Ancelotti knows all about penalty competitions, having watched his team outshoot Juventus in the 2003 final. Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez maintains his players won’t practise spot-kicks ahead of the game, subscribing to the belief that nothing can prepare a player for such a pressure-packed moment.
This is like a basketball coach telling his players not to practice their free throws. It’s astounding how international soccer is decades behind US sports in some ways, from training and fitness technology to basic statistical analysis.
The team that practices its penalties usually wins. Just ask the English or the Dutch. I had the weakest shot on by far on my Italian team a few years ago, but I always won our penalty shot contests. The more you have it down to a routine, the easier it is, especially in pressure situations.
Anyhow, if it comes down to penalties, Milan will win it. It is, however, a dumb way to end a tie. My suggestion is to pull one player from each team after 90 minutes, then pull an additional player every five minutes. You’ll get a winner before it gets down to five-on-five.