Theyab Awana became an overnight sensation when his backheeled penalty in a friendly between UAE and Lebanon earned universal condemnation for being disrespectful to his opponents – and rightly so.
But the reality is his effort only hit the back of the net because the Lebanese goalkeeper made such a lame effort to save it.
Compare the pathetic penalty by Awana above to the style and grace of Francesco Totti’s brilliance when he tried something different.
There is no comparison. The Italian’s penalty kick was a breathtaking piece of skill – and the big difference is he embarrassed his goalkeeper in the privacy of a training session.
Not in a stadium packed with fans watching a competitive match.
