The former Blues’ skipper infamously missed from 12 yards in the 2008 Champions League final against Manchester United. Terry had the opportunity to win the game for his side, but slipped in treacherous, rain-sodden conditions and skewed his effort wide of the target. The image of the crestfallen Chelsea skipper collapsing to his knees and sobbing in the Moscow rain represents an unforgettable moment. Rooney, who was on the field, revealed he couldn’t believe his former England teammate had missed.
Rooney’s Praise for Terry
Talking to SkyBet, Rooney mocked Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher’s miss in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final shootout before detailing his surprising revelation about Terry. “The only thing I would say is John Terry was one of the best penalty takers I’ve ever seen, honestly, in training. I went off the pitch in the Champions League final, I’m looking at him because I’ve seen him in training with England. I’m watching him walking up and I’m thinking, ‘It’s over’ – thankfully he slipped!”
Rooney on Penalty Technique
Rooney, himself, was a regular penalty taker for both club and country and revealed the secrets behind his fail-safe technique. “I’ve practiced penalties where I’d tell the goalkeeper what way I’m going and do it properly, but it does frustrate you when players come up and try and mess around. I say to my players now, ‘If you’re practicing, do it properly how you’d do it in a game’ and you can do as much practice, but you can’t put in place the stadium, the fans, the pressure of it – obviously it’s completely different when you’re stepping up to what it is on a training pitch.”
England’s Penalty Woes
England’s record in penalty shootouts at major tournaments is notoriously dreadful, with the scars from their most recent heartbreak – defeat in the Euro 2020 final on home soil – still fresh. Rooney’s long-time colleague Gary Neville admitted, “When you go out five out of eight tournaments on penalties, it becomes more than just luck. I recognize now looking back, we used to go out and think, ‘Penalties is a 50-50’, it’s not – it really isn’t. You’ve got to have really good technical players on the pitch.”
Rooney’s insights highlight the complexities of penalty taking, both in training and under the immense pressure of a major tournament.
