Ego, Cooking & Football, Why They’re All Related
If you like this post, please subscribe to our RSS feed to read our new posts every day.
Specific ingredients are what make a great meal and the same idea applies to a successful football team. One may say that all you need is talented players, but this is a myth that has been busted in recent years and this article explores the issue.
There’s no doubt that talent is something any team needs to become successful. It seems perfectly logical that being more talented than the opposing team is going to play into your hands.
That said, the implication is that a rich football club can just purchase 11 of the world’s best players and sweep every league and tournament in front of them. Some clubs such as Real Madrid and Chelsea have attempted to do just that in recent times.
Contrary to their expectations, the titles did not flow in, and in fact many of them struggled in their own domestic league and disappointed in European tournaments.
Such disappointing performance only begs the question: if talent is not the key to a dominant football team, then what is? I personally believe that the key lies in the players’ egos.
The main drawback about attracting a talented group of players is the amount of egos that arrive with them. Most managers find it extremely difficult to keep everyone in check and as a result, the team suffers.
Some of these teams go on and win some titles but nevertheless, they are considered a failure. The large amount of talented players means that some don’t get to see first-team action, which only creates tension and discontent in the player’s camp.
The best football teams ever to play the game had few egos to worry about. They were all mainly built around one or two main players, who also acted as inspirational leaders for the team.
Numerous examples can be noted such as 1986 Argentinean team led by none other than Maradona while Barcelona’s dominance in the last couple of years was based on the talents of Deco and Ronaldinho.
Nevertheless, most recently, Barcelona have acquired more superstars such as Henry and it’s not surprise that they’ve been struggling on the pitch and off the pitch. Tension has also ensued and as a result Deco has already left the club with Ronaldinho looking to go to AC Milan.
The most dominating football teams in history are essentially built around a small number of so-called superstars. This is what all clubs and managers should be doing with their teams in order to win trophies. While it may seem strange, the fact is that the more talented the team is, the less chance it has of being coherent and victorious on the pitch.
