It takes a lot of confidence to step up and take a penalty but as the Japanese Super Cup shootout between Vissel Kobe and Yokohama descended into farce, players would have been forgiven for opting out.
After the first four penalties were converted and the score finely poised at 2-2, nobody inside the stadium could have anticipated the drop off in quality that was to follow.
The following nine penalties were all missed, ramping up the drama as it went into sudden death before Yokohama finally put an end to the madness to win the shoot-out 3-2, after 14 efforts between them.
Yokohama took the first kick and showed confidence to get the shootout underway, firing high into the top left corner with the goalkeeper at full stretch in the opposite direction.
Former Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta was first up for Vissel Kobe and he kept his drive low into the bottom corner to level at one apiece. So far, so good.
But the next NINE efforts were all missed, including former Barca & Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen firing not so handsomely over the bar, leaving him with his head in his hands.
One side did eventually come out on top when Vissel Kobe's Japanese international Hotaru Yamaguchi scored his effort to win the shootout 3-2 and crown his side Super Cup champions.