As the curtains come down on the possibility of a thrilling Messy-Ronaldo face off in the finals of the FIFA world cup, there are a lot of things this game has taught us.
- No ONE is bigger than the TEAM
With all the attention the CR7 tension has garnered, it is but the first and foremost, if not the biggest takeaway from this rendition of the FIFA world cup. His being left out of the starting squad in the first of the KOs was as shocking a decision as a tactical one and as the coach claims a disciplinary step as well. No player is excused from being penalised for not adhering to the code of conduct of the beautiful game. Especially not belittling the other players. Even without CR7 the team managed to secure a spot at the quarter finals with an astounding victory over the Swiss. It shows that Together Each Achieves More.
- There are always 2 sides to any story
While the first point holds true, it is also important to understand what goes through a players mind and the immense pressure to deliver that rests on his shoulders when the whole world is pinning their hopes on you. It doesn’t mean right to cut them some slack but at the same time we shouldn’t blow up the entire thing out of proportion. Floating rumours about him wanting to quit the national team and judging his weird callous expressions is not right – let them come clean in a press release in what really transpired and then blow it up in the media.
- An unsettled mind yields unsettling results
While we saw CR7 being brought on immediately as Portugal conceded to Morocco in the first half, was it too late and was it on the back of a bruised ego. We saw the likes of the young G.Ramos outshine his prodigy by opening his debut at the world cup with a hat-trick – but was that just beginners luck? And was the expectation too unreal to carry on the same form in the subsequent games? Leaving out CR7 in the second KO game, was it a tactical error or clearly underestimating the opponent firepower?
This and more, we have a lot of inferences from this beautiful game of football. Feel free to leave in the comments what has struck a chord with you or if any of the above resonates with what you feel too.
picture credits: khelnow.com