"Shoots anyway": cheeky penalty note causes a stir

A cheeky penalty cheat sheet from goalkeeper Marius Funk caused a stir after the East German clash between Energie Cottbus and Erzgebirge Aue. The Energie keeper had noted down the preferences of potential Aue penalty takers on his drinking bottle. The last name on the list was that of defender Ryan Malone with the note "shoots anyway".

The MagentaSport cameras had captured the bottle during a 15-minute stoppage in play due to a storm on the pitch. The streaming service posted the scene on Instagram and Malone commented: "Thank you" - and showed a grinning smiley face with a bead of sweat.

Nine out of ten penalties converted

Perhaps it was a joke between former team-mates. Funk had scored six others before Malone, and the two played together at FC Ingolstadt from 2023 to 2025. Malone never took a penalty in a competitive match, neither in Aue nor in Ingolstadt. The 33-year-old American has taken ten penalties in his career to date, converting nine of them. Most of them in the service of Lok Leipzig.

Lastly, the note was not used in the 2:1 win at Cottbus, there was no penalty. Instead, King Manu and Axel Borgmann turned Aue's lead into a win through Marcel Bär. While Aue are deep in the relegation battle, Cottbus are top of the table.

Memories of Lehmann

It is not uncommon for goalkeepers to have cheat sheets about penalty takers. The most famous tip-off is certainly the piece of paper from the 2006 World Cup quarter-final between Germany and Argentina. Goalkeeping coach Andreas Köpke had noted down the Argentinians' habits on it, and substitute Oliver Kahn handed the note to keeper Jens Lehmann before the penalty shoot-out.

Lehmann took the note out of his sock for the Argentinians to see. But it was not helpful, he said afterwards. Nevertheless, Germany progressed to the semi-finals and the note is now in the "Haus der Geschichte" in Bonn.