Anelka’s dilemma

In the Champions League Final 2008, Manchester United and Chelsea faced off in a dramatic game that ended in a penalty shootout. This was not just riveting soccer, but also fascinating game theory and economics. 

Economist Ignacio Palacios-Huerta had provided Chelsea with an amazing accurate cheat sheet created from a detailed analysis of Manchester United’s history of penalty shots.  

It is absolutely fascinating to read the analysis and the watch the YouTube video of the shootout. Check it out: 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1568584253/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link
Search for ‘Ignacio Palacios-Huerta‘ and read pages 124-127’ish.

Excerpt:


 
 
And the punchline: 


 
Here’s a YouTube video (one of many) of the amazing shoot-out: 
 
If you liked this, you should read the rest of “Soccernomics” by Kuper & Symanski. This is one of the books I’m reading before the South Africa World Cup in just a few months, and it’s quite good. 

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