Are football players Game Theorists? – scoring the perfect penalty | with Ben Lyttleton

Game Changer - the game theory podcast

In this episode we talk to Ben Lyttleton about a particular topic in football: how to score the perfect penalty. Ben is an expert on penalties and has gathered a lot of insights on the ‘perfect penalty’ in his book Twelve Yards: The Art & Psychology of the Perfect Penalty. Ben shares that penalties are much more complex than initial Game Theory models would suggest. For a full understanding of penalties gathering the right data and understanding the psychology of the penalties are both critical elements. During our discussion Ben shares many anecdotes from his work with football clubs and teams.

Ben Lyttleton is a British football journalist and author of news articles and books. Our discussion is based on Ben’s book “Twelve Yards: The Art & Psychology of the Perfect Penalty”.