Lionel Messi's panenka against Getafe best ever, says shot-creator Antonin Panenka

Antonin Panenka called Lionel Messi’s attempt the best ever

Imagine you try to replicate something someone created, and your efforts are lauded by the person who originally thought of it! How would you feel? Definitely ecstatic, right? That could be the feeling Lionel Messi might be experiencing after Antonin Panenka, the creator of the “Panenka” penalty, called Messi’s effort against Getafe the best ever.

Panenka, who was the first man to attempt that cheeky lob, scored past Sepp Maier against Germany for Czechoslovakia to win them Euro 1976, called the penalty from Barcelona’s star player against Getafe the best panenka ever successfully taken.

When asked about Messi’s penalty, he said, "I'm happy that players try and do Panenka penalties. I'm also happy that journalists talk about them and that fans enjoy them. The execution of Messi's was the best I have ever seen. Footballers like Ramos, Totti and Zidane have also taken a Panenka penalty. But Messi's is the best of them all."

Among other contemporary players, Zinedine Zidane, Francesco Totti and Andrea Pirlo have all successfully attempted the unique penalty technique in recent years.

Here’s Panenka’s original attempt:

Messi’s version of the “Panenka”