Shoot-out records: the long and the short of it

Gerónimo Rulli was the hero for Villarreal in the UEFA Europa League final, saving the decisive spot kick from opposite number David De Gea, but did you know that the 21 successful penalties in Gdańsk equalled a UEFA competition record?

We look back at the history and crunch the numbers surrounding the ultimate test of nerves: the penalty shoot-out.

Origin

• FIFA adopted the shoot-out on 27 June 1970, as proposed by Israel Football Association (IFA) president Michael Almog after seeing his national team lose a 1968 Olympic quarter-final on the drawing of lots.

First

• The first shoot-out in UEFA competition came on 30 September 1970 when Budapest Honvéd beat Aberdeen 5-4 in the European Cup Winners' Cup first round.

• That November, Everton eliminated Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-3 by the same method in the European Cup second round.

Epics

• Longest in UEFA competition: The 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship semi-final between the Netherlands and England had 32 attempts before the Dutch hosts prevailed 13-12 in the longest shoot-out in any UEFA competition.

• Most spot kicks scored in a UEFA club competition shoot-out: Villarreal's 11-10 triumph over Manchester United in the 2021 UEFA Europa League final matched the score when Latvia's Skonto overcame Olimpija Ljubljana of Slovenia 11-10 in the 1993/94 UEFA Champions League preliminary round.

• Most consecutive penalties scored: The 21 successive conversions in Gdańsk fell short of the 32 in a Turkish Cup last-16 tie between Galatasaray and Gençlerbirliği on 28 November 1996, a record for a top-level shoot-out. Galatasaray substitute İlyas Kahraman missed their 17th before Gençlerbirliği converted to triumph 17-16.

Galatasaray goalkeeper Hayrettin Demirbaş put away his own kick but let in all 17 he faced, despite Fatih Terim shouting at him to open his hands when diving for the ball. Hayrettin's opposite number Kubilay Aydın was overheard saying to him during the drama, "it's a disgrace for both of us – man, at least save one" and "let this finish".

• Longest shoot-out: Also in 1996, the French Cup fifth-round tie between Obernai and Wittelsheim went to penalties but was halted by bad light with the score at 15-15 after 20 kicks each. Under competition regulations, lower-division club Obernai progressed after what is considered the longest European shoot-out in a major competition: 40 penalties in all.

There was an even longer shoot-out in the 2004/05 Namibian Cup, KK Palace ousting Civics 17-16 after 48 attempts, while in 2016, SK Batov outlasted FC Fryšták 21-20 after 52 kicks in a Czech fifth-tier match.

Shortest

• The fewest penalties scored in a major shoot-out was on a showpiece occasion, Steaua București edging Barcelona 2-0 in the 1986 European Cup final, with Helmut Duckadam keeping out all four of the Spanish side's attempts.

EURO

• Czechoslovakia overcame West Germany 5-3 with Antonín Panenka's famous chip to win the 1976 UEFA European Championship, the only time the final of the senior competition has gone to penalties. The now-defunct golden goal rule was used in 1996 and 2000.

Czech prowess

• Czechoslovakia, in total, took 14 penalties in major shoot-outs and scored them all, following up the 1976 European final with a 9-8 conquest of Italy for third place in 1980. That is the equal-longest EURO shoot-out along with Germany's 6-5 success over Italy in the 2016 quarter-finals, which also went to the 18th kick.

• The Czech Republic have picked up where their predecessors left off, converting all six to beat France in the 1996 semi-finals, the only senior shoot-out they have contested since the split from Slovakia.

In major UEFA club finals

European Cup final shoot-outs
1984: Liverpool 4-2 Roma
1986: Steaua Bucureşti 2-0 Barcelona
1988: PSV Eindhoven 6-5 Benfica
1991: Crvena zvezda 5-3 Marseille
1996: Juventus 4-2 Ajax
2001: Bayern München 5-4 Valencia
2003: AC Milan 3-2 Juventus
2005: Liverpool 3-2 AC Milan
2008: Manchester United 6-5 Chelsea
2012: Chelsea 4-3 Bayern München
2016: Real Madrid 5-3 Atlético de Madrid

UEFA Cup/Europa League final shoot-outs
1984: Tottenham 4-3 Anderlecht
1988: Leverkusen 3-2 Espanyol
1997: Schalke 4-1 Inter Milan
2000: Galatasaray 4-1 Arsenal
2007: Sevilla 3-1 Espanyol
2014: Sevilla 4-2 Benfica
2021: Villarreal 11-10 Manchester United

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final shoot-outs
1980: Valencia 5-4 Arsenal