Panna Football: One-on-One Nutmeg

By: Bob | August 3rd, 2007

In some places it is called a nutmeg. In Jamaica it is called salad. It Hungary it means to give a player an apron. In any language it is embarrassing. Panna, as the Dutch and others call it, is the act of rolling a football through the legs of an opposing defender. An act of humiliation or a triumph depending on which end of the act you are on.

In recent years Panna football has taken on a new meaning. It is part of the growing street football scene that includes freestylers and the like. Panna is especially popular in Holland where tournaments are held to determine who is the king of the nutmeg. The rules vary from tournament to tournament but the basic gist is that players go at it one-on-one in a confined space for a set amount of time. The first player to successfully nutmeg his opponent wins.

A variation of this odd game is called Nutmeg Rush, which sounds like it was invented by a 10-year-old determined to pick on his little brother. According to Wikipedia, “This is played by any number of players, and can be done with anything that can be kicked. The aim is to score a nutmeg on an opposing player, and when this happens, they are open game for punches and kicks for ten seconds. This can be played on teams, with more than one ball, and a scoring system can also be attached.”

Alas, there is no compelling video of Nutmeg Rush but the clip below is from a Swoosh-sponsored Panna tournament in Holland.