Ozzy Neav
In life, there are winners and there are losers. Football, being part of life, is no exception. The list of “haves” in Europe is a prestigious club of a select few countries that consistently show superiority on the pitch and have the trophy case to prove their worth. The elite of Europe, including Germany, Italy and recently France, are the only countries that have proven excellence and standard far above the rest of Europe.
Skeptics of the French can make a strong case that the Tri-Color should not be part of the elite group with Germany and Italy. The debate over the ability of these two football giants is not in question, but rather the reasons for their lengthy success. So why are Germany and Italy doing so well and more importantly, why is every other nation doing so poorly?
The Winning Touch
All the children of Europe are born to play football, but very few are bred to win. Teaching a youth player to be a champion is often more important than teaching him to dribble. So why then do the Portuguese, Spaniards and Dutch, not teach their children to be winners? Because they don’t know how. Winning is a skill that can only be gained through triumphant experiences and cannot be learned in any other way.
The Germans and Italians grow a ravenous appetite for more victories after every accomplishment. Winning is perhaps the most addictive narcotic known to man and is impossible to describe to a loser who has never felt the rush of success. Yet the French and the Greeks, having both recently dined at victory’s table, appear to be headed in the wrong direction as far as international play is concerned. Does that mean it takes more than a winning mentality to become a champion?
You Are Who You Are
We are all familiar with the tiring campaigns of UEFA and other do-good organizations that mistakenly believe that they can somehow educate the football public on proper public etiquette. It is undisputed that football is a direct magnification of a local and national culture. We are on the football field exactly like who we are off it. The Germans and Italians have a much unified culture. They are often willing to sacrifice personal achievement for the greater prosperity of the whole.
Cultures with a more macho or singular mentality, like the Portuguese and the Spanish, tend to place personal achievement above group sacrifice. The “look at me” mentality is so engrained into the subconscious mind in Mediterranean countries, that making the switch from an individual to a collective effort it almost impossible. This suggestion of football culture is somewhat weakened when we examine the list of “loser” countries like Sweden and Holland who tend to be more like the Germans than the Spanish. Perhaps culture is not as strong an influence as we might think.
Football Player 2.0
The average player in modern day football is physically superior when compared to his counterpart from a decade ago. Italy and Germany have raised the bar in the athletic department even higher. Stronger and faster than countries that still us the rather archaic “total football,” these two countries produce visibly bigger and stronger players than the rest of Europe. With players able to cover ground quickly because of improved speed and endurance, total football can no longer be played properly. As long as the dimensions of a football fields aren’t made more capacious to accommodate contemporary football, the sexy style that so many “loser” countries love to play, may simply be too impractical to provide results. Again, it is impossible to rationalize physical prowess as being the only ingredient for success. Sweden and Austria are both considered physically able, but their lack of skill is the main cause of their lack of success.
So what does it take to be a champion? There may be no clear answer and each pundit would probably argue that any of a dozen attributes are needed to become a true football power house. With certain exceptions aside however, it is the Germans and Italians who would rank highest if all of the above criteria is taken into consideration. Countries in Europe that have enjoyed limited success may argue that culture and mentality have nothing to do with winning consistently over long periods of time. Perhaps that is the case, but until those countries find that mystery component, they will always be one step behind a real champion.
