United we Stand, divided we fall! United Germany Strikes it!

The FIFA world cup 2014 has indeed given the viewers a bag full of surprises, starting from Spain and Italy’s early exit from the tournament, moving through Neymar Jr.’s back Injury and expulsion of Thiago Silva (Captain of Brazil Football Team) just before the most crucial semi-final which ultimately led to a devastating loss of Brazil on home soil, and then ending in style with a substitute player of Germany Mario Gotze scoring an eye opening goal with only 7 minutes for the match to enter the penalties. All these have indeed left the viewers wired to the TV’s during that one month. This world cup has been a favourite for the books too, as many earlier records were broken and re-made.

The FIFA world cup 2014 was different. Most big teams and big players hardly had their magic felt through their games. The greatest of the teams perished and whereas the thoughtful ones survived the initial hiccups but finally had to give away to the behemoth and intelligent player Germany.

Germany deserved to win this world cup! This was the first United Germany world cup which the team has taken home. All through the matches Germany’s playing style was distinct from the rest. And it is this distinctiveness which led Germany to be the Champions. Germany victory is more than a victory, but learning. The learning involved from the player composition, their game plan, their game style, their focus on the ball, and the never give up attitude are some of the striking features resulting in success. Let us explore what the learnings’ are

1.      Lesson 1: Best results will come when everyone in the group does what is best for themselves and the group. Many a times, a team suffers when the team mates does what is best for themselves alone, or when they get so much tangled with what is best for the team, that they do not unleash their individual potential. Germany struck the chord on this. Not only did they play as a team, they individually excelled based on the context. The ability to possess both qualities made them unique and successful.

2.      Lesson 2: Responsiveness. Responsiveness has been the cue for the Germans on the field. For one to know how to penetrate through a thick problem, one needs to be responsive to the changes with an eye always on the goal. It would not have been possible for the Germans to score 4 goals in less than 10 minutes against Brazil had it not been responsive to the field changes and the ball and player position.

3.      Lesson 3: Compassion. Much of the research proves on how compassion as a value plays a role in strengthening team’s effectiveness. Well, Germans have this in them too. After beating Brazil with a world record number of goals ever scored in semi-finals, the whole Germany team on Social Media that night apologized to the Brazilians for having played that rigorous and confessed to have intentionally played a less rigorous game in the second half.

4.      Lesson 4: Talent Diversity is the Key. Out of the 24 players selected for the tournament, 14 players are of age 25 and below. The front line of Germany team shows a mix bag of talent with varied experience. It was a perfect combination of experienced folks vs the fresh talent. 60% of the players on the field were below 25. With the help of wisdom from the experienced captain, the youngster performed the magic.

The above mentioned are the key lessons which the German Team has taught the world. Having said this, Germany has indeed been a team worth watching for the sport this year.

As a result of their success, some of the key players of the Germany Football team got offers from various clubs at whooping high price. Kroos was bought over by Real Madrid, Hummels and Schweinsteiger are rumoured to move to Manchester United. Khedira is being eyed by Arsenal & Chelsea; Hoewedes is listed in the top 50 big ticket transfers expected list.

Underlying conclusion is ‘If one has to succeed as a team, playing as a team is not enough, one need to take a shot too’.

This blog of mine may e a little late out of time, but worth it and you may share your views. This was published in an internal quarterly workplace magazine.