MORAL LESSONS FROM A FOOTBALL MATCH
Meanwhile hope no one missed the match of the season that saw Liverpool lay one hand on the trophy with their 3-2 victory over Man City. Congratulations to all Liverpool fans, the trophy is now theirs to lose. Now that's not really the point. I was chatting with a female friend who happened to be a devoted Liverpool fan and she was just all excited, she went as far as giving me a moral talk from
the match. Amusing but quite educative and interesting. Things females can do when they are excited though. Lol.
I gained a bunch of things from her talk and I just felt like sharing. So in quick itemized run down, here are the points she mentioned. I hope I don't bore you with it.
#1. Take EVERY advantage against an opponent: City were playing with the pressure of catching up and closing the gap, playing on away ground and some key players were either sidelined or managed to play (Aguero & Yaya) and Liverpool quite rightly took advantage of that with the fans getting on their back.
#2. Don't WAIT for the perfect time: Straight from kick off, Liverpool displayed their intent and had no time for the opening pass around and formation gelling and it payed off in the sixth minute. You all know what they say about early goals. Don't you?
#3. Don't be CARELESS: Unnecessarily giving away possession was one thing Liverpool avoided like a plague. Don't lose whatever falls into your possession or you might pay dearly for it.
#4. MENTALITY matters: Liverpool played to win. They didn't play not to lose and just in case you don't know, they are two different things and this got me really thinking cos as a Man United fan, that's how we've played most of our matches this season and we're sitting pretty in seventh place. Mentality really matters.
#5. Know the importance of TEAMWORK: There were a lot of position rotation in the red's squad most especially from Steven Gerrard, Coutinho and Raheem Sterling. Team work is the key to fluidity and effective work pressure distribution.
#6. Know what's at STAKE: knowing what's at stake is always a form of motivation. If we win, one hand is on the cup. If we lose, we might have to try again next season and their motivation payed off from the start of the match to regaining their stride after their momentary loss of concentration.
#7. Go for GLORY: Although Phillipe Countinho (if I got his name correctly) was labelled the man of the match, the match winner for my friend was Sterling. Sometimes when there's no help in sight, don't lose your stride and blame others. Try it on your own. You never can tell what's gonna come out of it. Go for the spectacular. If it doesn't work out, you can always try again and if does, you can become the hero.
#8. Your DELIVERY counts: Through out the ninety five minutes, every single one of Liverpool's corner was a threat. Thanks to the quality of delivery from Gerrard and to reward him for quality delivery, one of them got turned in for skrtel's seventh goal of the season. You may have a good delivery time, don't forget to add quality.
#9. Don't be afraid to CHANGE: Daniel Sturridge was rather wasteful on the day and the manager took no time in getting him off the pitch. Change is the only constant thing so when the need arises, don't be afraid to Change. Pellegrini was afraid to change Toure, Moyes was afraid to change Rooney. The rest is history.
#10. Don't accept being BEATEN: When every other city player played to keep the scoreline acceptable, David Silva fought like a wild cat to get back into the game and Nasri got the message and they both inspired a superb comeback. Don't ever accept defeat when the struggle is not over. Never lose hope.
#11. Avoid being DISTRACTED: For a short period of five minutes, Liverpool battled to maintain their level of concentration and with Silva and Nasri on the pitch, ready to make them pay, it was two goals in five minutes for the men in blue much to the shock and disbelief of the home side, especially goalkeeper Mignolet.
#12. STRATEGIZE: Almost immediately after the comeback, The player every home fan was happy to see on the bench was introduced. Aguero's introduction for Dzeko was an in-play mind game and it almost payed off, with defenders struggling to cope with him and Silva just missing the clear cut chance to put City ahead.
#13. Don't PANIC: For a moment, Liverpool panicked and in truth would've lost the game had they not gotten their acts together. When things take a nose dive turn, panicking could cause destabilization. You could get scared a bit but don't let it show. Make people watching believe you got it under controland get your acts together.
#14. Take RESPONSIBILITY: The manner of Steven Gerrard's play after City's second goal would make one think he was the cause of both goals. He shouldered the responsibility as the captain and rallied his troop to step up their game. A very fantastic reaction that points back to captains leading by example. When you're in a position to lead, take full responsibility.
#15. Avoid ERRORS: Although I argued with my friend that no one is above mistakes but as she quite rightly said, as a professional, you are supposed to be above some level of mistakes. You never can tell how much damage your errors can cause. Liverpool fans should give Vincent Kompany a pat on the back for that belittling error that both gave them all the three points and earned him the flop of the match.
#16. Be at the RIGHT place: I didn't really get this point but I agree Coutinho the match winner was at the right place to capitalize on the unexplainable error. He wasted no time and I mean he didn't even face the goal before taking the shot that left the impressive Joe Hart scrambling to his left hand post.
#17. Take RISKS: The greatest risk in that match was taken by Martin skrtel towards the end of the match. He was off balance and the ball was heading goalwards but he instinctively punched the ball away. That was a risk he was willing to take and the resulting penalty could have cost them the win but thankfully for them, he got away with it. Take risks but avoid unnecessary ones.
#18. Don't SIT BACK: For a moment I thought if it was United, City might probably still equalize with our 'protect-the-lead' sit back attitude. That had cost us a lot of points this season and Liverpool rightly didn't give room for any excess city pressure. Don't sit back.
#19. Be innovative but stick to BASICS: The winning manager sure had the game in his hands and deployed the basic managerial time wasting tactics. Bringing on Nigerian Victor Moses and Brazilian Lucas Pezzini Leiva not for any particular reason but wind down the clock. Not all Basics get old fashioned.
#20. Give room for EMOTIONS: If you get a job done, allow emotions. Those were the tears and the short pep talk the Liverpool captain gave his side just immediately after the final whistle. Don't put up the 'it's nothing' attitude. Allow emotions.
And that's it. I added some myself too but overall, I hope I didn't bore you too much with this quick one. All the best to Madrid and Barca fans on Wednesday night as the Copa del Rey for the 2013/2014 season comes to a scintillating end.
Thanks for reading this up. Have a nice day. :)
Mature Minds Talk.
Nice...!
ReplyDelete