Daniel: Soccer - the psycological factor

In soccer games, all the aggressiveness of the attacking team can be destroyed with just one goal of the defender team.
On TV we can see the effect of this in all the team, sometimes no matter how skillfull his players are, the psycological factor of this goal will let them mentally tired, so they cant show their full potential.

One goal can also have the inverse effect for the players who scores the goal, they reanime and can control the game, their team work gets better, they defend better and attack more, its just a matter of the mental state of the players.

We have seen this in the Eurocup, it happened to Bulgaria, after making a very nice game, one goal of Sweden destroyed their will, and let them mentally tired, they ended with 5 goals, because they didnt correct their flaws in the defense.

In the terrible games Russia have done in the Eurocup, the best performance was achieved in the worst of the situations, ten players, a dismanteled team, few experience, etc... but after all this... the time between the 1st time and the second time was the key, sure the talk with the coach Yartsev is the reason behind the best play we have seen from Russia since the Eurocup started, they had time to think in something better, an objetive, and jumped to the field mentally charged in a more positive way.

The nerves are often the worst enemy of a player, the side with less nerves would probably be the winner because they can show their skills while the others are erratic and worried.

If Russia wants its soccer teams to be winners of international
competitions, then resources, time, ideas and very detailed and ambitious programs should be created, to teach and develop the best skills of little Russian kids in soccer, and prepare them mentally to be fighters in the field, not afraid of one or 2 goals, but always pushing to win.

Maybe the Russian goverment will be more interested in another mental effect of the goals of their national team, the one that takes part in the common Russian citizen, PRIDE to be Russian, from the moment they hear the national anthem to the happy moment of the goals.

That's one of the effects the called "king" of the sports have in the masses.

Daniel, Ecuador