Football is a unique sport. Aside from being the world’s most popular sport, the hobby of billions, the obsessions of millions, it is the only sport that offers a deep and complete insight into life itself. Football is a microcosm of life. It offers the full range of the human condition on a small scale. In it you see love that unites, hate which brings hooliganism, jealousy which bring success, success that bring about complacency, laziness which skill potentials, momentary stroke of ill-luck that destroys years and hours of discipline and careful planning, corruption which brings people and organisation into disrepute.
Therefore, it would be a mistake to think that
football is a two-hour time-wasting exercise of obsessed fans watching
twenty-two men chase around a round ball which only contains a trapped air!
Indeed, a careful (and admittedly) intellectual following of football can
broaden your understanding of life and can give you lessons that may change
your life.
Life is not
always fair:
Many
people have a cause-effect view of life that is if this happens then that
should happen. But life is rarely rays out that way. In life, the crooks, the
cynics, the corrupt win while the idealist, the moralist, the sticklers for the
rules lose.
Football
is rife with this pattern; David Luiz is a self-proclaimed Christian. He posts
religious sayings on his Instagram pages and wears shirt with questions. But
after suffering a foul from Rafeal and simulating pain so excellently that the
referee was moved to give Rafael a red card, he dusted himself up and smiled. The
red card stood. 
In 2009, France and The Republic of Ireland were locked in a
play-off battle to determine who will qualify for the 2010 World Cup when
Henry, after appearing in an off-side position handled the ball twice before
passing to William Gallas who scored the winning goal. France of course
qualified. Ireland’s assistant manager said after the match; “When it comes to the crunch, the big teams
always seems to go through”.
In
the same vein, it would be naïve to think that the best and the most
hard-working will always succeed. The best and the most hardworking do not
always succeed in life and they do not always win in football. It is a pretty
common in football to see a team at back in his own half, allow the other team
to sweat it out and control possession, and basically ‘park the bus’ doing nothing for 90 minutes other than to steal a goal and win the game. Chelsea’s ugly win
over a better and hardworking Bayern Munich in the 2012 UEFA Champions league
final comes to mind. In that game, there was no doubt about who played better
and who deserved to win but the better team lost and the rest is history. How
many times have we seen something like this in real life?
Some people
won’t Achieve Greatness Even if They Tried.
Shakespeare
said “some people are born great, some
achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them”. But what the
old Bard failed to add is that some people won’t achieve greatness even if they
tried.
An
example of a person born great in football? Lionel Messi. The level of his
talent is superior to any other person currently playing the game. He scores
goals with ease, dribbles past defender like they are nothing , makes the
complex looks simple. Almost everybody has a Lionel Messi in his life. You
know, that guy who doesn’t sweat as much as you do, doesn’t work hard as much
as you do but still records more success than you do.
And
then some people achieve greatness. Cristiano Ronaldo immediately comes to mind.
This is a guy who, through grit, determination, perseverance transformed
himself scrawny teenager to an absolute specimen of a man from simply a
talented prospect to the best in the world. It would not be a stretch to say
that Cristiano Ronaldo is less talented than Lionel Messi. But look what he
achieved with his talent. In fact, anybody who watches Cristiano Ronaldo simply
for the skill has missed the point entirely. This is a guy who is supposed to
be a role model to everyone from primary school pupils to board room
executives.
What
about the people who have greatness thrust upon them? Pedro Ledesma is an
utterly unexceptional footballer. He can only be considered good at best. But
he is one of the most decorated footballers in the history of the game. He has
won every major honours football has to offer. How did that happen? Pedro
simply had the fortune to be born at the right time and in the right country.
Had he had been born a lot earlier or a lot further than 1987, he would not
have been part of the world-conquering Barcelona team that dominated football
from 2008 to 2012. And if he had been born Swiss he would not have a European
championship medal and a World Cup medal, and of course he may not have been
played for Barcelona. Now imagine if you are born a Rockefeller or a Gate; it
means you automatically becomes the heir to a large fortune, you have
opportunities waiting for you at the asking, you can work your way into the
highest and most important echelons of the society and you can affect the world
on a large scale if you are so inclined. Greatness is thrust upon you.
Now
let’s talk about a person who never achieved greatness even though he tried.
Michael Ballack is a retired German midfielder who was known for his
exceptional passing range, powerful shot, physical strength and commanding
presence in midfield. In 2002 he was selected by Pele as one of FIFA’s 125
Greatest Living Players. He was excellent, clearly. But his achievement never
tallied with his excellence. He has this uncanny misfortune of finishing as
runner-up in major competitions. To be Continue.......
By: Gbenga Samuel
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