Chapter 68: Dominating the Advantage
Stankovic walked back while clapping his hands, signaling the Mallorca fans in the stands. He was pleased, as he had completed the task José had given him.
At that moment, the first Arsenal player to take a penalty stepped up, crossing paths with Stankovic. In a way, the two were almost countrymen. Although Stankovic was Serbian, the player walking past him was Croatian...
The player who passed by was none other than Davor Šuker, the golden boot winner of the World Cup, who had been substituted in during extra time.
Clearly, Wenger had placed him first because of his excellent technique, experience, and the fact that he had only recently come onto the field, so his stamina was not an issue.
In the World Cup two years ago, it was Šuker who had scored twice from the penalty spot in the round of 16, helping Croatia eliminate Romania and reach the quarterfinals. In that match, Croatia had been awarded a penalty, but after the first shot went in, the referee ruled that a player had entered the box early, forcing a retake. Šuker scored again, both times placing the ball in the lower-right corner, showcasing his technical skill and calm demeanor.
Wenger, recognizing Šuker's coolness and experience, had chosen him to take the first penalty. Wenger knew the importance of the first penalty taker.
Though the following penalty takers could try to counter the pressure, if the first penalty was converted, the pressure would shift onto the players after him.
On the sidelines, José sneered. In his view, Šuker's career had peaked two years ago during the World Cup, and since then, his form had significantly declined. It seemed that Eastern European players often had this problem; after they turned thirty, many in the Croatian golden generation began to see their performances drop off dramatically. Šuker was one of them. Other stars like Bokšić, Jarni, Prosinečki, and Boban had also seen their prime years after the World Cup fade. Occasionally, they showed glimpses of greatness, but it was merely the tail end of their past brilliance.
Interestingly, even later Ukrainian star Shevchenko had started his decline around the age of thirty. Few Eastern European players managed to maintain peak performance after that age.
This was when the downside of substituting Bergkamp early showed. The Dutchman had been Arsenal's first-choice set-piece taker, with a high penalty conversion rate. If he had stayed on the field, pairing him with Henry would have provided double insurance. But now, with Bergkamp off the pitch, Wenger had no choice but to rely on Šuker, who, despite his age, had the most experience and the best mentality among the remaining players.
On the other hand, José seemed much wiser in this regard. He had kept Stankovic on the field throughout, despite his lackluster performance, and despite the fact that younger players like Mota and Luke could play left wing. José had kept Stankovic on, fully preparing for the penalty shootout by ensuring there were enough reliable penalty takers.