Football is a universal language around the world. Be it in South America, Oceania, Asia or Europe it brings about people from various walks of life. Each clique has their own style of play and most have a variation of their own rules. But football is also filled with life lessons. Here are 5 Football Life Lessons:-
- One mistake does not make the entire game. Pick yourself up and do better.
In a game, you’re expected to focus for 90mins. Sometimes we make mistakes at the start of the game, other times at the end. The take away is to not let these mistakes affect your game. A missed chance or a late tackle in the early minutes of the game should be disregarded and instead focus on the next opportunity. Being hung up on that mistake during the game will affect your performance. You see players always trying to make up for their errors, even at the professional level. As is with life, given any opportunity, always try your best and focus on the entire game. You’ll make errors here and there, which with experience you will learn to do better at the next opportunity.
2. You have only one shot at life, rarely is there a chance for a do-over.
In football – every game is different, just as it is in life. Every match brings a new set of challenges that each player has to face as individuals and as a team. It is the same for you. As a staff of an organization, each day brings about new challenges but when everyone works together for a goal, it’ll bring rewards or even minimize errors. Every big project presents an opportunity for everyone to join hands and achieve a common goal. Whilst we each have our own styles, we should all work together to help the team to its best resolution.
3. When you try your best but you don’t succeed.
We’ve seen so many that when you work hard as a team, success is always around. Look at any title winning side and you can see this. But sometimes, you can all perform your best, but luck isn’t on your side. Lionel Messi, widely regarded as arguably the best footballer ever, has lost a total of 10 finals!
But he doesn’t give up, he proceeds to carry the mantle for his club and country when they need it. It happens in life and setbacks should not hold you back.
4. Talent without dedication amounts to nothing. Dedication with no talent might amount to something.
There are so many talented players who have not hit the heights that they should have had. Balotelli, Ravel Morrison, Anderson and even arguably Ronaldinho. They all had the talents to hit heights greater than they achieved, but for their own personal demons – be it love of food, difficult background or a love for a certain lifestyle – they didn’t. On the flip side, dedication and hardwork without as much talent might bring you to great success, albeit at a harder route. Gary Neville, Fillipo Inzaghi, Carles Puyol to name a few are players who do not have as much talent as their more renowed counterparts but yet achieve so much. As in life, with anything, ones has to have the dedication and discipline to master their strengths. Without it, you’d likely end up as the forgotten ones.
5. Never take things too personal. Take the good, release the bad.
Whilst this is easier said than done, it is an important skill to pick up. In games, your opponent will sometimes tap into the dark arts and play mind games with you. This could be a cheeky grab of your butt, a smartass comment or even the downright dirty of giving your crown jewels a light tap. On top of that, in the heat of the game, your team mates might lose their cool at you.
The best thing to do is to take it in good spirits and be focused on the message rather than the tone. If an opponent tries to psych you, it just means they find you a threat. If your team mate gives you a dressing down, you should work on it to help the team as a whole. Whatever happens – what happens on the pitch, stays on the pitch. In life, for most instances, raise the matter on the spot. Discuss it with solid points, but never take it personally. Most times we are unable to see our blind spots as people have. However, sometimes people might not understand the situation and we either make them understand via a medium (a gaffer aka a boss) or we bring them into our difficulties (ask your winger to drop back and see for himself for a few minutes).
Written by: Baz
