Enrique Mr Cool in heat of pens
LUIS ENRIQUE scorned the accepted wisdom of penalties being a lottery as Spain scraped their way into the semi-finals.
The former Barcelona boss (above) said that it was the ultimate test as he prepared to meet Italy on Tuesday.
England have left no stone unturned in a quest to end their heartache, with manager Gareth Southgate even asking players about their routines before stepping up.
It has almost become a national obsession for the Three Lions after their repeated failures from 12 yards.
But Spain’s head coach took a different approach after extra-time against Switzerland, letting the players decide the running order themselves.
It was by no means convincing – particularly as the shoot-out was won 3-1 – but Enrique did convey a more relaxed attitude.
He said: “People say that penalties are a lottery – but they’re not.
“Everything comes into it, the ability of the players, their ability to deal with pressure, the keepers. There are many factors. It’s impossible to coach that.
“There were six or eight players who could have taken them and they picked who would, based on their confidence and fitness levels.
“Ahead of the shoot-out, I told them to relax and enjoy the moment. It was about the faith we had in the penalty takers and keeper Unai Simon.
“Unai is a specialist. I’ve seen him save lots of penalties with Athletic Bilbao. I’ve seen how he works in training. I told him to stick with his style and put pressure on the taker.
“Honestly, I was completely relaxed.”
Enrique now has to plan for a game against Roberto Mancini’s unbeaten Italians.
He added: “I’ve always said we were one of the eight teams who had a chance of winning the title.
“Now we’re in the last four. It’s fantastic and fills us with a great sense of pride.
“But it would be ridiculous to think that the four semi-finalists aren’t thinking about going one stage further. We’re focused on that, but we know they will be too.”
For Simon, it was a case of redemption after his schoolboy error against Croatia in the previous round left Spain with a mountain to climb.
But they responded to book their place against the Swiss and the 24-year-old keeper was feted by the press in Spain with one headline proclaiming ‘Hands of a saint!’.
Simon said: “It was a feeling of euphoria for me. All of the tension came out.
“It wasn’t fair that we had to go to penalties.
“We should have killed the game off beforehand.
“But when it came to the penalties, we had done some work, looking at the favourite corners that the opposition players use. But for me, it was more about deciding which way to go.
“And now for the semifinals. It’s a reflection of the collective, not of the individuals in our squad that we have got here.”