Talking a little time off from my normal rants, I want to discuss an important part of soccer.
Positivity.
It has always amazed me how the power of positive thinking can alter a soccer game. I would describe myself as a positive player and always try to stay positive on the pitch. It is heartbreaking to see what negativity can do to a player or club.
Looking at it professionally, Arsenal has lost their Champions League spot due to negativity. When William Gallas, their captain at the time, went into a negative tirade and started ridiculing his teammates and management the team took a serious hit. Their captain created a negative atmosphere and it showed.
Looking at Management, Rafa Benitez has shown how negativity can hurt your club and players. His famous rant against Sir Alex Ferguson, while completely true, cast a negative light on Liverpool. Every mistake the club made was amplified by the press.
His management of players showed how negativity can affect an individual’s performance. Benitez never communicated with Robbie Keane and didn’t even tell him about being sidelined for the Everton and Chelsea games. A lack of trust and faith puts nothing but doubt in a players mind. The biggest part of a striker’s job is to create something out of nothing, which is impossible when their mind is filled with doubt.
On an amateur level, it is amazing how positivity and negativity can enter a player’s mind. During my game last Saturday, we played an inferior team and dominated the game. Yet, we only managed to win by one goal due to their positivity.
We quickly went up by 2 goals and controlled the first half, only to have them score because of luck. A player took a shot from far outside the box and the wind pulled it into the goal. If the wind wasn’t as strong as it was it would have been impossible, yet they got a goal. The domination no longer mattered; they had hope on their side.
Suddenly, they played with renewed vigor. Challenging every ball and playing a more attacking style of soccer. Twenty minutes into the second half we took our 15th shot on goal and scored, making it 3-1. We had it in the bag and everyone, even the Referee, knew it was over. But it wasn’t over yet.
Five minutes until the final whistle they had a little extra help. A ball that was out was headed back in by one of their players. The Referee then said, in an uncaring manner:
“Eh, just play it.”
Which lead to a fantastic run that cost us a goal. The score was now 3-2 and they were full of positivity, while we were full of negativity. An uneven game suddenly became the hardest five minutes we have faced all season. We ended up pulling it out, but they played better because they could see the light at the end of the tunnel. What we saw was something completely different. A game that was thrown into chance because of an obvious and terrible decision by the Referee. His pity almost cost us two points in our league table. We prevailed, but no player on our team left the field with a smile on their face. The other team felt good that they mounted a decent comeback and were congratulating each other.
They think they can take us next time we play.
I look forward to slaughtering them.
Positivity can make inferior teams win games. Positivity can alter a player’s ability and is fundamental to every winning team in the world. If you are finding yourself negative on the pitch, it’s time to alter your mindset. Positive people win games.
