Football Recipe - What Makes A Great Football Team
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Specific ingredients are what make a great meal and the same idea applies to a successful football team. One may say that all you need is talented players, but this is a myth that has been busted in recent years and this article explores the issue.
Talent is one of the most important ingredients of a dominant football team and there are few people, if any, who argue against this idea.
Nevertheless, if that were true then the secret formula for any club is to get 11 enormously talented players and see how the titles flow into the club. Certain clubs such as Chelsea and Real Madrid have adopted this approach in recent years.
But unexpectedly, the trophies did not roll in. In fact, despite their firepower, they struggled to match their domestic rivals, in the domestic title race and did not enjoy any luck in the Champions League.
Why did they struggle despite their talent? Did they have the ingredients to make a great football team? Obviously they did not. Which begs the questions, what else is needed apart from talent? My answer to that question is that you need an ego balance.
Too many superstars in a team lead to a dangerously high number of egos. Most coaches, if not all coaches, are incapable of handling so many egos, and for that reason, such teams end up being disjointed and are not the sum of their parts.
Some of these teams go on and win some titles but nevertheless, they are considered a failure. The large amount of talented players means that some don’t get to see first-team action, which only creates tension and discontent in the player’s camp.
So a great football team requires a limited amount of egos or superstars. In fact, by looking back in history, one will find that the best teams are built around 1 or 2 superstars who provide stern and confident leadership.
We only have to look at what Maradona did in a very average Argentinean team in Mexico 1986 to see how this is true. In addition, there is the successful Barcelona team of recent years, led by 2 of the world’s best players in Ronaldinho and Deco.
Nevertheless, most recently, Barcelona have acquired more superstars such as Henry and it’s not surprise that they’ve been struggling on the pitch and off the pitch. Tension has also ensued and as a result Deco has already left the club with Ronaldinho looking to go to AC Milan.
Clubs and coaches, the world over, should be conscious of the ingredients of a successful football team. It’s great to have enormously talented players on your team but this may be detrimental to your team as shown by Barcelona. Ego control takes precedence.
