The Art Of War- The 2014 World Cup Epic Match Between Spain And Netherlands Written By Bayo Adeyinka 2 Kings 13: 15-17 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the kings hands. And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. The Group B Opening Match between defending champions Spain and 2010 World Cup finalist Netherlands was a football war. The wound inflicted by Spain four years ago was still very fresh and yet again, they were up in arms against their arch-rival. No one could have predicted the score line from the ensuing battle but Netherlands put 5 goals past Spain while Spain could only reply once. What parallels and life lessons can we draw from this epic match? Read on.... 1. Fly In The Air Would-be champions must learn how to fly as much as walk on the ground. Take a risk. Do something that is unusual. You are not super man but you have super potential. Meet the ball in full flight and use your head. Many have failed because they fail to use their head. You stand the risk of not connecting with the ball but what manner of man will refuse to take a risk when his team is down by a goal? Sensational things happen in awkward moments. You are down but with a single opportunity, you can resuscitate the dream again. As the captain of your own destiny, people are waiting for you because their destinies are tied to you. Just like Robin Van Persie, the captain of the team took his chance with that flying volley header sequel to a cross from Daley Blind, take your chance also. Do you know that that Van Persies first goal was his ONLY touch on the ball in the opposition half throughout the first half? All you need is just one single touch. That is the power of one. One chance, one touch, one goal. People who miss their chances in life get punished for it. When you take a risk, you leave your Iker Casillas frozen as he rues that moment when the ball sails over him. That Van Persie goal was not only sublime, its one goal you can watch over and over again. When you want to get even, do it with class and panache. 2. Take Advantage of Your Enemys Confusion In the 64th minute, Sneijder sent a free kick across the face of goal which Casillas failed to deal with properly even as Van Persie collided with him. In the ensuing confusion, De Vrij was able to sneak in the ball by heading down on his own foot in a maze of legs and into the post. Look for that tricky moment when your enemy refuses to deal with an issue and take advantage of it. All is fair in war and football is war by other means. Use confusion to your advantage. Confusion paralyses and immobilizes so prey on it. Confusion precedes breakthrough so watch out for it. Dont avoid confusion- rather thrive in it. 3. When You Pull The Trigger, Dont Stop Until Youre Sure The Enemy Is Completely Routed Netherlands put 5 goals past Spain. That was the worst defeat ever suffered by any defending champion at the World Cup. It was not just a defeat, it was a humiliation. When you have your hands on the neck of your enemy, dont have mercy on him. Whatever you dont kill now may kill you later. In 2 Kings 13, Elisha prophetically asked the King of Israel to draw out arrows and shoot. It was a demonstration of the victory that God will give them over the Syrians. Look at verses 18 & 19- And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. When you draw your weapon, dont let it go until it cleaves to your hand. Netherlands did not relax until victory was a foregone conclusion. Dont ever give the opposition a chance for a comeback. Put the game beyond them. Tiki taka is dead- bury it. As Colonel Tim Collins stated in his great speech on the Eve of the battle during the war in Iraq, The enemy should be in no doubt that we are his nemesis and that we are bringing about his rightful destruction. There are many regional commanders who have stains on their souls and they are stoking the fires of hell for Saddam. He and his forces will be destroyed by this coalition for what they have done. As they die they will know their deeds have brought them to this place. Show them no pity. 4. Be Quick To Spot The Enemys Mistake If you keep shooting, chances are the opposition will make a slip. For Van Persies second goal, it was entirely Casillass fault. While trying to control the ball, the well respected goalkeeper made a grave mistake and Van Persie latched on to the ball and scored to his disbelief. Be quick to take advantage of the enemys slip. Convert their mistakes to your success. As a goal poacher, you must have your eyes open. Be quick to spot opportunities. When opportunities come, you must be well positioned to take advantage of it. In life, positioning is everything. When you are in the right position, you walk in the flow of favour. When you are in the wrong position, life moves against you. Be nimble enough to surge forward. No one may be able to help you as you stay on the front line but the only helping hand you need is at the end of your own arm. Stretch out your leg and toe-poke the ball into the net. It doesnt have to be a beauty of a goal but any goal is good enough. 5. War Is About Guts and Blood And Not Statistics Spain had better ball possession than Netherlands (64%-36%), more passes attempted (618-339) and more passes completed (540-276). Spain started with 7 players who played at the 2010 World Cup while Netherlands started with 6 players just making their debut. Every single member of Spains World Cup squad played in the UEFA Champions League in 2013-14 — but that didnt really matter. Spain had a great assortment of players on their bench with the likes of Cazorla, Mata, Fabregas, Koke, Pedro, Torres and Villa all in reserve- but it was a day pedigree would be disgraced. Up till that moment, Casillas was just within 40 minutes of Walter Zengas record of keeping a clean sheet 517 World Cup minutes in a row- but instead he conceded 5 goals. War is not about numbers neither is it about pedigree. The army with the largest troop may not win the battle. Victory is not about numbers but about strategy. Victory is about courage. The courage to face the opposition headlong and challenge them for victory 6. Dont Just Defeat Opposition, Make A Mockery Of Them Arjen Robben made a mockery of Spains back four before rounding up Casillas as he rolled the ball into the net. Dont just defeat opposition, make a mockery of them. The look on Iker Casillas face after that Robben goal said it all. With jaws wide open and a look of disbelief, Casillas cut a very pitiful picture. He had never conceded 5 goals in a single match before. Just four years ago, he won the Golden Gloves as he was awarded the best goalkeeper of the tournament. After the match, he said, This is the worst performance of my career. Xabi Alonso said, This is the worst defeat of my career. It is difficult because this was a resounding failure. It was Spains heaviest World Cup defeat in 64 years. And it was done with Netherlands making a mockery of Spain. When David flung that lone stone with his sling at the head of Goliath, he was not content with the giant falling down dead. He stood over the slain giant and used his own sword to cut off Goliaths head. He held the head of Goliath as he made mockery of the man who made mockery of the God of Israel. Revenge is a dish best served cold. It was sweet revenge for Netherlands who lost by a lone goal to Spain at the last World Cup. What a match! (Have you bought your copy of Champions Football Devotional Written By Bayo Adeyinka & Aleele Paago? Copies now available at the following places: 1. Laterna Bookstores, Oko-Awo Close, Victoria Island, Lagos. 2. Mr Ajayi-Ope Olatunde Phillips, NuStreams Events Centre, Iyaganku GRA, Ibadan 3. Pastor-Oluwatosin Olunuga, Rccg JesusAssembly Zonal Hqtrs, Kuto Road, Isabo, Abeokuta). bayoadeyinka
Posted on: Sat, 14 Jun 2014 13:58:51 +0000
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