The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick

“The Goalie’s Fear of the Eleven-Meter Penalty” (1970) is Handke’s best-known novella about a goalkeeper who let in a goal—one that cracked his life.

Former goalie Josef Bloch, wandering aimlessly around Vienna, meets the ticket seller at a movie theater, stays with her overnight, and in the morning strangles her. After that, he runs off to a small town where, hiding out, through police reports in the newspapers, he keeps track of what’s happening—realizing that his pursuers are getting closer and closer…