World Cup and the beautiful game By Ayo Oyoze Baje Individuals don’t win,teams do -Sam Walton The ultimate goal of every soccer-loving nation is to win the much-coveted and prestigious World Cup.For the next one month starting from June 12,2014 global attention will be riveted on Brazil,one of soccer’s iconic countries ever.There,the brightest and the best that the football world has to offer will have the veritable platform to showcase their phenomenal skills.They would exhibit such at ball juggling,deft passes,scintillating swerves,mesmerizing dribbles,defending hot shots and eventually to score the vital goals.The salutary aim of course, is to attain fame and fortune and make their countries proud. As usual,old scores will be settled on the field of play.New friendships will be forged as broken fences are mended.More money would be made for individuals, countries and FIFA,the organizing body. For instance, prior to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa,Sepp Blatter,FIFA President revealed that income revenues that accrued from ticket sales and advert placements doubled from that of 2002 edition,even before the first shot was taken. This year’s editionmay not be any different,inspite of series of protests by concerned citizens in Brazil over poor governance. Truth is, the world is simply crazy about soccer whichhas become the opium of the masses.That is football for you. But in more ways than one,some interesting parallels could be drawn between the round leather game and life itself.Like life,it is a battle of brains and brawn.It evokes passion,pleasure and pain,thrills and frills.But more significantly,soccer is a team game.The success a team achieves is always directly proportional to the unfailing factors of hard work,honesty of purpose,understanding,communication skills, commitment and cooperation exhibited by its members. When for instance, football pundits point to Brazil, Spain, Germany and Argentina,one of Nigeria’s opponents as the likely teams to beat(as it was in Korea-Japan,2002 and South Africa,2010) it is all because of the high quality of players and team spirit prevalent amongst the players. However, though Brazil has Neymar, Portugal the skillful Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina the magical Messi,they alone cannot win matches without the avid support of their team mates. A tree,as the wise ones say does not make a forest. As with life too,we must realize that to succeed there should be strict adherence to the rules of the game.The referees are there,more like the security forces to enforce the rule of law.Any player who commits a premeditated attack on his opponent first earns a yellow card as a warning signal.A repeat of such risks a red card that sends him out of the game at hand.That would serve as a clear deterrence to others.Even as the games progress there must be total focus. Members should not be swayed or discouraged by the jeers of the over -zealous crowd when they lose any match or, be overwhelmed by the cheers when they score vital victory over any other team. Like life, there is always the unknown factor-x. Players and countries should therefore,brace up for the unexpected. There would be twists and turns; surprises to send shockwaves down the spine of players,coaches and countries alike.But being prepared for such eventualities would stand them in good stead. Already, the exclusion of soccer stars such as Kaka and Philippe Coutinho (Brazil),Carlos Tevez(Argentina),Landon Donovan(USA)and Samir Nasri(France) from their countries’ squad is generating ripples. While it is inspiring to have heroes who have attained the lofty heights we aspire to reach, we must realize that no two people are ever the same, no matter how hard we try.Nigeria cannot have another Rashidi Yekini,Nwankwo Kanu or J.J.Okocha. But we can identify even more brilliant stars and showcase them to the world through global tournaments such as this.What really matters is continuous improvement on the structures,programmes and processes that threw them up, so as to discover and nurture new talents.That makes the grooming of the Under-21 teams vital.With that,the issue of smooth succession which has remained the bane of our country’s football development would be sorted out. Success is also about creating value as Candice Carpenter, a world-renowned marketer rightly observed.It is about doing something new,something unique and valuable which would solve the problems of mankind. In the light of that, what new ideas and strategies would Stephen Keshi-led coaching crew bring to the global stage to perform much better than our previous outings?These would include discipline, patriotic fervor, youthful energy.And of course,the typical fighting spirit for survival and success of the average Nigerian. Life, like football is give and take. Sometimes you win, at other times you lose. But we should not grieve because of our losses,or that our dreams have not seen the light of day. No! Instead, we learn from our failures and foibles and bear them with equanimity and fortitude. Then march confidently into the future. Afterall,the joy of life is not just about winning but being an active participant in the struggle for success. The greatest of men and women are not those who never faltered but those who with determination, rose stoutly to take their stumbling as their stepping stones to greater heights. As the tournament begins adrenalin will run high, hearts will be broken and pains assuaged.There will be tears of joy and sorrow. New stars will be born and older ones dimmed. That is life for you. Indeed, yours truly believes that God,our all-knowing creator must have inspired the game of football to teach us about the brotherhood of man.For,as long as the 2014 World Cup lasts such man-made challenges as war and terrorism,racism and religious bigotry will take the back burner.So would our differences of creed,colour and political persuasion.Certainly, football fosters full fun,fantasy,freedom,friendship.And fashion too. N.B.This piece is specially dedicated to our Super Eagles team and the Stephen-Keshi-led coaching crew. We pray for their victory and for our world to become a safer and more fruitful place to live in.Ultimately,that is what would make football the beautiful game.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 14:54:53 +0000
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