In the build up to any tournament I’m always looking for something a bit different to capture guy’s attention. It might be a video clip, an article, a quote or something like that. During my search last week, I stumbled across a youtube clip which Hudson sent me.
It was of John Wooden, former basketball coach to UCLA. In it, he was talking about the journey that is a sporting season. He talks about how a Championship winning team experiences the ultimate feeling during that moment in which they achieve success. But that passes and we should look at the journey as a whole and reflect on more than just one moment. Success, he says, is not always judged on whether you end up holding the trophy or not.
For the Belgium Championship panel, 2011 was a success in my opinion. We consolidated from a very difficult position after losing all those players mid-summer. We brought through many new players from the Shield panel. We devised a system and gave players clear roles. We created a panel which could be interchanged seamlessly.
In the end we didn’t win the Championship or even contest a final in any of the three rounds. We had to settle for third on each occasion. It’s hard to swallow in the sense that I hate being on the outside looking in but sometimes you must put that aside, assess where you started from, assess where you finished and make your judgement.
On Saturday we opened against The Hague. It was level at half-time, we had what many onlookers thought was a clear goal, ruled out for square ball. Our downfall was the concession of frees and as always, our opponents were clinical. We would lose 0-8 to 0-6.
Beating Valencia qualified us for a semi-final against Guernsey. We led at the interval but their charge came strong in the second half. Trailing by two, Cillian fisted a high ball against the post. We were denied a penalty which looked clearly inside the box. A free was given instead. We lost out 0-8 to 0-5.
Virtually every occasion we met The Hague and Guernsey, there was at most a goal between us. We are close. Inches, as they say.
For me, this team is still very much a work in progress. My barometer is always how many guys do you have that were playing football up until the day they arrived and how many will be playing football when they go home. That indicates how much work a team will need. We don’t have so many when you compare us to our opponents. What we do have are players with a growing commitment and potential for further improvement.
That is why my disappointment is not so deep. I believe in the direction we chose to go this year and I believe that the team will continue to improve and we can mount our challenge in 2012.
When wrapping up on Saturday, I went back to Wooden’s idea about the journey. I asked the lads to reflect on the successes of the year, in Frankfurt and Amsterdam. I told them to remember all the nights they left training feeling good about themselves and being part of the team, the craic we had over a bit of grub after training and the good times we have spent in each other’s company drinking cans in one of the lads’ gaff’s, travelling Europe etc.
2012 certainly wasn’t a failure. Progress can never be considered like so and we certainly achieved that. Guernsey, winners of the Championship have set the standard. They gave up the drink for weeks prior to the final tournament. They organised cinema nights, go-karting etc. They are worthy champions and in the bid to become so, they have set that standard for the rest to strive towards.
I’ll be giving more and asking more of the lads in 2012. I believe that if they believe, then that small gap can be closed. We have weathered all the storms of 2011 and emerged as a tight group. The Shield win gave the whole set-up a massive lift. We head into the winter eagerly waiting for the new season to start. Not a bad way to have it.
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