FT World Cup Focus: Players vs The Mental Side of Football

PENALTY! It is this one to win it for Ghana and they will make it to the semifinals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. Asamoah Gyan steps up to take the last kick of the match. 1-1 is the scoreline against Uruguay. The referee gives the greenlight…OH…HE MISSES!

This event sparked the abusive attacks that the player received in person and on social media blaming him for his country’s elimination from the tournament in the quarterfinals. The whole continent of Africa was rooting for Ghana to go all the way and they were on the verge of a record-breaking semifinal place for an African team only for him to mistakenly hit his shot against the crossbar and fail to score. What many might not know is what the player went through after walking off the pitch at the end of the penalty shootout. Asamoah Gyan’s confidence ran low. He also missed a great penalty for Ghana 2 years later at the 2012 African Cup of Nations against Zambia in the semifinals.

He said, “I'd like to apologize to the fans. It's been very difficult for me. I'd never miss a penalty on purpose. It's now two of the biggest penalties in my country's history and it's difficult to take. I've been unlucky. We all miss them. Fans should know it's not easy. (Didier) Drogba missed in the final. (Samuel) Eto'o has missed before. It's happened to the greatest before, I'm sorry.” He apologized deeply because he had received so much stick which could have caused depression.

Another player who eventually could not recover from this depression and psychological pressures that players experience as part of the game is Robert Enke. The German goalkeeper ended up committing suicide. His club’s president confirmed the Hannover player had been ‘unstable’ but it had not been noticed publicly. He left a suicide note after a culmination of a long struggle with depression which shocked the world of football. It is such extreme instances that brings sense to everyone that the players are also human. They experience a lot throughout their career and sometimes play with injuries just to avoid being attacked by the fans.

Just recently, Loris Karius of Liverpool was culpable for conceding two cheap goals in the UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid. He immediately apologized at the end of the match. Today I lost my team the game and I feel sorry for everyone.

“I’m sorry for everyone – from the team, from the whole club – that the mistakes cost dearly. If I could go back in time, I would. I feel sorry for my team. I know I let them down today,” Karius said in the post-match interview with talkSPORT.

Memes have already been created by his mistakes and he is dubbed treacherous.

He is already being compared to Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ disciples who betrayed him for a bribe in The Bible. Many former players have come out to ask the fans to show the player some love. Mistakes are part of the game and he never intended to give away a win when he was also fighting for the title. It was a dark day for the player and the fans in the stadium clapped him at the end of the match. Their reaction proves that they understood what he was going through as a person and we only wish for that to spread across the world.

The FIFA World Cup is commencing in less than 3 weeks and it is almost certain that someone will make a big error leading to a goal. There are some players that will be psychologically challenged and our duty as fans of the game is to spread love in our messages to show support to the people that sacrificed their lives to entertain us in each and every 90 minutes of play. STOP abusing the players. They are human. They are like you and me. Let us support the game!

Liverpool book a date with Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Final

Liverpool have been the surprise package in this year’s UEFA Champions League tournament. They have swooped past some teams in style with their free-scoring abilities. The Jurgen press has been effective in their games as they have knocked an attacking team like Manchester City and beating Roma 5-2 in the first leg of the semifinals. It was not going to be easy for them to replicate that scoreline especially considering what Roma did against Barcelona. They were aware of the fact that they could not afford to rest and allow Roma to come to them and counter on the break. Klopp asked his men for more and Sadio Mane delivered the first goal for Liverpool. It was a mountain to climb for Roma who needed to score 4 to qualify without a reply from Liverpool. They reduced that goal count to just 3 when Milner scored an own goal from a dangerous cross by Florenzi on the right.

Roma failed to capitalize on the countless chances that they were creating and they were punished by Wijnaldum who scored Liverpool’s second of the night. From then, it was all Roma. Daniel De Rossi showed his class as he was instigating the attacks by his Pirlo-like passes as well as controlling the tempo. Roma looked a different team in the second period which gave them confidence leading to Dzeko’s goal. Time was running out for the Italian team with the scoreline at 2-2. Nainggolan did what he does best, as he connected to a pass from the left and he scored a 25-yard drive past Karius.

Game on, it was. Roma created chances in a match that was full of penalty claims by both teams. The referee finally gave a penalty to Roma and Nainggolan who scored in the 94th minute. All they needed was just a goal to take the tie to extra-time. It would have been another amazing comeback but they were out of time. The referee blew the whistle soon after Liverpool played from the center. What an amazing run it has been for Klopp and his team? They have secured a medal for themselves. It is just a matter of finding out whether it will be gold or silver as they take on the Los Blancos in the final.