Carli Lloyd berbagi tantangan terbesar dengan mengambil penalti: 'Ini bukan penjaga'
“I don’t like the term luck. And that’s why I said you create your own luck. You have the opportunities that come your way. You capitalize, and you use them to your advantage.”
Wise words from U.S. women’s national team legend Carli Lloyd on “Alexi Lalas’ State of the Union Podcast” about one of soccer’s biggest challenges: taking a penalty.
It’s only 12 yards between glory and certain heartbreak, but it can feel like a mile away. It requires that combination of skill, a bit of luck, and plenty of mental toughness.
Penalties were a hot topic at the Women’s Euro. England needed them to beat Sweden in the quarterfinals and then Spain in Sunday’s final. Across the entire tournament, the penalty conversion rate across the tournament was just 55% (28 scored, 51 taken), the lowest on record at either a Women’s Euro or FIFA Women’s World Cup (since 2011).
Which is why Lloyd praised England’s Chloe Kelly, who scored the decisive penalty against Spain.
“She said she knew she was going to make it. And for me, that’s telling,” Lloyd said. “When you step up and you’re confident in making a penalty.”
Lloyd further explained what it took to improve her own penalty-taking skills, spurred by the USWNT falling in the 2011 World Cup final against Japan. And while the U.S. were successful against Brazil in that quarterfinal, PKs ultimately doomed them in the fateful final in Frankfurt.
“I practiced penalties here and there. We would prepare as a team. It was definitely something that we took pride in. We all made ours at that point,” Lloyd said.
“[In the final]Shannon Boxx adalah yang pertama dan dia ketinggalan. Jadi tiba -tiba Anda mulai berpikir, 'Oh nak, dia merindukan.' Saya melangkah, saya rindu. Saya berlayar jauh di atas bar. Tobin Heath merindukan dan kemudian Abby [Wambach] akhirnya membuatnya [before Japan won].
“Dan pada saat itu, saya berkata pada diri saya sendiri: Saya perlu mempersiapkan lebih banyak untuk hukuman karena saya tidak siap. Saya biasanya tidak mengambilnya, jadi saya melakukan upaya sadar setelah sesi pelatihan untuk hanya melakukan penalti sepanjang waktu, 10 sehari setelah sesi pelatihan.”
Di Piala Dunia Wanita 2015, Lloyd kemudian menerapkan rutinitas itu dalam perjalanan ke gelar-terutama di babak 16 kemenangan atas Kolombia di mana AS awalnya melewatkan penalti babak pertama.
“Kami mendapatkan satu menit kemudian dan [Wambach] bangkit dan menyerahkan bola padaku dan aku seperti, 'Oke, aku akan mengambilnya.' Saya melangkah, saya berhasil, dan kemudian saya harus mengambil yang lain di semifinal melawan Jerman. Itu pada saat yang sangat, sangat penting dan saya membuatnya. Saya fokus, dan semuanya sampai pada persiapan saya. “
Itu mungkin pelajaran terbesar ketika Anda menatap kiper saat Anda mencoba mengantisipasi gerakan dan kecenderungan mereka sebelum tembakan itu.
“Itu adalah permainan pikiran dan saya pikir itu pertempuran terbesar,” kata Lloyd. “Ini bukan penjaga, itu di antara telinga Anda sendiri dan apa yang Anda pikirkan. Self-talk positif, rutinitas Anda dan persiapan Anda.”
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