Tag Archive for 'mentalità'

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Mourinho winning mind

Lead the men - “Football for me is a human science, above all else.”

The coach is a global leader - “A coach has to be everything: a tactical, motivator, leader, methodologist, psychologist.” “A teacher at the university told me ‘a coach who knows only football is not a top level. Every coach knows football, the difference lies in other areas. He was a teacher of philosophy. I got the message.”

Football is global - “I do not do physical work. I defend the globalization of work. I do not know where it starts the physical part and end the psychological and tactical side.”

Customize communication – Adapting communication to each individual it is the most difficult task of a coach and he has to know how to challenge the players’ emotions.

Know the men - “There are many ways to become a great manager … but above all I think the hardest thing is to lead men with different cultures, minds and quality.” At Inter conceded a holiday to Wesley Sneijder who was exhausted. “All the other coaches have spoken only of training,” said Sneijder. “He sent me to the beach. So I went to Ibiza for three days. When I came back, I was willing to kill and die for him.”

Men are chosen - He believes in a 24-team players because this shows that every one of them has been chosen and will play a significant role for the team even if they are not famous.

Stimulate the players to understand -He stresses the tactical work, the coach is not a ‘transmitter’ and the team is not a ‘receiver’. He uses the method of ‘guided discovery’; the players reveal how to play based on the information they receive, from practical situations that will lead them on a certain path. ”

Constant focus on the mind - He is focused on the emotional , cognitive and interpersonal players’ dimensions. In this way the players, instead to follow the instructions as the pupils at school, develop the play ideas led by this mental approach to the game.

Teamwork and collective awareness - “I work with the players on a daily basis and I know those who are committed to the maximum are able to do well, while those that are not working properly are not able to play well. You play as you work, and I can say it straight to each player.

Working with intensity - Short training sessions and the presence of the ball encourage players to work at their maximum level of motivation and energy. He constantly pay attention to the mistakes and provoking the players if they make mistakes repeatedly.

If Roger Federer & Valentino Rossi show that talent is ageless

“Yeah, I’m still here,” sings Vasco Rossi and the same they say Valentino Rossi and Roger Federer. Both came second, proving once again to be worth the first and second place in the world ranking. Many of them have given up for dead on many occasions, stating that they did not know winning no more, they were old or the physical was not  holding them more.

Probably these objection for a while time were true, but any athlete goes through moments like these, often the champions exceed them by changing something in the way they train and live competitions. Most likely the other sink, because they use these negative moments as an excuse to withdraw, because of something they consider superior to them. People often focus their comments on their age, as if it was an essential limit, a characteristic to which we must surrender.

I heard to say: “Federer is old and no longer able to hold that little exchange, otherwise he loses the point.” But how many would like to have this trouble just to be second in the world? They also say that because of this threshold has had to change how you play. True, but why interpret this change as a negative connotation? And instead to emphasize his determination to change to stay on the top of the world ranking. The same it was said until last year for Valentino Rossi: “Why does he not withdraw rather than collect disappointing results?”

The chorus of “why he/she does not abandon” has been told also about other sport champions. In Italy Giovanni Pellielo, in shooting, after three medals in three different Olympics, in London, at age 42, he did not enter the finals and also here the same voices, he has not noticed them, he has trained and the following year again won the world championship. Valentina Vezzali, 41, fencer, she won everything repeatedly, and she wants to go to Rio. Not to mention Andrea Pirlo and Gigi Buffon and the dream they are living in these days with Juventus. We have to evaluate these men and women for their performances but not to the age. Above all we have to learn from them, because they are an example of fighting mentality in the face of difficulty and humility in dealing with the daily sacrifices, that are needed to return to excel in their sports, without being sure to succeed in this venture.

Juventus new winning mind

Before the fury, then the technique. It seems to me that this is the evolution, in last years, has had the mentality of Juventus. Undisputed champions like Buffon and Pirlo, among others, had already won a lot and shown to have this approach to football, but a winning team is a lot more of their individual personalities and it had to prove that all possess and bring to the pitch this mentality. The work of Conte had the merit of bringing the fury in the game, that  physical and mental intensity coming before the technique, the team had to show for ninety minutes each game. Allegri has completed this team, which had won three consecutive Italian championships, changing the play ssystem and bringing more attention to the technical work, and on how necessary it’s to continually improve it. Today we talk about what it has been unexpectedly reached the final of the Champions League, but in sports there are no miracles. The team has, however, been shown to have exceeded the psychological limitations that prevented it from playing in order to achieve this goal. This results comes from a great training but also from a winning condition, at least in Italy, and on this confidence it has been possible to build, obstacle after obstacle, this willingness to go beyond the limits. Now everything is possible, because history teaches us that David beat Goliath. Juventus goes to Berlin with a joyful attitude, because they are months that it’s pursuing the dream that, day after day, with the hard work and dedication, it has become a reality and this is a significant psychological advantage to better address this last game. Barcelona, ​​super-favorite may run into a false start as Bolt did in the 100m final at the 2011 World Championships, resulting in disqualification. An example of superficial mind approach dictated by feel fated to win. Juventus will serve the enthusiasm accumulated in the last weeks combined with calm, that will enable it to enhance its play, the one taught by Allegri. Certainly Juventus, on its way in the Champions League, was also lucky and this has highlighted another characteristic, typical of the winning teams: to take advantage of favorable conditions. In fact, it won when it had to win and it’s not easy to get this result, because not confident teams often lose these games not thinking, losing their cool when the goal does not come immediately or if the opposing team is showing more difficult to overcome. In these cases, who should win become insecure, while the opponent gains confidence and can overturn the result in its favor, including the disbelief of the favorites. Commitment, total dedication and technique are the key to this success.

Stephen Curry’s mindset, NBA star

  1. Every time I rise up, I have confidence that I’m going to make it.
  2. I’m not the guy who’s afraid of failure. I like to take risks, take the big shot and all that.
  3. I’ve never been afraid of big moments. I get butterflies. I get nervous, but I think those are all good signs that I’m ready for the moments.
  4. I can get better. I haven’t reached my ceiling yet on how well I can shoot the basketball.
  5. Being a superstar means you’ve reached your potential, and I don’t think I’ve reached my potential as a basketball player and as a leader yet.
  6. There’s more to life than basketball. The most important thing is your family and taking care of each other and loving each other no matter what.

Roma with poor confidence in its skills

After the game CSKA-Roma I wondered whether to defend the result of 1-0 as did Rome, staying for two-thirds of the second time in its half field is a sign of realism or it’s a demonstration of a mental limit that prevented the team from continuing to do its usual game. Florenzi seems to favor the latter interpretation of the result:  It’s a great insult to us, but we’re almost deserved because we played  differently in the second half. We were all behind and we did not  the hold ball, we are sorry because conceding goals in 15 ” is very sad.

Also interesting is the interpretation of  Francesco Totti who compared the goal did to his team at the last second to a Tyson’s punch. Continuing with the same metaphor, I would say that it is quite obvious that you can not leave for long time the initiative to Tyson because sooner or later comes the knockout punch .

There is a third explanation, Roma played back because the team was not confident about of its physical condition … but it would be very strange not to have this certainty, because adequate physical condition is the basis of the mental confidence to be competitive and successful throughout all the match.

In summary, I believe that Roma should work hard to change this defensive mentality and this lack of belief in itself. First, his coach should avoid such mistakes since he is the boss and he has to transmit to the team the conviction of being able to fight in the same way until the final whistle.

When the goals are decisive in football

The results of a study that I conducted on three Serie A championships showed that the last half hour of play is not only the period in which they are made ​​scored more goals (68% of the total) but it is also the phase where 44.2% of goals are decisive for the final result. In contrast, only 16.3% of decisive goals are carried out in the first half.

In this first day of this football season (still waiting for the today last game ), this data is only partially confirmed. In fact, out of 19 marked, 7 goals are in the period between 61 and 75 minutes and only 1 in the last quarter of the second time. At present these data gives only what it has happened in the first championship day but in the course of the year they will be taken into account, to see if there will be a change in the teams in terms of mentality and physical preparation to reduce the percentage of the decisive goals scored in  the final period of the match, goals that as we approach the end of the game and the physical and mental fatigue are increased are more difficult to recover.

Barcelona without soul

The match of Barcelona versus Milan has been an example of aesthetic exercise, which is the opposite of winning mentality. Barcelona has in fact had a percentage of ball possession that was almost 70%, it’s something of incredible and shows the quality of the team on the field at the same time is absolutely useless. In football win the team who shoots and usually strong teams make more shots in order to have more opportunities. In Champions League the goal is play to win, everything else is a detail. In football, the goal is a rare event not as in basketball or volleyball, where there are points every few seconds. Barcelona, ​​in this case it was a textbook example, because it kept the ball that is the first thing to do but it did not do the second, which is to shoot at goalkeeper. For these reasons it played without soul, it was an aesthetic exercise of talent but has never led to the technical gesture decisive on goal. Perhaps the Spanish team will think  to have done everything right, except for the goal, but it is what separates the winner from the loser. I like the concept of “get the ball, pass the ball,” but it should be aimed at a goal.

Italia vince e convince

L’Italia vince e convince e questa accoppiata è il risultato migliore che ci si poteva aspettare. Prandelli non è solo il ct della squadra ma ha dimostrato di esserne l’allenatore, impostando un gruppo nuovo per mentalità e gioco. Ci ha messo del tempo, un mese, ma in questi casi non ci sono scorciatoie. Dimostra anche che i calciatori hanno avuto un approccio mentale flessibile, disponibile a seguirlo e fiducioso anche quando reti e gioco non venivano come avrebbero dovuto. La squadra è stata determinata per lungo tempo ma non per tutta partita. Ha fatto bene Buffon a arrabbiarsi, perché non si scherza con il fuoco e la partita finisce solo quando lo dice l’arbitro e non quando lo decidono i giocatori. I tedeschi sono anche molto forti e hanno perso per merito nostro ma anche per non avere capito che l’Italia voleva vincere e aveva un sistema per farlo. L’Italia infatti si esalta quando gioca partite decisive e viene data per sfavorita, se non lo capisci probabilmente perdi, perché è molto difficile per i nostri avversari cambiare approccio mentale durante la partita. Sono rimasti sorpresi e si sono impauriti e così è venuto l’uno-due da loro proprio inaspettato.

Winners also losing the match?

Sorry, this entry is only available in Italiano.

Parma footbal change its coach

Nuovo cambio di panchina nel calcio, questa volta tocca a Colomba, Parma, che viene sostituito da Donadoni. Il Parma è una squadra che manca di continuità nell’impegno agonistico. Esemi di questo atteggiamento in partita sono le due vittorie con Udinese e Napoli che dimostrano la capacità di essere competitivi anche con squadre certamente più forti. Altro dato i due pareggi 3-3 contro squadre del proprio livello che rilevano la difficoltà a mantenere un risultato positivo e la fragilità nel sapersi difendere. Quindi mancanza di continuità nella tenuta agonistica e scarsa tenacia e determinazione nel sapersi difendere. Difetti di mentalità che si riverberano sul gioco.