Panna / Street football

Hello ladies and gentleman, ok for this blog I guess it's mostly for guys...Alright, I'll be more specific, football crazee guys like me!! YEHAA!! Being in cyber with super fast connection, I was surfing delightfully when I stumbled upon this new thingie ( at least for me), called Panna/Streetfootball. Yes, I know that everyone's heard of it before. Don't close the window yet, cos I'll show you something here not many's heard before.


When people think of football (not soccer) they think of a field of green grass with white stripes. Or maybe a dusty pitch in the barrios of Brazil. But there is one kind of terrain that has always stayed in the shadows. The city squares. There, many great players started their career, from Johan Cruijff to Edgar Davids. The game they play there has now got an official name; Panna. Panna is slang for playing the ball through your opponents' legs. This is the most humiliating way of passing your opponent. Panna is all about skills and tricks. Streetplayers traditionally have a very good technique. Because the ground is perfectly flat, you can have great control over the ball. In street football, there are no clubs. You play with whoever is there. This means it's about you and your reputation. And you get that reputation through showing off. The guy with the best tricks gets the most respect. And the really good ones develop their own tricks.



Panna Knockout was born in the streets of the Netherlands: Panna is the Surinam word for "humiliation", which is what you feel when you are "nutmegged" by a player - the ball is passed between your legs.

Nike Netherlands held their Panna Knockout championships as a celebration of street football. The event consists of a 1-on-1 Knockout tournament with matches played in small cages, with very small goalposts. The most goals after 3 minutes win, but a successful Panna automatically wins outright. The tournament started with qualifying rounds to select the best players from the 5 key cities in The Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven and Groningen). The final was played at Paradiso nightclub, Amsterdam, December 20, 2004.

Initially, the game was only held only in the Netherlands, but recently in went international. You could find players from south America, England, and so on coming together to compete to become Panna Champion. Check it out here.





How serious is the game? This is how it is. Because of the intensity of the game, losers actually suffer from PPT, Post Panna Trauma. Funny huh? Not really.
- PTT is a condition that develops after you've been involved with Panna;
- During the trauma you feel intense shame, humiliation or self-disgust;
- For some people PTT develops soon after the game. But, in some cases symptoms develop several months (or even years) afterwards.


But whatever it is, my interest and love for football magnified once I saw the videos of these guys juggling the ball and doing neat tricks which dazzled my eyes. Which also explains why, my personal favorite here, who rose from the ranks of streetfootball, always kept the crowds on the edge of their seat everytime the ball touches his feet whenever he plays.

I wished that someone had introduced football to me earlier in my age. Sighz. HAha. wanna know more? check out here. Makan bola. Minum bola. Semua bola. HAha. Ciaoz.