ANGER MANAGEMENT
Morelos warned he must learn to control his emotions before it damages his career
FOR the motivated goal assassin, top scorer in the country with a point to prove, the scenario could scarcely be more appealing. A hostile home crowd just shy of 60,000 is there to be silenced by one deadly strike, the likes of which Alfredo Morelos has unleashed 29 times already this season. A 30th could stir a title race again and Rangers are relying on their mercurial striker to produce. What an incentive for scoring against Celtic for the first time.
For the marked man of Scottish football, with zero control over his temper, the scenario really could not be worse. The intimidating atmosphere, wind-up merchants in hoops everywhere he turns and the threat of a season-ending result to send frustrations soaring up to boiling point and well beyond. There has been little indication the combustible Colombian would be capable of handling the prospect of provocation if it all goes wrong for Rangers today.
Morelos hasn’t even needed that mayhem of an Old Firm Sunday deep into the season to needle him into self-destruct mode. Aberdeen rivalry has been sufficient, accounting for three of his four red cards since opening day at Pittodrie. Even in the rare weeks
he’s somehow ducked the referee’s notebook amid this 17-caution and four-dismissal campaign, there have been flashpoints.
Few more controversial than the last time Rangers and Celtic met in December when he escaped punishment for three incidents following examination by the SFA compliance officer.
Typical of the persistent stream of trouble spots were the needless clashes with Kilmarnock’s Kirk Broadfoot only a few weeks ago at Ibrox.
Another meltdown today may represent a tipping point. Rangers have not coped well without their best player. Before thrashing Hamilton 5-0 last month, they were winless in the previous five fixtures in which they missed Morelos through suspension. That’s not an ingredient for lifting a title. Yet the challenge for the 22-year-old is a monumental one with no quick fix, as explained by Mike Fisher, director of the British Association of anger management. Fisher, who has worked with several high-profile sports stars on their anger issues, explained: ‘Once a marked man, always a marked man, so there’s very little Alfredo can do about being that marked man now. ‘And once he’s a marked man, he becomes that target. And when he becomes that target, it’s even more difficult for him to manage his adrenaline, his aggression, his anger. This could ruin his career prospects, which he probably already knows.
‘So he doesn’t have a choice, he has to sort out his anger first. He can deal with this now and still operate at a high level, still earn a lot of money. It’s really about being aware of consequences — and he can be helped with that. He has to stop and take a look at big picture. And stop taking everything so personally.’
Morelos insisted, in a club-media interview a few days ago, that he will always be a ‘hot’ player. That he will not be tamed. Fisher suspects the status quo cannot continue if Morelos wishes to achieve his ambitions in the game beyond starring in Scotland.
When Morelos is sitting with friend and fellow Spanish-speaker Daniel Candeias on the long trek home from Aberdeen or apologising to manager Steven Gerrard and staff for another slip of indiscipline, the striker will obviously concede he has crossed the line.
In the cold light of day, he will also acknowledge the consequences of his actions are missing games
He’s so adrenalized, such a hothead that in that heightened state of awareness it’s virtually impossible for him to consider consequences
Once you become a target, there’s little you can do about it. That makes it more difficult for Alfredo to manage his adrenaline, his aggression, his anger — and this could ruin his career prospects, which he probably already knows
Wayne Rooney and Luis Suarez had to turn their brain to managing anger but it does mean they lose their edge. Rooney was a god, a gladiator — but after working through his issues he was boring as hell
through bans and landing his colleagues in too many 10-man scraps than is acceptable for a club with designs on silverware.
Yet, days later, thrust back into character as ‘El Bufalo’, there is no mechanism for reining in a ruinous temper either towards officialdom or against opponents, the regularity of which Scottish football has never seen. Referencing the acclaimed mind-management programme
The Chimp Paradox by Professor Steve Peters, Fisher can recognise the fans favourite’s struggles.
‘You know every time you get another red card you are just digging a deeper hole for yourself,’ said Fisher. ‘And popularity, even among his own team-mates, can be diminished because he becomes a liability as opposed to an asset. But it’s not as if he doesn’t know this. People will have had that conversation with him, sitting in the dressing room or boardroom. However, it’s very different when he’s on the field. In The Chimp
Paradox, the author suggests you’ve got to keep reminding yourself that the chimp part of your brain is in control and 10 times stronger than the human part of your brain. And out there in a big game? The chimp takes over.
‘So when he’s in that predatory chimp mode, he’s got to find a way to manage the chimp. Yet the chimp is so much part and parcel of his success. So you can see the kind of dilemma he’s faced with. I empathise with his dilemma.’
To that end, Fisher believes Morelos can conquer the issues with his help. Central to the success of the striker toning down his act is enabling him to understand the magnitude and likely knock-on effect of his damaging behaviour. Critically, this has to happen while he’s in action.
‘The challenge that any brilliant sports person has to find is staying focused on winning but, at the same time, on the consequences,’ said Fisher. ‘He’s so adrenalised, such a hothead that in that heightened state of awareness it’s virtually impossible to consider consequences.
‘He’s a South American player, Colombian. These are profoundly passionate players, feeling such intensity about the game. And they are obsessed with one thing and one thing only — winning. He’s essentially a boy genius.
‘So adrenalized, so focused, so intent on scoring and winning that nothing will hold him back. But why would you want to curb his passion when it’s that which gives him the edge? You can imagine
how darned difficult it is for him. He’s going to have to sacrifice his passion for what I would describe as a bit more intentionality. To make him more aware of those consequences, he has to slow down his internal world. In my second book — Mindfulness & The Art Of
Managing Anger — we talk about awareness, consciousness.
‘So it will be about establishing internal dialogue with the chimp and with himself to be aware of the consequences. While he’s on the field he has to hold, in his awareness, that every time he acts out his anger he is faced with severe consequences.
‘That is going to take mindfulness practice and meditational practices. I’m not suggesting he now has to sit with his legs folded, listening to relaxing music like a little Buddha in the front of me.
‘But he has to find a balance between his chimp brain and his human brain. That involves a dialogue between the two. It goes something like: You know the consequences, you know where this is going.’
Coaching staff, team-mates and pundits routinely trot out the mantra that removing the fire from a poorly disciplined player’s repertoire would have a negative impact on his ability, instantly lessening his influence. Turns out that’s absolutely spot on, according to Fisher, who highlights there will simply have to be a trade-off for Morelos to deal with if his tantrums are tackled.
‘Wayne Rooney and Luis Suarez had to turn their brain to managing their anger and it does mean they lose their edge,’ he insists. ‘Rooney is the classic example. Rooney worked with one of my colleagues, who I trained up, in Manchester. So I know a bit about this background. It took him a while, three or four years, to curb his anger and not act it out. He was an absolute god, a gladiator. Yet after anger management, he certainly wasn’t the same masterful player. We saw him as captain of England in a major tournament and he was boring as hell. ‘But there’s a price that you pay. Same with Suarez. Before the World Cup in Brazil and yet another biting incident, he was on fire, a lunatic. After anger management, he lost his edge. I still think he’s an unbelievable player, though, and he’s not acting his anger out, is he?’ Showing dissent to referees was classic Rooney. So, too, Morelos. ‘Biting back at the officials means he’s taking the confrontation very personally and making it about him,’ explained Fisher. ‘But, at the end of the day, it’s a game of football and there are rules. ‘Because he is so consumed by being right, it’s very difficult for him to take on board when a referee — or opponent — challenges him, criticises him or even judges him. Because he is so over-adrenalized. The challenge there is not to take everything personally and to keep in mind it’s a game of football. Nothing more, nothing less.’ In the case of Rooney and Suarez, their issues had too often undermined their club or country at Champions League or World Cup level. Morelos is only beginning to find his feet at senior national team level where James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao are the established stars. But Rangers are needier. Short term, another season littered with disciplinary problems will weaken Rangers in their pursuit of Celtic in a potential Nine-In-A-Row campaign. Looking further ahead, Morelos has already attracted attention from more lucrative leagues and in order to bank the very best deal for the Ibrox club and himself, must start to remove the huge question marks over his suspect mentality. ‘The summer would be a good time to address this, when there’s a break,’ said Fisher. ‘What he’s going to have to do between now and then is contain himself. He’s scored a lot of goals and can rest on those laurels. Step down a gear or two, then look at his anger.’