THE THIRST of the football fan, stoked by the World Cup in South Africa, is going to be quenched again this week as the English Premier League returns. Friends will be divided by litmus test like allegiances of red or blue for the next few months, as the world’s most popular domestic sports competition will capture their imagination over the next few months.
The phenomenon of players and fans from different cultures uniting under the aegis of a club is a fine example not only of the global nature of the game, but also of that sublime quality of the human mind to build bonds with entities which have no relevance to its immediate surroundings. How else can one explain fans in India, many of whom having never gone anywhere near England, passionately speaking about Old Trafford like it was in their own backyard?
In many ways, club football offers a very interesting and different contrast from the national version of the game, and that makes for some very interesting insights. Not only from a sporting angle but also from the perspective of management and human nature.
A case of dual identities
Expect players who faltered at the World Cup like Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and John Terry (to name just three) to return to their best faster than Usain Bolt reacting to the starters gun. Herein lurks one of the perennial mysteries of the modern game. Why do players who seem invincible at club level appear so average at the national stage? Only a few notable exceptions have busted this myth in the recent past, Diego Maradonna, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo ‘the bald’ immediately spring to mind. But what happens to the others?
The answer might lie in the soccer version of the quintessential nature versus nurture debate that rages on in psychological circles. Do players, once in a different setup having different priorities and where their role is perhaps a touch less salient, succumb to the different playing environment to such an extent that their innate potential remains unfulfilled?
There is an interesting learning here for organizations as well, especially if one dwells on the flipside. Because this does possibly encourage the thought that in a completely different setting and conditions, an average performing employee can raise his performance much beyond expectation as well.
The Ram to Ravana transition
This weekend Wayne Rooney will switch his red number 10 England jersey for a similar Manchester United one. But the transformation in the hearts of football fans will be significantly more dramatic. Supporters of Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and the like will begin to see him as the prime enemy and expect the jeers to ring out every single time he touches the ball. A month ago the very same people would have been cheering him on as he shouldered England’s hopes at the World Cup, but just a few weeks later, football has become a whole different ballgame.
While the ability of the club brand to create a separate distinctive world for its fans needs to be appreciated here, one cannot help but also be fascinated by how adept and flexible the human mind is, to see the very same person in a completely different light. The metamorphosis from angel to red devil will ensure Rooney will get hell every time United has a game on the road.
Brittania sails again
England lorded most of the world just about a century ago. However this did not do much for the popularity of the English across the globe. A hundred years later (almost), the new icons of England, the mega clubs, are finding places in hearts across the far corners of the earth. English clubs have resumed the task their armies had abandoned-a worldwide conquest, though this time around it’s of a completely different nature. For now over most parts of the world, people very much welcome the English intrusion of their weekends.
And this does illustrate just how brands can significantly overcome the barriers of nationality and past prejudice, because they enable us to see entities in a different perspective. Add to the fact that clubs showcase worldwide talent at both player and managerial level and perhaps this is also a reflection of a more welcoming world with equal opportunity-An idea whose appeal is all too obvious. So get set for the crunching tackle, the deft body swerve, the sudden scorching burst of pace, the towering header, the diving save, the predatory instinct, the ball exploding against the back of the net, the euphoric celebration with team mates, the soul stirring roar of the crowd…
The Barclays Premiership is back!
