If you want to know what football really is - take a look a Elano's goal for Brazil yesterday in their win over North Korea!This was the perfect interaction of 'foot' and 'ball': a perfectly-weighted pass, of computer precision from Robinho, right into the path of Elano who then simply placed the ball past the goalkeeper. He didn't blast it, nor as most of our players would, belt it miles over the goal - he just stroked it into the net.
Our players will never do this because of the 'Culture of Mediocrity' which pervades British life. We've already seen it in education, where it's taken them over 20 years to realise that GCSE exams are just too easy. In football it's so evident in the TV commentaries, often by Premiership managers and coaches. Player X has an open goal, but boots it wide! The commentator says, 'Great Strike!'. That's crap! If it was such a great strike it would have been a goal. The player should be docked his wages and taught to shoot, not be taken on golf trips or jaunts out into the bush to look at the animals!
Failure has got to be reintroduced into our culture - there's no stigma about failing - it's the only way you learn how to do better!
