Football

Has there ever been a more beautiful game so naturally endowed with both simplicity and complexity? The simplicity is obvious - this is a game anyone can start playing anytime. Most other games have their set of rules that have to be explained to the uninitiated and specialized accessories like the bat and wickets in cricket. But kicking a ball between two posts comes so naturally to the human being. You don't have to it explain to them.

But the simplicity is deceiving. As one gets more involved in the game one realizes that professional football games involve so much details. As one ponders over them, one realizes that football perhaps reflects the philosophy of life itself. Consider the following,

a) Talent is important for success: Watch Diego Maradona waltz past hapless English players in the 1986 World Cup or 'little' Leo Messi do the same for FC Barcelona against Getafe in La Liga 2006-07, to know what I am talking about.

b) But hard work is equally important: Consider Greece who were the Euro 2004 winners. They were a relatively unknown footballing nation who triumphed over their more illustrious rivals like France, Italy, Spain and England. Some say they played ugly long-balled and strong defensive football always looking for the break in counterattack but no one can take away the hard work and dedication of each member of the team.

c) The team is more important the individual: If you are a batsman in cricket, your performance ideally is not directly influenced by that of the others in your team. OK, it may matter if your partner responds clumsily to a cheeky single or if he is hitting well to take the pressure from you. But thats it. But for football, the performance of a player may change radically depending on how the other 10 folks play and how he combines with them. Consider Andriy Shevchenko, one of the most lethal strikers of the world when with the Rossoneri but ever since he has moved to Chelsea, he has been nothing short of pathetic. Its not that he has suddenly forgotten how to shoot or pass the ball, but just that he has not been able to gel in with the rest of the team.

Consider teams with one or two exceptional players but with otherwise average players. The Chileans in 2002 had the potent combination of Marcelo Salas and Ivan Zamorano up front but they made little impact as the midfield and defense couldn't support their genius.

On the other hand consider Brazil in World Cup 2006. The vast individual talent of almost every member of the team didn't gel into a cohesive unit and they were booted out by France in the quarters.

d) There are different paths to success: The point is that you have to find your unique way to nirvana. Let me give an example and refrain from any pedantry. Think of a list of effective center forwards/strikers and the names of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney and Filippo Inzaghi will feature in. All three have been prolific for Man. Utd/Real Madrid, Man Utd. and AC Milan but they have very different styles. Ruud is a classical box striker who is lethal in precision and shooting if you got him the ball in the box, but otherwise is lazy and hardly drops down the field to help his team-mates. 'Pippo' also known as the 'poacher' has an uncanny ability to be in the 'right place at the right time' to tap or head in a 'simple looking' goal. Rooney on the other hand is a gritty player, often dropping deep to the midfield and harassing the opposition to win the ball.

And why only strikers? Lets go to the other extreme and consider central defenders. In England analysts often debate about the efficacies of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. Terry is more often seen making those spectacular last ditch tackles to clear the ball than Ferdinand. Some hail it as a sign of a better defending. Others argue that it's because Ferdinand has a better sense of positioning which enables him to intercept dangerous passes of the opposition right at the inception and Terry has to make last ditch tackles because he was slow to react to the opposition buildup. The truth is that the have both been very successful for their country and in their unique ways.

e) Tactics do matter: Shall the team play in a 4-4-2 formation? Or 4-3-3? Or 4-3-2-1? Should the wingers switch sides like Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo for Man Utd? Should the full backs be assume attacking roles in the offensive like Cafu, Carlos, Alves of Brazil? Should the midfield be primarily attacking or defensive or a combination of both? Should there be two center forwards (Rooney and Own for England) or should one central forward play just behind the other like an offensive midfielder (Gilardino/Inzaghi and Kaka for Milan)? Well it often does make a difference. This is where the coach comes in. Should he train the team play 'total football' like the Dutch did a decade ago where every player played all over the pitch? Of should the teams be like Rafa Benitez's Liverpool and Jose Mourinho's Chelsea where players had well defined roles in the pitch?

I have attempted to break the flow of the game into some salient classifications. But such an effort is as futile as breaking down a song into its notes, its raaga etc in order to understand why it sounds beautiful. Why? It's because of the Gestalt principle which says that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A game of football combines all the features that I have mentioned above and they interact with each other with unknown dependencies and relative importances. Thats what makes the game so fascinating.