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Liverpool highlight the need to play in the present!
Liverpool FC have been on great form of late, scoring for fun and keeping it tight at the back, but on Saturday they lost 3-1 at Reading and were really quite poor. Rafa Benitez, the manager, rather than trying to fight back for a draw or win, took key players Gerrard, Carragher and Torres off before the end of the game - signalling his willingness to drop 3 points to have a fully fit team on the field for tuesday's must-win Champions League game against Marseille.
That decision, as much as anything, showed just where Liverpool's minds were on Saturday - Marseille, Tuesday night. The fact is, that the best performances simply do not occur when a team's collective minds are on a more important game in the future, nor even when focused on the final outcome of the current game. The best performances occur when players' minds are focused on the present.
That isn't to say that you have to forget you have a big game coming, but as soon as you hit your match preparation, and when you walk out onto the pitch, the only game that matters is the one you are playing right here, right now.
It isn't also just that Liverpool had an off-day, or were outplayed by a better Reading. They lacked the spark of creativity and energy required to win the game (even though they had some bad luck too), and despite the talent on array opted for long balls up to Peter Crouch. Creativity and energy are found in the here and now, not something that you get a lot of when your mind is on the outcome of a game a few days later.
In my view, that's the missing component in the Liverpool side under Benitez - the ability to compete on many fronts at once. They've been brilliant in the league, and in Europe, but rarely at the same time. They are good enough, on their day, to win the Premier League or the Champions League, but they need to be able to handle the demands of the fixture list to win either (or at least the former) - let alone both.
That decision, as much as anything, showed just where Liverpool's minds were on Saturday - Marseille, Tuesday night. The fact is, that the best performances simply do not occur when a team's collective minds are on a more important game in the future, nor even when focused on the final outcome of the current game. The best performances occur when players' minds are focused on the present.
That isn't to say that you have to forget you have a big game coming, but as soon as you hit your match preparation, and when you walk out onto the pitch, the only game that matters is the one you are playing right here, right now.
It isn't also just that Liverpool had an off-day, or were outplayed by a better Reading. They lacked the spark of creativity and energy required to win the game (even though they had some bad luck too), and despite the talent on array opted for long balls up to Peter Crouch. Creativity and energy are found in the here and now, not something that you get a lot of when your mind is on the outcome of a game a few days later.
In my view, that's the missing component in the Liverpool side under Benitez - the ability to compete on many fronts at once. They've been brilliant in the league, and in Europe, but rarely at the same time. They are good enough, on their day, to win the Premier League or the Champions League, but they need to be able to handle the demands of the fixture list to win either (or at least the former) - let alone both.
Rob Robson
Sport and Business Psychologist, WarwickshirePosted December 10, 2007 at 6:43 AM by robrobson
in
Football Psychology, Reversal Theory in Sport | Permalink | Comments(1)
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