U17 World Champions – Senior Team "Nothing", How Does That Add Up?
The day after our senior national team's defeat against Turkey in Berlin, I wrote my 20th post on the question of whether the jersey bearing the federal eagle generates enthusiasm or is more of a burden on the players' shoulders. The main focus of that post was to clearly show that, despite the scoreline, there were clear signs that no team had been on the pitch! A few hours later, in Vienna against the team from Austria, this impression was, in my view, confirmed: according to Markus Weise's definition (please read in the article cited above what an excellent and much-honored expert he is), our men's national side is at best an average group and certainly not a team!
Characteristics:
The individual players' performance and action goals are only carried out for a few minutes on the pitch:
Players from the front line don't commit maximum effort to defensive play!
Players who win the ball in the back line sometimes take on too much risk in forward play even without being under pressure!
Gestures and facial expressions send clear signals:
Body language signals resignation after only a short time and a few failed actions!
When teammates make mistakes, players turn away from them!
Comments after the match show clear misjudgment and overestimation:
Leroy Sané says that he lost the match. We recall his sending-off in the 49th minute, following an act of violence against Phillipp Mwene, whom he had fouled shortly before.
A player believes he alone is important enough to be responsible for the entire course of the match?
The coach himself speaks of too low an "emotional level" throughout the entire match.
…
All these indications prove: our senior national team is at best an average group!
A group, according to Markus Weise, has a shared goal, but its members do not take responsibility when facing resistance! If the group's performance is enough to win the relevant matches, then it is sufficient to act as a group.
At international level, that is clearly not enough!
ERGO: A team performance is required.
A team acts as a unit on the pitch and takes on responsibility together, even against strong resistance!
This is where our U17 World Champion team comes into play. When we observe this team's performance on the pitch, look at how it presents itself, and hear the comments made about it, we see what defines a team. This may sound a bit strange to you now, but the World Championship title itself is not actually the decisive factor in illustrating the essential difference between the group, the senior squad, and the team, the U17s!
As we already showed in post 20, a good coach who takes his coaching role responsibly works out with his players the performance and action goals that are then jointly implemented and carried through on the pitch over the course of the entire match, regardless of the score or surrounding circumstances, against all resistance, no matter where it comes from or in what form it appears. That is our U17!
How can we now manage to let the group that is the men's national team grow back together into a team, or, better asked, what stands in the men's group's way of becoming a real team?
I would like to briefly outline a few thoughts here.
External circumstances:
a) The personal environment
I would describe these as the "socio-immanent" circumstances accompanying a professional career, and here we are talking about our nation's top players.
In the words of Oprah Winfrey: "Everybody wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you need is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."
An environment shaped by many flatterers does not necessarily help form a person who subordinates their personal success to the success of the team.
Another facet is shown in the everyday life of professionals, who are relieved of almost all the tasks of a "normal" citizen so that they can focus solely on playing football. Living in a bubble that protects or keeps you away from all external "disruptive factors" does not help you learn to overcome resistance in life.
b) Player agents (we have already reported on this profession)
A special breed among all the people around professionals. Their pressure to sign players to their agencies in order to run a successful business model inevitably leads to a totally distorted self-image in many players. Some player agents, such as Roger Wittmann, even consider making their "clients'" private lives completely transparent – a Big Brother format for the individual player, so that fans have permanent contact with their idols. People who are turned into a marketing product in the course of such partnerships find it very difficult to stay grounded in reality and put their own interests aside when it comes to fulfilling action and performance goals together with their teammates.
Another facet of the player-agent problem can also arise when one agency represents the "interests" of numerous professional footballers and, through its market power, creates an imbalance regarding performance-based nominations. This plague already showed its face with Roger Wittmann's influence at Schalke 04, as Stern magazine reported in its 2008 article "Die Schatten der Stars" ("The Shadows of the Stars").
c) Salary structures
Owing to the entire football business, salaries are now paid at the top level that are far removed from any performance-based pay. This phenomenon is also seen in the development of some executive salaries in companies across the rest of the business world. Market forces will further accelerate these excesses. Whether rising salaries are good or bad is for others to judge. They certainly do not help keep players grounded or help them properly assess their own performance, and so they also stand in the way of performance in team sport. If a player fails to understand and place these connections in context, he will almost inevitably suffer from this phenomenon.
d) Media attention
Media coverage in all its formats also does the professionals a "disservice." On one hand, players are glorified when successful, right up to a player rating of 1 after every successful match, only to be torn apart by the media by all the rules of the trade in the very next, less successful match – naturally with a player rating of 5. Live pay-TV broadcasts, highlights on private and public broadcasters as well as on social channels such as YouTube, radio broadcasts, football talk shows, etc. provide an almost constant stream of material about events on and off the pitch. Nothing is too trivial not to be rated, reported on, or commented on in some way.
The sheer scale of this media diarrhea can likewise contribute to shaping a completely distorted self-image, which in turn stands in the way of performance in team sport.
e) The coach who simply can't coach, as Markus Weise would put it
If the coach is not able to distinguish between success, action, and performance goals and to convey this to the players, to prepare the players for the match beforehand, to draw the right conclusions with them afterwards, to jointly analyze mistakes, to discuss strategies, to take measures for optimal performance before and during the match, to direct focus onto the game, and so on, then this can also be a reason why a national team remains a group and does not mature into a team!
Internal factors that can stand in the way of forming a team are to be found in the interpersonal sphere or in an individual disorder: for example, resentment/envy, lack of trust in teammates, personal antipathies, etc.
This is not meant to refer to healthy competition for positions, as is often put today – insofar as players also understand this healthy competition in the literal sense and motivate each other to peak performance.
I would also like to briefly summarize these aspects under the heading of the "social competence" of the people involved. If this is not developed to the required degree, it definitely also stands in the way of forming a team.
And finally, individual disorders can also cause problems. Some players have already spoken in their biographies about how hard it is to cope with the pressure of the football business. Some develop addictions, eating disorders, or other symptoms of unhealthy stress coping. Prominent examples dramatically demonstrate what dimensions this can take on. Let us honor in remembrance those who have passed away, such as Robert Enke. They should remain an accompanying memorial to us, so that we do not forget the human, interpersonal side of professional football!
Conversations with independent third parties, such as systemic coaches, whose fees must not be tied to sporting success or to measures such as a change of club, etc., can help professionals, coaches, and talents understand this system and place and shape their own personality within this environment, which indirectly leads to a better basis for fulfilling performance and action goals in team sport.
I look forward to taking up another topic in talent development with you next week under my column "So schaut's aus." Until then! Stay healthy, and always a good match!