Much has been said about English League being the best league in the world. It has gone on for already 10 years now.
The fact of the matter is that Italian's way of football is now at the centre of everything that goes up upon Barclay's table at the moment.
We have Italians in Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto Mancini and latest, Di Matteo's West Brom.
All seated nicely at the top of the table; 1st, 4th and 6th, respectively. These are competitive teams albeit past mere six league matches, and although the latter would have to stand further 'acid test' to be reckoned with, you have to admit we've got Italian essence there!. Averaging three wins in six games are already a feat. Barclay's aside, if you look at the history of Champions League, you'll be amazed at how Italians have the most winners (12) and runners-up (14)that includes current 2010 holders Inter Milan, followed by fellow Spaniards. English only came third. That speaks for itself and way to go! “Many believe that football is about the players expressing themselves…but that’s not the case. Or, rather, it’s not the case in and of itself. The player needs to express himself within the parameters laid out by the manager.” – Arrigo Sacchi
Monday, September 27, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Champions League begins
after months of absence, we will, once again be seeing Champions League actions, Europe teams at their best. I, as die-hard fan of Inter, will put new Inter coach, Rafa Benitez's management style under microscope and close scrutiny :-) Wish his team will do well, however -- perhaps, with some new breakthroughs or new style of play to meet today's modern game. Until then, enjoy your new season Champions League's games.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Stories Retold - Champions League
it's not fair to be posing a prediction and not discuss it once you've already had the result. that's why i get back to my 1st posting about inter will win 2-0 against the bayern side in the Champions League final last may. it turned out to be true they finally won convincingly by 'that' same margin. it's not that i want to brag about it. guess it was a wild hunch one may argue. i say it's just down to my good luck. however, this season, amid latest group stage qualifications by top Europe teams, it must be said that we're missing the Old Lady of Turin's Juventus much more than ever. it's because Italian football is considered in slight decline but still - thanks the reigning european champion inter or otherwise, Italians will be limited to three spots due to some performance index come 2011/12 kick-off. speaking of team-wise, will milos krasic or even del piero able to make an impact and help their own promotion cause? with some magics, perhaps they can but all the odds are showing no positive signs following 0-1 away defeat to minnow bari last weekend. inter with new coach, rafa benitez are shown some reality check that it's an uphill task to replicate mourinho's last season - truth be told. let's hope the once mighty Juventus, together with Inter can pull out their real strengths starting this week - it's no sacrifice at all if we cannot meet juventus again next in 2011/12 Champions League campaign. what about AC Milan ?? they are just an old-looking team as in the past three years. nobody fears AC Milan anymore - ask 'pre-season' teams!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Playing Free (Sports) By Masaaki Tajima, Certified National Level Coach
I would like to share an interesting article by Masaaki Tajima on playing freely.
Playing Free
November 14, 2008
By Masaaki Tajima, Certified National Level Coach
I see players who can play above their level when playing against higher rated players but below their level when up against a lower rated player or, in practice, as an example, they can play at 2000 level but in matches, down to 1700. I am sure you been there or seen it often. It’s hard to overcome this behavior because it’s not as simple as telling them stop thinking about ratings or winning and losing, relax, stop being so tight and just play or explaining logically and rationally even to intelligent educated adults, because the fear of losing is innate in all of us. It’s difficult to overcome because competition defines clearly winners and losers and appears to define ones worthiness.
As an example, when I play matches with my students, they often play above their usual level because they know I am not a threat to their sense of self-esteem so they are freer about their shot selection. Their behavior is similar when they play other higher- level players because they see it as a challenge and an opportunity rather than a threat.
Higher-level player on the other hand, often play to survive, not giving full effort thinking that if they tried hard and lost, the loss to their ego is greater. By not giving full effort, they can always convince themselves they lost because they didn’t really try, believing that this lessened the impact of the loss. The tragedy of this behavior is that they increase the possibility of losing. They behave this way to protect their sense of image, ego and self-esteem, being defensive; they are playing not to lose instead of playing to win.
It is difficult to overcome this fear of losing because we are, a complex mix of inherited behaviors, chemical, social and environmental factors that makes us who and what we are. In our society, we learn that our sense of self-worth depends largely on our ability to win. To win is to be successful, competent and be worthy persons, to lose is failure, incompetent and unworthy. This threat of unworthiness is the fundamental reason for the fear, whether self-imposed or by other factors.
The solution is to remove this threat, that is, to become self-aware, have clear and accurate assessment of our behaviors, to discover who and what we are. This discovery gives us awareness in that we are all worthy persons regardless of talent level and that in the end, winning doesn’t equate to success. Successful players define themselves not by the win factor, level of rating or ranking but in how they play. In whatever sport, they became successful because they found self-worth and identity not in the results but in what they do and how they do it; “the journey, not the destination”.
I often query my overly anxious, nervous and fearful students; “you can’t play the way you want because you see your opponent as a threat while I see my opponents as a partner who is there to help me play.” An example of this is, players who tries to end the point, not technically because it was the right shot to take, but emotionally. They don’t want the ball to come back because that means they have to “win” the point again, often making more errors than winners; the relief behavior. When I see this, I also tell them “ why do you want to end the point? Did you not come so you can play?” The philosophy here is, ultimately, players want to experience the excitement and the thrill of making the shot, not necessarily to win the shot, but because they want to experience that feeling of playing free.
Who We Are
We all want the sport to become mainstream, attain marquee status because it satisfies our innate desire for fame, recognition and self-worth. But these desires are also detrimental if you don’t have the right approach on why you play. Attaining self-awareness, define the reasons, in order, why you play, gives you this direction.
If you believe you have high level of talent, realistic expectations, high sense of self-esteem, peerless agility and dexterity, no mental or emotional hang-ups, no vicarious parents or peer pressure that can distract you from your path, with no worries about how you can earn a living and why you chose this sport and unconcerned where it is headed, find the biggest club and the best practice partner money can buy and hire him/her as trainer/practice partner and you will do well. But this is not reality, here or even for the rest of the world.
To play free, we need to become self-aware as to who and what we are, strengths, weaknesses, limitations and setting the stage for an environment of personal as well as athletic growth because the two are inseparably related. Success in sports is not merely attaining wealth or recognition, winning by defeat of others and the sense of ascension, or achievement never thought possible, but identity that give us real confidence and completeness.
Too many are fixated on self-image, of winning, rankings, titles and recognition, doing whatever to win, believing this is the answer to their sense of self-worth that in the end is self-defeating. The key to athletic or any other success, is building the whole person regardless of their talent level that leads to real sense of self-worth and confidence. We play or do what we do because unconsciously, we are all looking for this sense of identity, acceptance, being connected that justifies or have meaning for our existence.
Playing Free
November 14, 2008
By Masaaki Tajima, Certified National Level Coach
I see players who can play above their level when playing against higher rated players but below their level when up against a lower rated player or, in practice, as an example, they can play at 2000 level but in matches, down to 1700. I am sure you been there or seen it often. It’s hard to overcome this behavior because it’s not as simple as telling them stop thinking about ratings or winning and losing, relax, stop being so tight and just play or explaining logically and rationally even to intelligent educated adults, because the fear of losing is innate in all of us. It’s difficult to overcome because competition defines clearly winners and losers and appears to define ones worthiness.
As an example, when I play matches with my students, they often play above their usual level because they know I am not a threat to their sense of self-esteem so they are freer about their shot selection. Their behavior is similar when they play other higher- level players because they see it as a challenge and an opportunity rather than a threat.
Higher-level player on the other hand, often play to survive, not giving full effort thinking that if they tried hard and lost, the loss to their ego is greater. By not giving full effort, they can always convince themselves they lost because they didn’t really try, believing that this lessened the impact of the loss. The tragedy of this behavior is that they increase the possibility of losing. They behave this way to protect their sense of image, ego and self-esteem, being defensive; they are playing not to lose instead of playing to win.
It is difficult to overcome this fear of losing because we are, a complex mix of inherited behaviors, chemical, social and environmental factors that makes us who and what we are. In our society, we learn that our sense of self-worth depends largely on our ability to win. To win is to be successful, competent and be worthy persons, to lose is failure, incompetent and unworthy. This threat of unworthiness is the fundamental reason for the fear, whether self-imposed or by other factors.
The solution is to remove this threat, that is, to become self-aware, have clear and accurate assessment of our behaviors, to discover who and what we are. This discovery gives us awareness in that we are all worthy persons regardless of talent level and that in the end, winning doesn’t equate to success. Successful players define themselves not by the win factor, level of rating or ranking but in how they play. In whatever sport, they became successful because they found self-worth and identity not in the results but in what they do and how they do it; “the journey, not the destination”.
I often query my overly anxious, nervous and fearful students; “you can’t play the way you want because you see your opponent as a threat while I see my opponents as a partner who is there to help me play.” An example of this is, players who tries to end the point, not technically because it was the right shot to take, but emotionally. They don’t want the ball to come back because that means they have to “win” the point again, often making more errors than winners; the relief behavior. When I see this, I also tell them “ why do you want to end the point? Did you not come so you can play?” The philosophy here is, ultimately, players want to experience the excitement and the thrill of making the shot, not necessarily to win the shot, but because they want to experience that feeling of playing free.
Who We Are
We all want the sport to become mainstream, attain marquee status because it satisfies our innate desire for fame, recognition and self-worth. But these desires are also detrimental if you don’t have the right approach on why you play. Attaining self-awareness, define the reasons, in order, why you play, gives you this direction.
If you believe you have high level of talent, realistic expectations, high sense of self-esteem, peerless agility and dexterity, no mental or emotional hang-ups, no vicarious parents or peer pressure that can distract you from your path, with no worries about how you can earn a living and why you chose this sport and unconcerned where it is headed, find the biggest club and the best practice partner money can buy and hire him/her as trainer/practice partner and you will do well. But this is not reality, here or even for the rest of the world.
To play free, we need to become self-aware as to who and what we are, strengths, weaknesses, limitations and setting the stage for an environment of personal as well as athletic growth because the two are inseparably related. Success in sports is not merely attaining wealth or recognition, winning by defeat of others and the sense of ascension, or achievement never thought possible, but identity that give us real confidence and completeness.
Too many are fixated on self-image, of winning, rankings, titles and recognition, doing whatever to win, believing this is the answer to their sense of self-worth that in the end is self-defeating. The key to athletic or any other success, is building the whole person regardless of their talent level that leads to real sense of self-worth and confidence. We play or do what we do because unconsciously, we are all looking for this sense of identity, acceptance, being connected that justifies or have meaning for our existence.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Losing A Sports Match...
you could lose a sports match. in fact, you afford to lose one or two, but, a losing streak definitely means something went terribly wrong with your athletic performance. the beauty is to know what caused these losses; fatigue ? bodily pain ? mood change ? lack of sleep ? fear of losing? sports is how an athlete can perform his or her best in the face of an adversity. it must also be noted that human spirit and mental strength can overcome these challenges provided one does not soak in the pressure of mental fatigue which is far more demoralizing than any of the reasons mentioned before. that is why winning a mental preparation is more crucial than preparing the physical conditions of athletes. only when these factors are taken into consideration that inflicting a loss can be down to hard luck. Cheers!
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