- By Jasvir Biriah
- January 09, 2023
- 10 mins
Perception Vs Reality
The Qatar World Cup will most likely be the best tournament I will ever go to in my lifetime. I had the pleasure of quality company alongside some incredible games. The tournament was incredible.
Contrary to the negative press during the build-up, there was a total disconnect between the perception of the tournament and reality. It's a theme that plays out in life time and time again. If it wasn't the safety of fans, it was the authorities and how they treat people, or it was the lack of alcohol. Whatever it was, there was always a negative twist. Did a football tournament deserve this rhetoric? Can't we simply enjoy twenty-two players trying to outwit each other on the pitch without the politics?
All of the games we attended were brilliant and each match had its unique personality. Here are some lessons that I brought back from Qatar.
The 10 Lessons I brought back from Qatar:
Football proved to be an emotion, not just a sport. An emotive statement, but l'd like you to imagine! Hundreds of thousands of people travel to another country to support their national team, they move together in swarms and live the roller coaster of emotions of every game together, many continue the party in hotel bars, restaurants and yachts late into the night, every single night, whilst many other fans celebrate on the streets and cheer outside the stadiums with respect for the hosting country. Over the whole month, football teams fought for every inch on the pitch, with some teams equalising in the last minutes of their respective games. There were shocks and some underdogs did win. The fairy tale wasn't complete, there was only one person who could win the World Cup, and it had to be Lionel Messi. The emotion behind this all was simply a one-off. No one could have written this script even if they tried.
It's all about the long game and it's linked to both mental and physical endurance. Acute short-term actions only happen with dedication and discipline. These actions compound and create ripple effects that contribute to long-term results. It takes four years to get to the World Cup and it takes consistency and endurance to get through this tournament, often in isolation with your teammates.
Pulling off one upset isn't enough, which Saudi Arabia proved against Argentina. Morocco and Japan were also two teams that upset the odds to top their groups, but short bursts to get there were not enough and the endurance towards the end of the tournament weakened.
Play to the final whistle. Work to the finishing line and never give up. Yes, this means right through the finishing line. The World Cup 2022 proved this notion time and time again, it wasn't over until it was. The image of Mbappe taunting Messi towards the end of the final game is tattooed in my mind, only for Argentina to respond and win.
Everyone needs a twelfth man or woman in their life. A support system in team sports and individual sports is vital for success, and the same can be said for life and business. For the Moroccans, it was their fans and the national pride behind the players showing off their mothers for their success. The Moroccan team became immortal in the eyes of their people by making them proud as a nation by showcasing their cultural values. This emotion was their power source which was bigger than football itself. They carried this energy into every game.
It is possible to punch above your weight and win. Stay true to your values and go earn it with hard work and perseverance. Argentina suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia. Germany got caught by Japan and went down in their opening match. Iran came back to win against Wales, and Morocco upset some of the best teams in the tournament. Anything seemed possible in this World Cup.
Have a vision, dream big and execute well. Why not? Or you can dream small, both big and small are a choice. This tournament was about believing in the unbelievable. A country with a population of around 2.7 million people created a budget of $200+ billion to host a World Cup in the desert with fully air-conditioned stadiums. Qatar had a big dream and built it into reality. Yes, the money helped, but you can't deny the ambition and the spirit behind the intention.
Having a good track record doesn't guarantee future success. It takes more. The mental ability to overcome the inconsistencies in team performances is a big part of the game, and it can be unforgiving in a knock-out tournament like the World Cup. Brazil were undoubtedly one of the favourites to win the World Cup with the individual players they had. However, they were inconsistent and performed in bursts, there was no consistency in their performances. Being a great footballer doesn't guarantee that you will win as a team. Scoring the most does not make you a winner either, Mbappe won the Golden Boot but never won the World Cup. It must all come together, you can call it harmony, a state of flow, or good old-fashioned luck, whatever it was Argentina certainly found it.
Short-term setbacks do not define you. Sometimes we need to lose before we win. This is a lesson in sport, life and business. Losing a battle is fine, but Messi made sure his team responded and won the war.
Success or failure comes down to the details. The thinnest margins can make the biggest difference. Whether it's an on-field mistake in the dying minutes, or a touch of brilliance, at the highest level it's all in the details. If you look back at the final, it highlights that the smallest of details were responsible for Argentina winning the final.
Lionel Messi is the GOAT. To my mind, this was settled. His greatness was amplified during this World Cup. Anything can happen and it showed that fairytales can take 20 years in the making. A lifetime of dedication to his craft finally paid off. A young boy from Rosario Argentina dreamed of this moment since he was a child. He came to the World Cup with seven Ballons d'Or's, four Champions League titles, a Copa America, ten Ligas, seven Copa Del Reys, eight Spanish Super Cups, three European Super Cups and three World Club Cups, but the World Cup always eluded him. Not anymore, he raised himself into a league of his own.
Final Thoughts
For a long time, the World Cup has been the most watched sporting event on the planet with approximately 1.5 billion people tuning in for the final game between France and Argentina. In the end, Qatar showed that it focused purely on the infrastructure to support football by making it a great experience for both the players and the fans alike, despite the rhetoric and negative perceptions in the media. The World Cup 'was' enjoyed without alcohol in the stadiums, and women "could" enjoy it without fearing for their safety. This list could go on.
As I mentioned earlier in this post, there is perception, and there is a reality, something that investors work hard to negotiate with every single day. More often than not we choose to live through the eyes of perception, and worse still, sometimes through the perception of others. It's all an opinion, as opposed to the reality on the ground. We see this in life as well as the day-to-day ebb and flow of the markets. By looking through the lens of perception we have the potential to lose sight of what is important, and in this case, it's the sport of football that gives so much joy to so many people. Why does sport have to be politicised? Besides, all the rhetoric tends to be political and social narratives, why is there never a specific sporting narrative or criticism of the game itself, I would understand this angle a lot more. A real footballing debate we see in the English leagues week in and week out.
Judging by the football and hospitality alone, Qatar's hosting of the World Cup was a huge success, and the next World Cup in North America has big boots to fill. Until then, I'll be enjoying the Euro Championships in a few years, but in the meantime, I'll be tuning into the English Premier League next week to continue watching my club team push for the title. (We can dream)
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