The Role Of Double Reverse Psychology In Soccer Penalty Kicks And Shootouts

Soccer is not merely a sport; it is a sport that requires various skills in other disciplines, such as physics, economics, and psychology. While several researches show the psychological aspect of soccer, it is seldom discussed how double reverse psychology works in soccer, especially during penalty kicks and shootouts.

For several decades, soccer has been a topic of interest among sports scientists and researchers. This is because, aside from being the most popular sports in the world, soccer is not purely about athleticism. To ensure success in this game, strategizing, such as the double reverse psychology technique, is of utmost importance.

This is most evident when penalty kicks and shootouts come into play.

Key to the success of the goalkeeper and the kicker in this decisive event of soccer is their decision-making. While the kicker aims to shoot the ball to a direction that is not guarded by the goalkeeper, the goalkeeper, on the other hand, aims to predict the kick direction and defend it. Using the double reverse psychology is one technique to make the right decision. As a zero-sum game, soccer penalty kicks and shootouts involve a simultaneous decision-making of two players in which their success is related as an inverted reciprocity. This means that the success of one player is automatically the loss of the opponent. The only incident when neither of the players succeeds is when the kicker shoots a miss.

There are three choices for both the goalkeeper and the kicker. A right-footed kicker chooses to kick the ball to the natural left side of the goal, to the unnatural right, or just

shoot directly to the center. In like manner, a right-handed goalkeeper chooses dive to the natural left side of the goal, to the unnatural right, or just stay put in the center.

However, following the double reverse psychology technique, what matters is not merely what kick and dive direction is the best. The way this technique works in poker is exactly the same as how it works in penalty kicks and shootouts. A professional poker player declares his card on purpose to trick the opponent to believing that a poker player will not honestly declare his card.

In like manner, goalkeepers and kickers can feign the opponent by giving an advance cue. For a goalkeeper, he can intentionally show a body language that he will dive to the left. The kicker will think that the goalkeeper is just pretending and he will actually dive to the right. The kicker will then shoot the ball to the left. The tricky goalkeeper, who expected this reaction from the kicker, will go on with this dive to the left and will successfully save the shot. A tricky kicker can also show a body language that he will kick to the left. A tricked goalkeeper will assume that the kicker is intending to kick to the right. Then, tricked goalkeeper will dive to the right while the tricky kicker will actually kick to the left and successfully make a goal.

This is how double reverse psychology works in soccer penalty kicks and shootouts.



Article Written By Conviron Pucate Altatis

There are many things that I love. Films, documentaries, music and mixed martial arts are among them and I love writing about them. I hope you love reading about them, too.

Last updated on 27-07-2016 2K 0

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