Footballer THE CERTAINTY OF UNCERTAINTY

THERE is nothing as certain in professional soccer as uncertainty. There are no guarantees – you can train hard all week, look sharp and be confident ahead of the match, and then suddenly it all goes wrong. There are times when you play badly and win. Other times you play really well but still lose. Strikers go through patches – during the purple patch, everything they hit ends up in the back of the net. I’ve seen strikers score with their shoulders, their shins and even their bum when they are on fire, but the opposite is horrible to watch. When strikers are going through a rough patch, nothing goes in. You take time to get to know the team, the systems, the club’s culture, and just when it is all starting to make sense you get a massive disruption. The transfer of a teammate can really disrupt you. It reminds you how vulnerable you are, and you start to worry that you could be next. If you do get transferred to a team in another province, this causes massive disruption. The married players with kids have to decide if they are going to relocate the whole family. Kids have to change schools. You might have to sell your house. It might not be a player though. I really struggled to gain the confidence of the new coach at one team. I worked hard to be noticed, but I couldn’t get into his starting XI. Eventually after about four months he gave me my chance – the team was going through a bad run but I was certain that this was my time to shine. The following week we were informed that the coach had been relieved of his duties. I was stunned; all my hard work wasted. Injuries are another massive disruption in your life. You get paid to play and there is no bigger frustration in a young professional athlete’s life than having to go to physio and miss out on training and matches. Serious injuries are the worst. But the small niggles – groin strains, twisted ankles, tight hamstrings – are the ones that take two or three weeks to heal and hold you back. Some coaches will tell you to get it out of your head, but when you know you risk making it worse, it is always in your head. Injuries happen in training too and if you’ve been kicked by a teammate, it stays in your system. The aggression builds up while you sit on the sidelines watching the guy who kicked you play league matches. You can’t wait to get back on the field and sort him out. The other massive disruption in your life is the lack of control over your time. You have your training schedule for the week and you know that you will get one afternoon off, so you can plan something with your friends. But you can’t go to parties during the week, you can’t go away for weekends during the season, and you can’t plan anything in advance. I had a teammate who – knowing when the off-season was – booked a Mauritius holiday six months in advance. But he was sold to another club and they had a pre-season tour at the same time he was planning to be in Mauritius! He could only get half his money back, and we all knew it could have been us. Don’t plan anything too far in advance if you are a professional footballer. There are no certainties.

You can’t go away for weekends during the season, and you can’t plan anything in advance.