Playing sports in general and football in particular, whether professional or amateur, the goal or desire is always to win. Winning brings joy, confidence and maturity. But that is when you deserve to win to feel the results of a whole process of effort and struggle.
What if you are not strong enough or not good enough to win? Sometimes, you can still win, but it comes in a way that people call “unexpected” or “shocking”, because you played well in that match, because your opponent unexpectedly lost you, not because your level suddenly… jumped.
If you consider those victories as a premise to build confidence for the next step, that is very good. But if you use that as a basis to become delusional. The price to pay will not be too far on the road ahead. Vietnamese football has fallen into this situation many times.
If U22 Vietnam draws or wins against U22 China , it is likely that the compliments will be beyond the allowed threshold. And it turns the players into better people just by words. But in reality, it is not like that, because from the same mouths, the words will be in the opposite direction if you fail.
So, the fact that U22 Vietnam lost the match was a good thing. Because inside the regret, they looked back and knew where they were, what they were lacking, and what they needed to improve. Each match is a period of struggle - both physically, technically and mentally, to force them to focus from start to finish. People have seen many tennis players reach the decisive point, or many athletes celebrate too early near the finish line... but then lose because they let their composure slip.
The same goes for football, a missed shot in a favorable position is not necessarily a matter of skill. It requires courage, staying in the present moment to determine what to do, not thinking quickly about how to celebrate… Don’t people say that losers must learn and try harder!?
