Vintage

Czech footballer Antonin Panenka, whose cheeky winning penalty technique against Germany in the 1976 European Championship has been copied by some of the game's greatest players, is in intensive care at a hospital, his former club said on Wednesday.

Panenka, 71, led the Czechoslovak national team to their only international title after he lofted the decisive penalty past a surprised and sprawling German goalkeeper Sepp Maier in the shoot-out of the final.

It was one of football's most successful midfield partnerships: on the one hand, the snarling, combative Gennaro Gattuso, and on the other, the thoughtful, elegant, unflappable Andrea Pirlo.

The pair formed the backbone of a memorable AC Milan team for more than a decade and helped Italy win the 2006 World Cup.

Embed from Getty Images

Kazuyoshi Miura, the 53-year-old forward for J.League side Yokohama FC, began his career 34 years ago and is still going strong, wondering if he "can stay alive" without the sport after retiring.

Not that the man known fondly in Japan as 'King Kazu' is considering retiring anytime soon, despite being 20 years older than most of his team mates.