A quick word on Pirlo's panenka penalty. It was magnificent in many ways, not least because it underlined that he thinks. Pirlo knew that Hart had done his homework, and that the Italian usually goes low, to one side, without a great deal of power. Hart guessed right, so Pirlo dinked it down the middle. It was the potentially the first penalty ever taken by a brain in a major tournament. He also claimed after the game that he did it to unsettle the England takers. Taking a penalty in a European Championship quarter-final while at the same time psyching out your opposition. What a man.
