The 2014 FIFA World Cup Winners
For those of you who don't follow soccer (aka football), the 2014 FIFA World Cup is happening right now in Brazil. Half way through the group stage, it has certainly been made clear that if you think soccer is boring, this could be the time to start watching!
Image Source: www.kempinski.com
With goals abounding in almost every game, one stadium has seen 17 goals in just 3 matches and some teams are scoring 4 or 5 goals in a game.
Right now I'm watching a recorded game between Germany and Ghana - due to it being played at 3am Perth time and me sleeping through my alarm! Having led 1 - 0 just after half time, Germany soon found themselves 2 - 1 down.
Many teams in this World Cup are full of inexperienced players (at this level) so it is no surprise that Germany was running out of ideas as to how to turn this around. A decision to bring on two experienced players, Klose and Schweinsteiger had an interesting effect. Not only did Klose score the equalizer within minutes of coming on, but every other player in the German team found another gear and started playing at a whole new level of quality.
I saw the same thing with the Cote D'Ivoire game against Japan. Drogba simply warming up on the sidelines sent the fans into a whole new level of crazy and 4 minutes after Drogba came on Japan had conceded 2 goals! Even more interesting is that Drogba had nothing to do with those 2 goals other than being the inspiration they had needed. Pirlo has had a similar effect on the Italian team.
Photo Source: abc.net.au
Being Australian myself, possibly the most significant display of inspiration has been Tim Cahill who has not only inspired a young Australian team, but has inspired the countless fans and a whole generation of even younger soccer players who dream to be on the world stage themselves at some point.
So while the winners of the World Cup will be determined by the final score, to me the winners are also the younger players both in the team but also back home, who learn that through dedication and skill, they too can be an inspiration to others and achieve great things!