Welcome to the 18th episode of the Ozkoç and King Soccer Podcast Show
Many soccer players dream about winning a big championship for their club. They dream about scoring the winning goal in a final. They have the ambition of being a world-class player primed for the big occasion. Sometimes the pressure can get to them, sometimes not, but when they walk out onto the pitch before the start of the game you can be sure they’re thinking, “This is my time.” The players aren’t the only ones expecting to do great things. Fans, journalists, and critics also anticipate a shining performance from a player that promises so much.
“There is so much scrutiny focused on one player at any given moment,” Oz said. “If anything goes wrong, it becomes so easy to blame the guy. It’s easy to lose sight of the details.” A lot goes on in any particular play. For a goal to be scored or not scored, a series of events has to go one team’s way. Oz continued, “In my opinion, rather than be quick to criticize, we should take care to look at the whole picture. We should pay attention to the finer details of the play, and then we can judge accordingly.”
Even so, footballers move on, dealing with criticisms as they come, waiting for another opportunity to grace the big stage. They work hard to get there. Just ask Frank Lampard or Cristiano Ronaldo about what they went through to get the recognition they deserved.
“All of those struggles are worth it in the end,” said Kerry. “All of the pain, all of the criticism, all of the embarrassment, you don’t care about it one bit when you’re lifting that league trophy at the end of the season. We’d all go through those struggles again if it meant scoring the winning goal of a Champion’s League final.”
We are in the closing stages of many competitions around the world. As the promising footballer lifts that trophy at the end of a grueling season, and the criticisms turn into praises, its safe to say they wouldn’t have gone through the experience any other way.
