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Opinion
Being an athlete is hard.
It is probably one of the hardest professions you can choose. By the time you are in your mid 30s, you are winding down your career when other people are just starting.
In your teens you are starting your career when others around you haven’t even thought about a career.
So what are some characteristics of great footballers?
Unshakeable knowing/belief in themselves – the great footballers know they will win games. They know they will be in the right moment at the right time that will seal the game. This can be in the first minute or in the 95th minute.
Knowing is just a belief without any doubt. This works for strikers, midfielders, defenders or goal keepers. No one can break their sense of knowing. This may not be there all the time or you may build up to it but it needs to be there for your career to flourish.
If you are not there for your tribe and willing to give all for the tribe, they won’t be there for you. These are the people that become the captains or the club heroes.
They are willing to leave everything on the field. But you must know how to turn this off when you step off the field. No needs a war mentality at home.
Creativity
The greatest footballers are those that are most creative. These are the ones that have millions of people watching them and it only inspires them to greater creativity.
They live for the big moments. A World Cup game is the height of inspiration. Half field passes come off naturally. Goals are scored with little effort.
Goals are saved when they shouldn’t have been. This is a flow state where everything works and you take yourself to a level you didn’t know what was possible. Everyone lives for these flow states.
Skills and rhythm
You must feel the ball. You must understand the weight of a pass, shot or cross. Get used to touching and feeling a ball. FIFA on playstation isn’t the same thing.
Work ethic
You should be the first person at training and last to leave. If the club rooms need sweeping, than you help sweep.
Your level of success doesn’t make you superior to anyone. Keep a sense of humility and you won’t go off the rails.
Even if you get all this right, you may not end up having a career as your body break downs through injuries over time or you don’t the money for the opportunities. But you can take these characteristics that you build and apply it to other areas of life.
Football is a wonderful game and you should cherish the time you have in the game as before you know it, it’s all over. Not everyone around you will believe in your dream so keep it to yourself and show it to them on the pitch.
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