Winners Mindset – a football analogy

“If you haven’t confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started.” Marcus Garvey

On Tuesday 7th May 2019, Liverpool FC somehow overcame all odds to beat Barcelona in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League. In the first leg of this fixture, Liverpool (with all their star players present), had lost 3-0 to Barcelona. This second game was do or die. Liverpool needed to beat Barcelona (which was led by Lionel Messi who according to many persons is the Greatest Player of All Time) by 4 – 0 to secure a spot in the final of the UEFA Champions League 😮 . Now, you may not be into football, you may hate sports but to me there is something to be learnt from this particular victory. This victory in my opinion was the embodiment of that Marcus Garvey quote as seen above. These players believed they could do it before they even set foot on the pitch, they believed in their ability when every one else had written them off. It was impossible, it could not be done and yet, however, somehow Liverpool overcame insurmountable odds to snatch victory from the hands of certain defeat. This is a lesson that we should apply to our everyday lives ❤ .

There are times in life, when everything seems to be going wrong for you. You may be in school and have big examination coming up, or in work and have a big presentation and then, a couple days before, you get sick. A bad flu knocks you out. All the hours of preparation you planned on doing, all the studying and practice is now cut in half as you can barely stay up to study for more than an hour. Your back is against the wall 😥

This was what happened to Liverpool FC. A couple days before their match against Barcelona, news broke that Liverpool will be without the services of their star striker Mohamed Salah and their forward Roberto Firmino who were both injured. All of a sudden, the persons who they thought would lead them to victory, were out of commission for the biggest match of the season 😦 I mean they were coming up against Lionel Messi, Suarez and the rest of the star studded Barcelona squad. What could they do?

Those Liverpool players did all that they could, they never gave up. They walked onto that pitch with their heads held high and they played the game of their lives. They put their heart and soul into the match ❤ They saw victory where others saw certain defeat. This is the same attitude we need to adopt in our everyday lives. There are times when it may seem that nothing is going right, the odds are not in your favor, you are certain to fail, nobody believes in you or your dreams or your goals, you have no support. But, you must not waiver, you must keep the faith, you must believe and never give up.

After Liverpool scored the first goal in the first few minutes, it was like a sliver of light shinning through some dark clouds. Their was a glimmer of hope ⭐ This is how life is sometimes. When you, despite the odds are able to achieve a goal, even if it is just a small goal, a small step on your journey, it gives you a boost of confidence, you can see the light from behind the clouds and things can and will get easier, however, you still have to work for it. The job is not over as yet.

Then Liverpool scored the second goal and a couple of minutes later, the third. All of a sudden, the dark clouds are clearing up, their is hope now, people are coming to support you, they believe in your dream that you had all along 🙂 At times we will travel this road alone, when the going gets tough their are few people who may stick by your side but you need to have faith, know that God walks with you and that you should never give up.

By the end of the game, Liverpool had beaten Barcelona 4 – 0 and after this impossible match,they were able to secure their spot in the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final. Life is full of ups and down. We must all adopt the winners mindset that those Liverpool players had when they set foot on that pitch on match day. Never Give Up.

Much Love

CS