Poor Simone Zaza. His elaborate run-up during Italy's penalty shootout defeat against Germany in the Euro 2016 quarter-finals provided plenty of meme-fodder, but is also a textbook example of an effect known as "ironic error".

According to researchers from Bangor University, players consistently miss vital penalties because they make the exact error they are trying to avoid. And ironic errors could could conversely explain why the Germans are typically so good at taking spot kicks.


"A player places the ball on the penalty spot in a tournament like Euro 2016 and tells himself, 'aim left; just don’t hit the left post'. During training or a less important match, they would find the back of the net with ease every time," explains Recep Gorgulu, a researcher of sport psychology, and Tim Woodman, professor and head of the school of sport at the university.

"But this is a high-pressure match – a stadium full of screaming fans and hundreds of millions of viewers around the world watching him take those steps back. And more often than not, the player who misses won't have kicked the ball wide of the post or over the crossbar. He'll have kicked it precisely at the left post. Since this is the thing he set out to not do, we call it the 'ironic error'."

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The pair explained that when the brain seeks to make the body perform in a particular way, it relies on two processes – an operating process and a monitoring process.


The operating process is responsible for identifying all the steps that will let us achieve a desired outcome. "If you are going to take a penalty, this would include taking the usual number of steps back, thinking of the spot where you want to hit the ball, running up, planting your non-striking foot next to the ball, and scoring where you were aiming," added the researchers.

At the same time, a monitoring process is subconsciously at work. "It is like a radar sweep searching for information on what could go wrong, in this case hitting the post," the pair continued. "Once it has identified such risks, it informs the operating process to try harder to find information that will make things go to plan so you can still score the penalty. Both processes work under one control system and operate together as part of a feedback loop."

This system is typically a success and gives us the mental control over what we intend to do. However, in high-pressure situations, such as Euro 2016, the room needed in a player's brain for the operating process to work is "overloaded" by pressure.

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The "I know what to do" operating process competes for limited mental space against the "I'm nervous", anxiety making the former less effective. On the other hand, the monitoring process remains largely unaffected under pressure because it works on a subconscious level and doesn't take up any cognitive space. As a result, when we're under pressure the monitoring process becomes more prevalent.


"When it carries out a sweep for information on what could go wrong under pressure – and here's the irony in all this – it brings what could go wrong into the person's consciousness," said the researchers. "In other words, the very mental process that should help the player not to hit the left post is the very reason that he ends up being more likely to hit the left post. By attempting to avoid the error, the mind is drawn ever closer to focusing on it."

Recent research by the university found that neurotic players are more prone to these so-called "ironic errors", but the most susceptible of players are those who hide their "anxiety" by playing it "cool." This is because their brains become overloaded by statements that limit their behaviour, such as "be cool" and "don't show that you're anxious." The German team, for example, is said to practice a number of these methods and are extremely disciplined when it comes to mental as well as physical strength.

The simplest way to avoid these "ironic errors" is to practice controlling anxiety under pressure with relaxation strategies. A player could use techniques to control breathing; or "progressive muscle relaxation", which involves tensing up a group of muscles as tight as possible and holding them like that for a few seconds. The muscles are then progressively relaxed to their previous state and the player experiences less anxiety as a result.

Another way is to rephrase negative instructions in a positive way. Instead of a player telling himself "don't hit the left post" he should be instructing himself to pick the precise point where he wants the ball to strike the net.

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It will be interesting to see if any players or teams take this advice on board as we head towards the Euro 2016 finale later this month.

How to take the perfect penalty according to science

MBNA recently talked to penalties expert Ben Lyttleton to find out how to take the perfect penalty. Lyttleton, author of Twelve Yards: The Art & Psychology of the Perfect Penalty, has advised clubs and national teams on penalty strategy and agrees a lot of it is in the players’ heads. Here is his advice

1. Win the toss and kick first: The team that kicks first is 60 per cent more likely to go on to win the shoot-out - in part because the conversion rate for penalties taken ‘to stay in the shoot-out’ drops to 62 per cent in major tournaments, while the conversion rate for penalties taken to win the shoot-out rises to 92 per cent.

2. Don't put your best player last: Lyttleton said: “You don't want to lose the shoot-out before your best kicker gets a shot at the goal, which might happen if he is placed fifth. Studies that assigned an ‘importance variable’ to each penalty show the first and fourth penalties have the most significance in terms of affecting the outcome so getting the order right is vital.”


3. Wait for the goalkeeper to move first: Across a number of penalty examples over a long period of time, the numbers show this method is a more successful strategy than blasting the ball regardless of where the goalkeeper goes – though technically it’s harder to pull off.

4. Make the kicker wait: “Studies show that if a goalkeeper makes a penalty taker wait for between 1.7 to 4.5 seconds before the referee blows his whistle, penalty conversion rates drop to 61% in major tournaments.

5. Body language matters: Studies show if a player is successful when the scores are level, and he celebrates with both arms extended out, his team is 82 per cent more likely to go on and win the shoot-out.