Tag: Beckham

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Football’s Life Lessons I

Football is the most popular sport, played and watched by millions of people world wide.

Football is more than a game because it teaches us a lot about life so let’s take a look at some of the lessons we can learn from following the game.

1. People don’t remember all the things you’ve done for them rather they will hold unto the one you didn’t do. Robin van Persie has scored a lot of important goals for Man United this season but took a lot of stick for missing a glorious chance late in the game against Chelsea.

2. Success breeds haters. Lionel Messi and his FC Barcelona team are hated by many because of the success they’ve recorded.

3. The media will make and mar you. David Beckham married spice girl, Victoria Adams in 1999 and the pair were dubbed “Posh & Becks” by the British media. A few years later, British tabloids offered Rebecca Loos a whooping £5m to reveal all the details of her affair with the football star.

4. Competition is healthy and brings out the best in us. Javier Hernandez has really improved in his all round play this season because of the emergence of Danny Welbeck and signing of Robin van Persie.

5. Football enlightens us on geography and makes us conversant with some places we had never heard of. Eg Andorra, San Marino, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Catalunya, Lichtenstein, Basque country, Andalucia country, etc.

6. Football helps you become familiar with some names of the players/coaches and the countries associated with such names.

7. Nothing is permanent. Life is all about rise and fall. In 2002, Leeds United were in the semi finals of the UEFA Champions League; they play in the English second tier (Championship) today.

8. All is fair in love and war.
If you like complain and moan all day about some refereeing errors that cost your team the match, the match won’t be replayed.

9. Opportunity comes but once, take it! Kenneth Omeruo was relatively unknown prior to the start of AFCON. He was given the chance to play after Efe Ambrose was red carded in the first game, he did well and cemented his place in the team ousting the captain, Joseph Yobo from the starting line up.

10. Football educates one about history, only if you listen to the commentary and don’t make silly noise/arguments during a game. Did you know whenever Tottenham Hotspur plays at home, Arsenal (Highbury days) must play away to prevent traffic jam?

11. It is hard to replace or leave a team player out of the team. Pedro is the one of the most hard-working players I’ve seen, that’s why it’s hard to keep him out of the team at FC Barcelona and International level.

12. Footballers inspire you, you can be anything you want to be if you work hard.

13. Money will always come but what would you do with the money? A lot of footballers have gone from riches to rags because they failed to invest their money properly.

14. Nobody is indispensable. Manchester United won’t become extinct when Sir Alex Ferguson finally retires.

15. Humility is truly a virtue. Ryan Giggs is the most decorated player in the history of English football but he’s laid back and humble, a true example to everyone. See Kanu Nwankwo also.

To be continued

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Much Ado About Manchester United

I wasn’t into English football when I was growing up rather I was an ardent follower of the Dutch Eredivisie, all thanks to my late uncle. The first “official” European match I watched was Ajax vs. AC Milan, Champions League final, 1995 where an Ajax team of youngsters captained by Danny Blind and coached by Louis van Gaal won the day courtesy of a goal by then 17 year old Patrick Kluivert. Ajax had the Van der sars, de Boers, Davids, Seedorfs, Witschges, Litmanens, Kluiverts, Blinds, Reizigers along with 2 Nigerians, Kanu Nwankwo and George Finidi in their ranks.

I fell in love with the Ajax team and kept on following the Dutch league but all I really cared about was the goals; I never missed an episode of Rothmans football show on NTA back in the 90s. I did not support any club until I watched the UEFA Champions League magazine show prior to the final between Manchester United and Bayern München at the Nou Camp in 1999.

They did the pathetic story of the ruin and rise of the club, Manchester United F.C. The Munich air disaster took place on 6th February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from an ice-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, Germany. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the “Busby Babes” along with a number of journalists and supporters. 23 of the 44 people on board the aircraft died instantly as a result of the crash. As I watched this documentary, I wept as one of the players, Liam Whelan actually said: “This may be death, but I am ready” shortly before take off! The manager, Sir Matt Busby read his last rites (prayers before death) twice on his hospital bed because his chances of survival were slim. But the death of their best players did not bury the club! To feeble minds that would have been the end of the story. I saw the Munich memorial clock on the south eastern corner of Old Trafford that permanently read “Feb 6th 1958.” I saw the “Munich Tunnel” in Old Trafford stadium that contains the names of all the dead players and the bold inscriptions under the crash victims’ pictures: Manchester United Shall Rise Again and that was the day I joined the club because that is the summary of life.
The club did rise again; Sir Matt Busby resumed managerial duties the next season (1958-59), and eventually built a second generation of Busby Babes including George Best and Denis Law, that ten years later won the European Cup, beating Benfica. Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes were the only two crash survivors who lined up in that team.

Thirty one years later (1968-99), United exorcised their Munich demons in a dream final at the Nou Camp beating the men from Munich 2-1 courtesy of late strikes from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær cancelling out Mario Basler’s opener. Basler had given Bayern the lead via a free kick in the first half only for Sheringham to head in a David Beckham’s corner with 2mins left to play. Deep into extra time, Beckham delivered another corner, Sheringham got a head to it and Solskjær who was at the back post poked it in. I was delirious, elated and ecstatic that I couldn’t contain my joy. Since then, the name Manchester United F.C has been encrypted in my heart.

There are only two clubs in England; Manchester United and the rest. If football is your passion, Manchester United is your brand.

Who are the favourites to win the English Premier League this season?
What are your predictions for the incoming season?