"Some people think that football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much more important than that." - Bill Shankly
Football encompasses life, death and all that is in between. Its not merely a game. Its a lot more. A whole lot more. At the time it brings unbridled joy to a few it leaves another few misty eyed.
It teaches you how to lose and still not be a loser. Just look at the Ghanaian team. Even after losing the quarter-finals to Uruguay they were the brightest stars of this World Cup. Had their talismanic player Essien been in the fray who knows how far they would have gone!!
120+minute of the match. No time left for another roll of the dice. That penalty kick was IT !! Had Gyan converted that penalty it would have been curtains for Uruguay. But he didn’t. And breathed new life into the crestfallen Uruguayan players & fans. Uruguay went on to win the match in the penalty shoot-out. Shows that life always gives you a second chance. And I’m sure that Gyan more than anyone else would agree with this. He’d be back in 4 years to take his second chance.
Football encompasses life, death and all that is in between. Its not merely a game. Its a lot more. A whole lot more. At the time it brings unbridled joy to a few it leaves another few misty eyed.
It teaches you how to lose and still not be a loser. Just look at the Ghanaian team. Even after losing the quarter-finals to Uruguay they were the brightest stars of this World Cup. Had their talismanic player Essien been in the fray who knows how far they would have gone!!
120+minute of the match. No time left for another roll of the dice. That penalty kick was IT !! Had Gyan converted that penalty it would have been curtains for Uruguay. But he didn’t. And breathed new life into the crestfallen Uruguayan players & fans. Uruguay went on to win the match in the penalty shoot-out. Shows that life always gives you a second chance. And I’m sure that Gyan more than anyone else would agree with this. He’d be back in 4 years to take his second chance.
Germans beating the Argentinians showed how important team work is. The world was raving about Messi and how he'd run amok this WC. But a bunch of boys (who had collectively not scored as many goals as Messi alone did last season) had other ideas! A great player and his even greater mentor were humbled by a group of boys as well-knit as my mom's sweaters !!
Ask Cardozo of Paraguay and he’d talk about a different lesson. One to the transient nature of life and everything in it. From being on the top of the world one day he went to hiding his face on another. He scored the winning penalty to eliminate Japan but then missed one against Spain. I’m sure his coach would have told him ‘Don't sweat it boy !! This too shall pass’. The good times don't last forever and neither do the bad times.
Ask Brazil and they'd have something else to tell you. 'Your anger is your worst own enemy'. A match they had in their pockets against the Dutch went all awry just because the 'Samba Boys' lost their rhythm and their cool.
And then Puyol showed us in the semi-finals that nothing is impossible (in life) if you put your 'head' to it ;) You see what I did there :D
What a game this football is!! What passion! What emotion!! Someone has rightly said "Ignorance of football is ignorance of life itself " !!
Ask Cardozo of Paraguay and he’d talk about a different lesson. One to the transient nature of life and everything in it. From being on the top of the world one day he went to hiding his face on another. He scored the winning penalty to eliminate Japan but then missed one against Spain. I’m sure his coach would have told him ‘Don't sweat it boy !! This too shall pass’. The good times don't last forever and neither do the bad times.
Ask Brazil and they'd have something else to tell you. 'Your anger is your worst own enemy'. A match they had in their pockets against the Dutch went all awry just because the 'Samba Boys' lost their rhythm and their cool.
And then Puyol showed us in the semi-finals that nothing is impossible (in life) if you put your 'head' to it ;) You see what I did there :D
What a game this football is!! What passion! What emotion!! Someone has rightly said "Ignorance of football is ignorance of life itself " !!
