"Putting the ball on the spot, you're on a bit of a knife-edge between success and failure. You don't want to let people down — the fans, your team-mates and family. I carried that burden throughout my playing career. I now encourage my son — who's playing at Northampton — to express himself and fully enjoy it all because, looking back, I did worry about things a lot, and of course I did as I got the ball at Old Trafford that day."
"Having said that, as I took a breath before running up to take it, I was very confident. Actually, it was weird. I'd always thought that day would come — that moment. I'd always thought I would take a vital penalty on a big stage and there I was. I was nervous, but knew what I was doing. There was no shred of doubt I was going to smash it. 'Hit it clean' was all I was thinking. That's what I did."
"The result didn't go our way, but I wasn't left with heartbreak because it was such an incredible occasion that will go down in the club's history. It would have been incredible to get to Wembley — if not for the ref we would have done. Overall it was an amazing occasion and it's nice to be part of a club's historic moment."
Sean Dyche is the Nottingham Forest manager with a meme-friendly, no-nonsense public image. He recalls a 1997 FA Cup semi-final penalty for Chesterfield against Middlesbrough as a defining moment that combined intense pressure with confidence. He describes feeling a burden to not let fans, team-mates and family down, carrying that burden throughout his playing career. He encourages his son, who plays at Northampton, to express himself and enjoy football rather than worry. He remembers taking a breath before the run-up, thinking 'Hit it clean,' executing decisively, and viewing the occasion as historically significant despite the defeat and referee frustration.
Read at www.fourfourtwo.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]