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.
Hey Naveen great writing...this should be a blog on vnb portal!!! Please post it!
ReplyDeleteHey Kasturi, thanks a ton. Sure. I had forgotten about this... sure. will share it on the VnB portal too :)
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