Jerzy Dudek has admitted he doesn’t understand why the International Football Association Board are clamping down on gamesmanship from goalkeepers when facing penalties.
Following the antics of the likes of Emiliano Martinez on his way to winning the World Cup in Qatar last year, the IFAB have opted to bring in a series of rule changes ahead of next season which clearly state what a goalkeeper can and can’t do when defending a spot-kick from 12 yards.
As laid out in the IFAB's law changes 2023/24 report, Law 14 'The penalty kick' states: "Clarification that the goalkeeper must not behave in a manner that fails to show respect for the game and the opponent, i.e. by unfairly distracting the kicker."
READ MORE: Liverpool Legends player 'ratings' vs Celtic as Ragnar Klavan incredible and Steven Gerrard lively
READ MORE: It's about time Liverpool's rivals faced the truth about their obsession with Steven Gerrard
Further clarification on the amended rule states: "The defending goalkeeper must remain on the goal line, facing the kicker, between the goalposts, without touching the goalposts, crossbar or goal net, until the ball is kicked. The goalkeeper must not behave in a way that unfairly distracts the kicker, e.g. delay the taking of the kick or touch the goalposts, crossbar or goal net."
If such rules had been in place back in 2005, it would have been bad news for Liverpool and for Dudek after the Polish goalkeeper famously did his best to put off AC Milan players in the Reds’ penalty shootout win. Such tactics included ‘spaghetti legs’, prancing along his goal-line, and then coming forward off his line.
Serginho would sky AC MIlan’s first penalty, while Dudek would save from both Andrea Pirlo and Andriy Shevchenko as Liverpool won the European Cup for a fifth time in Istanbul.
And speaking ahead of appearing for Liverpool Legends against Celtic, Dudek shared his bemusement when reacting to the rule changes that would ban such antics,
“Not anymore? I don’t understand why,” he said in an exclusive interview with the ECHO. “The keeper needs to move!
“I think they change every year to block, but the keepers respond well to new rules all the time. You see how many penalties the keepers are stopping now, at the World Cup for example, it’s amazing. Very good work!”
Dudek’s gamesmanship was Istanbul was famously reminiscent of Bruce Grobbelaar’s own ‘spaghetti legs’ when Liverpool beat AS Roma when winning the European Cup on penalties in 1984. Meanwhile, it was Reds legend Jamie Carragher who encouraged the Pole to do his best to distract the Italians.
Yet while such behaviour admitted looked off the cuff at the time, the shot-stopper has revealed just how much homework he did on AC Milan’s potential penalty-takers in the days leading up to the 2005 Champions League final.
“I just used my thoughts on how to stop the penalties, it was great fun,” he said. “I did a lot of homework to save.
“I watched maybe 100 penalties from AC Milan players, back to the Champions League final they played against Juventus in Manchester. I saw them all more or less.
“I had an idea (where they would go) and we were working very hard with the goalkeeper coach, Jose Ochtorena. More or less you have an idea how the players love to take a penalty. It helps when you have to block them.
“I was then inspired by Carragher. He ran to me before the penalties and said to put the pressure on them a little bit.
“I didn’t really know what he meant but I said okay and started to play a little game with them. Passing the ball to them, watching it and their eyes. I saw they were all coming under big pressure.
“It’s always bigger pressure on the penalty-taker than on the goalkeeper. I was using that. I saw player by player coming, not really full of confidence. That’s normal, it’s a Champions League final you know. And we got the win.”
AC Milan legend Pirlo would later admit he even considered retirement after losing in Istanbul, having ended up on the losing side despite leading 3-0 at half-time, and was far from complimentary about Dudek in his 2013 autobiography.
“I thought about quitting because, after Istanbul, nothing made sense anymore,” he wrote. "The 2005 Champions League final simply suffocated me.
“To most people’s mind, the reason we lost on penalties was Jerzy Dudek - that jackass of a dancer who took the mickey out of us by swaying about on his line, and then rubbed salt into the wounds by saving our spot-kicks…
“I could hardly sleep and even when I did drop off, I awoke to a grim thought: I’m disgusting. I can’t play anymore. I went to bed with Dudek and all his Liverpool team-mates.”
Dudek would chuckle when asked about Pirlo’s assessment of him, before insisting that he never ‘took the mickey’ out of the AC Milan players and was only focussed on winning the European Cup.
“Yeah, he said I’m a stupid someone?” the Pole asked before having the full quote read to him. “Right now I can only smile. But I never took the mickey out of anyone.
“I was dead serious, let’s say. Maybe it looks like I was dancing, moving around the goal, but I never did it to disrespect someone. It looks funny but I never did it to take the mickey. I did it to help get the win.”
READ NEXT
Marcel Desailly's 'eyes light up' when he watches Liverpool man whose 'time is now'
Curtis Jones shines with brilliant goal and assist as Andy Robertson sends reminder
Steven Gerrard snub as defender fumes and Celtic boss teased for outburst
'Nervous' Steven Gerrard knew what was going to happen when he played for Liverpool legends
Manchester United, Arsenal and other rivals predict Liverpool's shock final Premier League position
