A National Day Of Mourning-Or Why Losing Hurts So Much

16-06-2010

A National Day of Mourning in Spain

            What does it mean to “deserve to win?”  Does deserving to win change the ultimate result of a match?  Give a team three points?  Or otherwise inspire confidence?  “Absolutely not!” is the brutal and honest response to such questions.  Why, I ask myself, is a team ever thought to have deserved to win when they did not?  It is because the losers want some type of consolation, something to take out of the worst feeling in the world-losing.  I would like to clarify however, that I am only talking about professional sports and not amateur or youth competitions.  When a team wins, it is not necessarily because they were superior, utilized better tactics, or “deserved” to win, as was the case with Switzerland in its 1-0 victory over Spain in their first group stage match today.  While analyzing that match and discussing my viewing experience of it with three fellow Spaniards in Granada, Spain, I will ponder the psychological-emotional and physical impacts of losing, especially in connection with association football and the World Cup.

            It’s June 14^th, 2010.  We are three days into what has so far been a disappointingly goal-shy and under-par 2010 World Cup in South Africa.  It is two days before Cup favorites Spain play against European minnows Switzerland in a match that many are predicting will set the tone for Spain’s curse-breaking, world-conquering campaign.  The Spanish media: television, newspapers, websites, as well as the buzz on the streets oozes supreme confidence, possibly even arrogance.  Winners of the 2008 UEFA European Cup, having had a nearly perfect World Cup qualifying campaign, and playing with great style and class, the Spanish, if anyone truly have a reason to be confident.  As many of us know however, over-confidence, especially on the world stage, can lead to not only an over-reliance on skill and lack of combative physicality, but even worse, complacency, and collapse.  Nevertheless, the Spanish remained extremely optimistic, playing up their bill as favorites.  While Spanish politicians were being asked on Canal Cuatro’s morning news what score they would predict for the afternoon’s match (most predicting a 2-0, 3-0, or 4-1 domination), Switzerland was quietly, and diligently preparing to surprise the world. 

Anyone who has watched the Spanish National Team in the past three years knows that they play with a style and panache rarely exhibited by tournament-winning teams.  It is widely perceived that style and attacking flair will only go so far on the international stage.  Of the most “stylistic” and attacking teams in the past three World Cups (Netherlands 1998, Brazil 1998, Argentina 2002, Brazil 2002, Portugal 2006, Argentina 2006, France 2006, Spain 2006), only one has managed to hoist the trophy formerly known as the “Jules Rimet.” It is a fact that most of ‘la Furia Roja’ (Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol in central defense, Xavi Hernandez, Sergio Busquets, and Andres Iniesta in the midfield, and David Villa as the central striker, not to mention Pedro and Victor Valdes on the bench) comes from FC Barcelona.  It is only natural then that la Roja play with a similar style.  Though I am not a Barça supporter, watching their team play and dominate for the past two seasons has possibly even the apex of my football viewing experience, a true thing of beauty and grace, equaled by few since the “Clockwork Orange” Netherlands national teams of the 1970’s and 80’s.  By combining constant defensive pressure from the forwards down to the defense (with Barcelona’s forwards in 2008-2009 unthinkably committing more fouls than their defense), lane-opening triangular passing formations, selfless play, and some of the most gifted players of this generation, Barça has shown the world how beautiful football can indeed overcome strict physical play and “bus-parking” strategies.  Attempting to mirror their success, Spain has adapted Barcelona’s style, though until recently few in the Real Madrid-dominated Spanish media have given the national team this credit.  Despite Barcelona and Spain’s recent success, teams have proven that they are not infallible and can be defeated by an organized, width-cutting defense, which forces them to play more through the middle, thus losing a great part of their potency.   This, in fact was exactly the case with Barcelona’s Champions League defeat at the hands of eventual champions Inter Milan, and Spain’s defeat in their first World Cup match to Switzerland on June 16^th, 2010.

Having decided to come to Spain, partly to view the World Cup in a football-crazed atmosphere with the possibility of even seeing them win the tournament, I, like my three friends Pepe, Juanma, and Luis, was extremely excited to see La Roja show the world how football should truly be played.  All around the mythic (and now student) city of Granada, Spanish flags, national team jerseys, bumper stickers, ad-campaigns, and football-related graffiti were visible.  Ripe with great expectations, World Cup “fever” had truly struck southern Spain, and had infected me as well.  

In hindsight the expectations set by the national and international media and by Spaniards themselves, were unrealistic.  Humility, as Spaniards would learn, can go a long way in keeping one’s team grounded and focused.  While Switzerland are not an entirely incapable national team, as exemplified by their impressive qualifying campaign and their having played in four consecutive international tournaments dating back to the 2004 UEFA European Cup, they are not Spain, France, England, Germany, Holland, etc.  With just six players of their current squad plying their trades in two of Europe’s top three leagues (Italy’s Serie A and England’s Premier League), Switzerland, according to most, simply did not have the quality to cope with La Roja. 

Spain started the match in fine form, absolutely dominating possession, creating several gilt-edged chances, and as it turned out, over-relying on their beautiful style.  For the first 20 minutes it looked as though Spain had this one in the bag, that a goal would come sooner or later and bring about a subsequent flood of “gooooooooooooooooool!”  While Spain’s midfielders: maestro Xavi Hernandez, deep-lying specialist Xabi Alonso, and world-class dribbler Andres Iniesta discovered, simply playing their game was not enough.  They needed to adapt to Switzerland’s incredible defensive organization.  While more than capable as a lone forward, David Villa looked truly forgotten up front, rarely receiving the service that one would expect.   In my estimation, Spain’s biggest mistake was deploying two defensive midfielders in the form of Alonso and Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets.  While completely unnecessary and overly defensive, such a 4-2-3-1 formation (four defenders, two defensive midfielders, three central/attacking midfielders, and one forward), combined with Switzerland’s stifling defense, denied Spain the space to take advantage of their famed “tiki-taka” style.   Even so, stylistically, technically, and statistically (with 73 percent possession) Spain was the superior team.   However, they did not take advantage of the few clearer opportunities afforded to them and were reduced to shooting from distance.   With the game tied 0-0 at half time, Spain had tried nearly everything, including the patience of my friends.  Though not reflected by the score line, we could all plainly see Spain’s superiority.  Not yet completely despairing, my companions continued to drain their 250 cc Alhambra beers in silence. 

After the break, Spain continued to prod, pass, and move.  But in the 52^nd minute a long ball over the top of the Spanish defense caused a mix-up at the back and the typically iron-clad defensive duo of Pique and Puyol literally tripped over each other as Swiss-Brazilian midfielder Gelson Fernandes poked home the only goal of the game.  Spanish manager Vicente del Bosque responded by introducing his three subs: first wisely taking off the ineffective Sergi Busquets, but mistakenly replacing him with the unfit Fernando Torres, next hooking the ethereal pint-sized midfielder “El Chino” David Silva for the mercurial Jesus Navas, and finally taking off injured Andres Iniesta and replacing him with Barcelona’s jack-of-all-trades Pedro.  Taking nothing away from Switzerland’s impressive defense, ultimately it was Spain’s adherence to their predictable tactics, and Del Bosque’s ineffective substitutions that brought about their collapse. 

At the end of full-time it was as though a sheet of silence had been swept across the city: no car horns blared, no shouts nor cheers emanated from the streets because there was no cause to celebrate.  At first none of my friends spoke, they just rolled their eyes, finished their warm beers, or emitted sarcastic chuckles.  As the post-match commentators discussed the travesty, all I could do was sit in shock and try to think up words of encouragement or consolation.  On the other hand, I could not even begin to think what the atmosphere was like in Basel, Bern, Zurich, or Geneva.  This had to have been the Swiss national team’s most important victory ever, but that’s another story. 

While not out of the World Cup, Spain would now be obligated to win its final two group stage matches with Chile taking their opening match 1-0 against Honduras.  Certainly with their uber-squad and tactically sound coach, Spain still has an excellent chance to advance past the group stage, but there was something about losing, the way they lost, to the team they lost to that really bothered not just my friends, but all aficionados of La Roja, the media, and the players themselves.  You could see it on the face of goalkeeper Iker Casillas as he gave his post-match interview (to his girlfriend), you could see it on the faces of the fans at the stadium that day, and you could see it on the faces of my friends.  This was not a game to lose, not the way they lost it.  It would have been one thing if Spain had lost because of a lack of effort, because of poor play, or because Switzerland had been the better team, but none of those were the case. Many spasmodic and cockamamie explanations were given: that goalkeeper Iker Casillas had lost his focus due to his girlfriend, a television reporter, being present, that Andres Iniesta was injured, even to the extreme that the Catalan players purposefully slacked because they cared more about their club teams.  In the end Spain had beaten themselves, and as has so often been the case in their history, were the victims of bad luck.

I would like to now draw more focus to losing.  At some point in our lives, we all lose; it is a natural part of our existence not particular to sports or competition.  What is it though about losing that can be so devastating to a professional athlete?  That makes it hurt so much?  That can shatter one’s confidence?  That breeds such intense emotions like hate, envy, and even in extreme cases, racism?  The main reason that losing can be so devastating is because it pricks the human psyche in a way that no other experience can.  At its deepest root, losing destroys pride, and breeds feelings of inferiority.  More specifically it is the knowledge that one has prepared and then failed to match an equally prepared opponent that causes such psychological stress.  It is by sparking intense feelings of physical and psychological inadequacy (I was beaten because he was stronger, faster, taller, more skilled, or smarter) that losing has the potential to destroy, as well as teach.  Unlike the gladiatorial contests of Ancient Rome, the penalty for losing for pro athletes is no longer death.  Besides statistical detraction (Switzerland wins three points toward qualifying for the knockout stage), the effects of losing in our age are internalized.  The penalty for losing is self-identifying as a “loser,” or inferior.  While in the animal kingdom, mammals fight to establish superiority and rank, and are defined by their battles-who is the alpha male, who will have the best access to food, a mate, etc, professional footballers in the World Cup fight for prize money and pride.  In the World Cup, pride is obtained through winning, while inferiority is the result of losing.  National teams win a certain amount of money for each win and each subsequent round they advance to, but I would contend that the pride associated with winning the Cup overshadows financial concerns. 

In Spain’s case, their players, in top physical form, more skilled than the Swiss, with enormous expectations, having prepared, and performed at a higher level, were devastated by their loss, and at least temporarily, were inferior because they were outmaneuvered.  Some take losing harder than others, some quit, others are never the same after a devastating loss, but it is the ability to cope with losing and surpass its emotional, psychological, and physical effects, that separate losers from champions.  I must admit that my expectations for this World Cup have been decreasing as each historic giant loses, but at least it will be exciting to see what happens, how such teams react to their early loses, and if they can bounce back and regain good form.  Until then...hasta pronto. -Sasu