The Process of Winning
This is why we play football... We want to win games
Ralf Rangnick
German Manager
In the world of football, the desire to win often overshadows the intricacies of the process required to achieve victory. It's a common misconception to equate winning solely with the intense yearning for success. However, a closer look reveals that winning is not merely a product of passion but a culmination of a meticulous and well-executed process.
In simpler terms, we've confused winning & the want to win. Winning is out of our hands, while wanting to win is process-dependent.
To understand more, let's continue to hear what Rangnick has to say:
🗣️“In some areas of Germany, from the age of 6 to 10, they no longer count goals or results. I’ve never heard of a more stupid thing to be honest."
🗣️"Remember when you all played, and you were six or 8 years old and someone told you, ‘we are not counting goals, we are just playing for fun’.
Had somebody told that to Joshua Kimmich when he was 8, or to Lionel Messi, he would have said ‘are you completely crazy?’
🗣️"This is why we play football, to show that we are better than the other ones. We want to be competitive. We want to win games.”
It’s very clear that Rangnick is very passionate about this, and to a degree I am as well because I feel we have confused two separate things, winning and wanting to win. Winning is something that is completely out of our hands. There are so many factors that are out of our control that affect whether a game is won or not.
For example, in youth soccer, not all players are the same. Some players are much more physically and cognitively developed than others.
This is something that is out of anyone’s control, and this is a huge advantage in terms of winning.
However, WANTING to win is something completely different. Wanting to win means that you will do everything possible in order to achieve the objective of the game which is to score more goals than your opponent.
This is what every player should be trying to achieve when they are on the field playing football.
‘Wanting to win’ is not result-dependent, it’s process-dependent. Players need to do this every time they’re on the pitch. When players take this approach they are adhering to the competitive nature of the game.
When we devalue competition, like Ralf Rangnick is talking about, we are no longer abiding by the spirit of the game.
What you can do as a coach is always provide competition. Never take this away from the players’ experience.
