It is well known that “football is simple game; twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win”. This saying was unequivocally confirmed a couple nights ago when the much-touted Brazil was crushed. Beyond any football analyses though, Germany’s resounding win can help us come to some greater conclusions.
On one hand there was a team that focused on a game system, an organization with set goals and tactics. On the other there was a group that focused on personal traits and storming to victory, but after the first setback, they fell apart… One team had a collective nature, while in the other everyone wanted to prove they can be a leader and savior.
It is no coincidence that wherever Germany competes, it manages to stand out. Whether it is the economy, technology, science or football, the country that managed to reunite a bit over two decades ago has dominated. It may not suit us or we may not like it, but nobody can ignore its almost universal dominance.
Persistence, systematic work, industriousness, collective and personal accountability in conjunction with taking advantage of every new idea is the key to their success. However much we may be fascinated by individual skill, however much we may like to fantasize, if there is no overall plan, if there is not collective accountability, it is quite easy to end up with a tragicomedy, just like in football.
Obviously we can’t all be Germans. But we can at least learn some lessons and get some ideas from their achievements. Because our peculiarities might be great, as we like to say, but without a plan, without organization, without perspective, we have no chance of surviving competing; not against the Germans, but not even our fellows in the South…
TO VIMA
