Tag Archive for 'scudetto'

Why the football manager don’t talk scudetto? Is it a superstition mindset?

Coaches do not like to talk about the Scudetto, they may let it be understood that this is the objective, but immediately afterwards they deny this interpretation with jokes or by shifting the attention to the present and, therefore, to the next match. Sport, in this case soccer, is an activity in which one experiences strong emotions, which must be controlled by smoothing out overly enthusiastic expectations, to avoid them becoming an unsustainable burden for the team. It is no coincidence that the recent matches of the teams that lead the league, Napoli, Inter and Milan, are there to prove it. As soon as they realized that they could take advantage of their opponents, a series of draws arrived that have kept the situation tied. With the exception of Lazio-Napoli, in the other matches, including the previous rounds, the team played with great commitment, but not to lose, certainly not to win.

For teams that have not won the championship for a long time, expectations are the killer of winning performances. Because they easily become a multiplier of anxiety generated by the idea of having to win at all costs. This approach, if not managed effectively leads more easily to lose this opportunity. In other words, if the coach started talking openly about the Scudetto, he would create a state of tension in the team, so that it is better to have only the objective of playing the next game. Moreover, there is another benefit related to this way of thinking: you do not risk being disappointed in a deep way. Losing a game is unpleasant, but the next one allows you to erase this mood right away. If you lose the championship, after dreaming about it, you risk falling into depression and developing a negative idea of the team.

As a result, coaches must work to control their own irrationality and that of the team, understanding that in order to win, it is necessary to stay within every single game and nothing more, so that everything remains limited to 90 minutes. In other teams, instead, since the beginning of the championship you can push the accelerator on the final goal: “Let’s win every game so we’ll win the Scudetto”. This latter philosophy is the usual condition of teams that are used to winning and for whom the objective of their participation in a tournament or championship is to win it. Giampiero Boniperti, president of Juventus, used to say this back in the 1970s: “Winning is the only thing that counts”. We should teach teams and individual players to be happy to live such exciting situations as those faced by those who fight for a great result, the Scudetto. We would have less irrational and superstitious behaviors and we would play with the awareness that by taking risks and showing an exceptional motivation we can reach ambitious goals.

Antonio Conte winning mind

Inter won the Scudetto, many say that its manager, Antonio Conte alone is worth 10 points in the standings. Let’s try to describe the characteristics of his winning mentality.

When Antonio Conte states that “only in Italy we are fixed on the play schema. Football evolves, it depends on how you attack, on what kind of pressure you apply”; he talks of the need to have determination.

The successful person, whatever is his/her field of action, shows a fierce determination in two ways:

  • extraordinary flexibility and ability to work
  • deep awareness of what he/she really wants

On the contrary, today we tend to emphasize more the value of talent, thus reducing the relevance of every other aspect.

Talent + Effort = Skill
Talent emphasizes how quickly you learn when you work hard.

Skill + Effort = Success
Success is what happens when the skills are used with effort.

So, to be successful you need skills and commitment at the highest level and the play schema must support this approach.

The Juventus characteristics

Gianni Mura wrote today that work, humility, sacrifice and sweat were the Juventus’ characteristics, to win the championship for the second consecutive season. He’s right, in fact, there are no special secrets to know what to do to win. As a psychologist I know that concentration, fighting spirit, toughness and sense of group are the psychological dimensions that it needs to develop and maintain. And this happens only when the issues highlighted by Mura are a daily part of the commitment of the players as individuals and as a group. This approach explains why for a coach is not enough to be a good technician but he must also be the commander in chief, who teaches the team to compete to win; to enter in the field with a willingness to fight imposing its mentality to the opponents.