2011 Community Shield: What the Match Really Taught Us

Last Sunday the English FA kicked off the 2011-12 season with the annual Community Shield match.

Since 1930 the match has pit the FA Cup winner against the Premier League champions. Most of the time, the competition is an exercise in glamor and a time to work out the final kinks before the first EPL game the following weekend. But there also is a certain siren call that suggests it is something more.

Technically this game still remains a "preseason" match, but playing in front of 70,000-plus fans at the new Wembley can contradict that statement.

Players play in an unsure fashion, told by their coaches to take it easy and not risk injury but also encouraged by the roars of supporters to give it their all. It is usually between two clubs who will end up battling for the crown that season, and it is always nice to get the upper hand in that head-to-head matchup.

This year’s game was even more bewildering than many others as it split the city of Manchester in two.

City had come off one of the best years in their club's history, finishing tied for second on points and winning the FA Cup, their first trophy in 30 years.

United won the Premier League to give them their 19th first-division crown, surpassing Liverpool for most in English history.

The two met at Wembely on a very mild summer day. The stadium was packed with fans from both parties and was as lively as ever.

The ball was kicked off, signaling the start of the 2011-12 season.

United dominated possession, but Julian Lescott would score a header against the run of play to put City up 1-0 in the 38th minute.

In stoppage time just before the half, a 30-yard shot from Edin Dzeko would beat United’s fresh young keeper to give City a 2-0 lead going into the half.

Forty-five minutes later, the game would end, 3-2, with United coming out on top of City.

Why not describe the second half? Because there was nothing interesting to describe.

Yes, United overcame a two-goal deficit to win. Yes, the United midfield passed the ball so well on one goal that you could have mistaken the City defenders for cones. And Yes, Nani was spectacular.

But, had it not been for an inexorable amount of unwarranted preseason hype for City, this would have seemed like a reasonable outcome.

Everything City lacked is everything that makes United great. It is almost a guarantee that Fergie and the boys went into the locker at half without one worry of anxiety on their brows.

Only De Gea would have had his head down, and rightfully so. In his first big match for United, the man expected to fill the boots of a legend found himself tripping in them.

But good old Fergie probably took the 20-year-old around the shoulder and said, “Cheer up lad, you’re on United now.”

That is the mentality of champions.

Was United the best team in the league last year? No—there were plenty who played better.

Were they they most talented? Not at all.

But did they deserve the crown more than anyone else?

Absolutely.

There is a certain reason why teams like United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, the Yankees, the Lakers, and the Patriots are always expected to be champions. It is due to the inherent and intangible qualities that come with the brand. It is a tradition of winning.

There is no way to buy this honor or manufacture it in any way; it must be gained over decades of success.

But once you have it, it cannot be taken away.

If I may, I shall depart from the pitch for a moment to the hardwood floor and use as an example the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics have won a record 17 NBA championships between 1957 and 2011. In the mid-90s the team suffered one of their worst stretches in franchise history and finished the 1996-97 season with a franchise-worst 67 losses.

The days of McHale, Parish, and Bird were fading into legend as the rut got worse.

Through those dark years, the team was booed, jeered, and shamed into disgrace.

However, this is not the team you think of when you think of the Boston Celtics because this is not their identity. Losing and rebuilding is a part of the game, but when an organization establishes itself with a winning tradition, the bad is forgotten and the mythical players that create this identity overshadow any low points the team may have.

Now let’s look at the reverse. Again, I will use an example from another sport, this time baseball and the Boston Red Sox.

Here is a team with as much history and tradition as most soccer clubs, but most of it has been under the so-called “curse” of the Bambino, a hex supposedly put on the team after selling Babe Ruth to the rival New York Yankees. This curse kept the franchise without a championship for over 80 years.

They would make it to four World Series in that time, all of which went to seven games.

They would lose in ’46 when Johnny Pesky hesitated to throw a runner out at home. They would lose in ’67 when their ace and Cy Young winner, Jim Lonborg, got roughed up by Cardinal bats and Bob Gibson pitched a historic game. They would lose in ’75 when Carlton Fisk’s dramatic 12th-inning homer in Game 6 was not enough to inspire them through Game 7. And they would lose in ’86 when Bill Buckner made one of the most iconic blunders in sports history.

Through this all they had garnered a tradition of losing, which indicated that they were a team that would never be able to get over the hump and reverse the stigma.

Players like Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, and Jimmie Foxx would all have Hall of Fame careers with the Sox, but playing in that uniform doomed them to ringless fingers.

City have constructed all the pieces together that they can: good coaching staff, great players, and a desire to win.

But do you not think the Red Sox did the same? Do you not think that every team that has ever played any sport has done the same?

You play to win the game, and that’s it.

What City is missing is something the sheik can’t purchase; it is something that can only be earned through success on the pitch.

Few teams in the world have such a blessing as to posses this intangible quality. It is the idea that, no matter who you are playing, you are going to win. It is not vocalized through pep talks and rallying of support. It is implied and does not need to be said.

I am sure the City locker room on Sunday was brimming with jubilation before the match—inspiring speeches from the captain and coach meant to prepare them mentally for the challenge.

Across the hall the United locker room was much more calm, each player making his own necessary mental preparations.

Nothing more was needed.

You can see this translated in the pre-match festivities.

City players stood staunch and rigid, staring straight ahead and treating the game like it was a special occasion.

United players were loose, looking around, and doing some last-minute stretching. For them the game was one just like any other.

It is that mentality that creates winners: the belief, nay, the attitude that a game against the lowest of opponents is no different from a Champions League final.

City’s destruction came at their own hands, from listening to the pundits and the fans who told them this was a game for them to prove themselves; that this was the time for them to capture Manchester and establish their presence in the footballing world.

In 2004 the Red Sox won their first World Series in 80 years.

Management had poured millions of dollars into the club to resurrect the franchise and make them one of the most feared teams in the game. Since then they have been favorites to win the title every season.

But the team that won in 2004 was almost identical to the team that lost in the ALCS in 2003.

City is right now the 2003 Red Sox.

They have all they need to take the league, but they just need to win. They need to find that small intangible, unidentifiable, incomprehensible little speck of will, pride, or just plain luck that will put them over the edge.

Once they find that, they will win. And once they do, they will finally begin to build a tradition of winning.

You can find more of my columns at http://sports-at-work.com/