++ [ originally posted by G_O_A_T ] ++
Anticipation is more than luck. I watched this TV show about a University in Liverpool that tried to figure out a "calculation" or smth like that to where the penalty taker would shoot. They found out you can see how he's gonna shoot by the way his standing foot is positioned before he shoots. It the toes are angeled to the left, he's gonna shoot left, and if thea're pointing to the right he's gonna shoot right. And it is true most of the time. If a player tried to point his toes to the left side of the goal and to shoot right, he'd probably injure his knee severely.
That's pure BS. If you want to stop a penaalty, you have to be moving before he even strikes the ball, you would not have time to look how his toes are. Furthermore, it is very easy to point your toe left and shoot right, you just use the outside of your foot. There is no way to tell, with professional football player, which way they are going. Even if you could, you could never tell if they are going ot hit it hard or soft, high or low, short or wide. Their are too many variables.
Stopping penalties for a keeper has to do with three things:
1. Reaction speed-some extremely gifted individuals can actually just react quickly enough to stop most penalties, but most professional keepers can't do it
2. Reach-to reach the shots which are in the upper 90, or hit side netting, you have to have long arms, that is one reason why Brad Friedel is so good at penalties.
3. Psycology-to psych out the striker is to defeat him before he shoots.
It has nothing to do with luck, but is much more complicated then which way his toes point.