Admiring Managerial Skills

Over the last week, I have had the opportunity to witness some of the best managerial skills in play. And it didn't happen at work.. it was on Astro.. namely the World Cup.

Anyone who says that soccer is just a sport is obviously unaware of the strategy and planning involved in the game. And what comes out is finely tuned musical that will sound as sweetly as it is played. And the conductor of this orchestra is the coach.

The coach sets the strategy - 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 - and then he selects the players - who plays defense, midfield, left wing, right wing, striker etc. The coach would have analyzed the competition's game beforehand. Then he determines the strategy such as whether they play a defensive or offensive game. And those decisions determine, more or less, whether they win or lose. The left wing don't decide "hey, there's more action on the right side, I think I'll go help them." He doesn't, because that's not how the game is played.

Have you ever noticed that when a team is losing or not scoring, the coach switches a player at the last moment? I have always wondered about that.. If the team can't score in 80 minutes, what can a substitute do in 10 minutes? And he goes on to make a goal after that. That’s what happened when France beat Brazil and when Argentina lost to Germany. France made some key last minute decisions that sealed their win and the Argentines, well, their demise. You see, the coach knows their players well. For example, if a coach thinks that they need a good right-wing to perform a particular type of play, he switches them in, even at the last moment. 10 minutes is all the player needs to make a play.

Soccer is a science. You put in the right ingredients and it cooks exactly the way that it should.

There are a few things a soccer coach knows:
He obviously knows his objective, which is winning, so it's futile to mention that. But he also knows he needs a good game to win
He knows his players well - their strengths and weaknesses
He has analyzed his competition well

You would also realize that in soccer, there is no democracy. Nobody votes and decisions are not made by consensus. Players trust their coach. Then, they play to their best of ability. As a team. They play from the positions they are assigned to. And what transpires is a well played professional game.

My point for writing this blog? I don't know, maybe I think that we can all learn something from soccer. Firstly, an average team working in tandem plays better than many talented individuals playing their own game. Secondly, a good team cannot win all the time, but they stand a better chance than most and they play a great game anyway. Thirdly, players in good teams always get the best looking chicks. So there.