belgian game; see, he's human after all.

 

But, his weight of pass is stunning, his close control fantastic. He's class.

 

And, what about that Huigan goal? That's instinctive striking. Actually, it was the sort of goal Kris Boyd has, since his re-birth, been capable of scoring. There might be hope for Scotland yet.