A player goes down in the box and the referee points to the spot. Sounds familiar? It happens way too often in the world of football for you to not recall it.
In FIFA 14, when you are on the right end of such a situation, you need a bankable player to take the kick and make the opportunity count. After all, a penalty kick is a battle of wits and who better to take it than the ones who master the art of it.
Therefore, to make things easy for you, we have compiled a list of top five penalty kick takers in the game. If you have any of the following players in your team, you are more or less sorted.
No matter what people say, experience always counts. And there is no one who possesses more experience of such pressure situations than Francesco Totti.
The 36-year-old, who also happens to be an AS Roma legend, has a knack for scoring penalties.
In FIFA 14, the Italian veteran’s penalty taking abilities have been rated at 90. The striker also has a 5-star-rated weak foot, which means that he is comfortable in taking the shot from either of his feet, and can slot the ball in every corner of the goal.
Shot power of 90 only adds the cherry at the top. After he is done with the kick, the goalkeeper is bound to have sleepless nights.
The Southampton star is the number four entry on this list. Rickie Lambert is quite an asset to have when it comes to penalty kicks.
31-year-old’s penalty taking abilities are rated at 91 in FIFA 14. Also, he is the only Englishman on this list. If you want a cheap-yet-reliable penalty kick taker in your team, then Rickie Lambert is your man.
He possesses a 4-star-rated weak foot, which means that he is quite capable of scoring on either side of the goalkeeper.
However, besides the penalties, he will not be much of a help in a star studded squad as all of his other ratings are quite, average.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Much travelled Swede takes the number three spot on our list of top penalty takers in FIFA 14.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, also at the age of 31, has an impressive OVR of 89, which means that he is one of the most reliable strikers in the game.
His penalty taking abilities are rated at 91 and his shot power is an impressive 93. If he gets the chance to slot the ball past the goalkeeper, rest assured, he will take it with a smile on his lips.
Signing him might not be as hard as you think, because of the abundance of strikers Paris Saint-Germain have at their disposal. His 5-star skill moves mean that he can actually help you win a penalty in the first place.
There are only a few better at penalty kicks that Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and one of them is former Barcelona man David Villa.
Atletico Madrid man’s penalty taking abilities have been rated at an astonishing 92 in the game.
Even though it might not look like it, Villa possesses the fine technique that is required to slot the ball home, one way or the other.
With his weak foot rated 4-star, he can place the ball where the keeper is unable to get a touch.
David Villa is the right mix of age, experience and skill. A reliable head when you absolutely need to score.
The dynamic Italian striker tops our list of best penalty takers in FIFA 14.
Mario Balotelli’s penalty taking abilities are rated at an astounding 95, which makes sense as he hardly puts a foot wrong while taking penalties. Out of all the penalties he has taken, he has only not scored once, which was recently against Pepe Reina. Therefore, such high rating is justified.
If Balotelli is the one taking the penalty, you can start celebrating even before his foot touches the ball. Such is his finesse when things come down to the spot.
The AC Milan striker has an OVR of 84, and at the age of 23, he has plenty of time to develop. He has the potential to be a top signing for your club, however, the tactics should suit his style of play.
However, if this signing backfires, you will be left wondering, ‘Why always me?’