SCHMITTblog

Guts, passion and perseverance

Note: I wrote the following on LH714 to Tokyo but the internet connection all of a sudden failed to function; so I am sending it only now from my hotel in Tokyo...

I am on the way from Germany to Japan, somewhere above Russia, and I have been following today’s games on Lufthansa’s Flynet and Boeing’s Connexion internet services.  “What kind of soccer fan are you?” you might ask.  I accept that scolding; I should have stayed in Germany.  Maybe my Japanese client would have understood.  Not watching the games, I am dependent on the soccer linguistics of the bloggers and commentators. And one phrase stands out: “lack of creativity.”  Every self-declared soccer expert had the Brazilians, as one expert put it, “at least in the semi-final.” The Economist wrote that Brazil “reigns supreme,” and that German win was “unlikely.” And here are the Brazilians, showing no creativity, and being outclassed by the French. My own take before the start of the worldcup was perhaps too extreme: I had the Brazilian team out before the quarterfinals – a prediction that was, in retrospect, too extreme. (However, who would have thought they’d meet Ghana in the round of 16?) 

In times of radical change, and the clearest evidence of this are these quarterfinals, experts are too conservative.  Mavericks, like myself, are more likely to get it right. And what is that radical change? First, “soccer as usual” without creativity won’t do anymore. That’s why Brazil is out; that’s why England is out. (One of the commentators described Britain’s act against Portugal as “heroic,”  -- a term often used for teams that shined in the past and now fail in their last, desperate effort.  Never mind that the Brits rarely shined in the past.)  Second, professional and innovative management is required to succeed (see my last blog). Finally, guts, passion and perseverance get you a long way (cf. Zidane) – but most of the young, high paid celebrity players don’t seem to have enough of it.

No more reason to live

Dear Friends,

This is the last you'll hear of me.  I have no more reason to live.  Losing to the Krauts in penalty kicks, after having had the chance to win on the field, has left me feeling wretched.  My cousin Sergio called me so that "we can grieve together."  My boy David Pizarro's sister was crying.  Even my mother, who turned off the Mexico game because she didn't know that overtime exists in soccer (I'm not kidding about this), was in mourning.

The Krauts will win this tournament because they're playing at home.  It's a shame because this tournament has lost one of its most attractive teams while the mannschaft soldiers on.  Now all that's left are the dirty Italians, the belly-flopping Porties, and the French. 

Maybe the tricolor will give us some joy next week.  I watched Zidane against Brazil today, and he was truly inspired.  There's nothing like watching a bald guy kick butt because you know that every day that he looks in the mirror the view is that much more grim for him.  My only worry with the French, assuming that they make final, is that they have a distinct tendency to roll over whenever the Germans come marching in to town. 

Zidane, Henry, Vieira, and co.: Let's not make the lasting image of this cup a picture of the topless (and hairless!) Schmitt in a German-flag wig.  S'il vous plait.

Then again, who cares anymore.  I have no more reason to live.

Arriba albicelestes!  I'll see you boys in heaven, wearing my official team jersey.

LEVAV 

A Triumph for Management

Alright, the game didn't end 3:0, just 4:2 in a penalty shoot-out, following a 1:1 after overtime. Still, the predictions of the "soccer experts" have been proven wrong again. Who (besides melancholic Levav and nutty SCHMITT) would have thought that Germany can beat the "awesome" Argentinians? The success of the German team is first and foremost a triumph of Mr Klinsmann's, the German coach's, management. Highly controversial as he has been, it has become clear by now that he implemented some key initiatives that make the German team stand out in this tournament.  The team stands out not because it has world-reknown players (except for the captain of the team, Mr. Ballack) but because it is a team, and because they are fit, and because they are strong mentally.  At the beginning of the game against Argentina, Germany played horribly, but then they adjusted, they focused, they moved utterly fit into overtime, and had the mental strength at the end that was necessary to win the final shoot-out.

Over the last few months, Mr Klintsmann has created a professional, modern management structure and processes that work and that surprise teams (and soccer experts) that follow conventional rules of soccer.  He has tried out young players, trained them to play aggressively and hired a cutting-edge U.S. fitness coach. He has treated his players as adults (and not as boyish subordinates). He looked at the worldcup as a project, and set challenging goals and objectives for himself and the players. In addition, he has challenged the DFB, the anachronistic and sterile German soccer association.  Management anywhere take note: there are some key lessons here in "how to do extraordinary things with ordinary people" (that's how Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's turnaround whizz and now CEO of Renault defined management in a talk I recently attended) and how creative mavericks can change an organization   

I have to go to watch Italy v Ukraine now; the winner will meet Germany in the semifinals.  Congratulations, Mr. Klinsmann!

ARGENTINA, WE ARE READY

Wir fahren nach Berlin! Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!Wir fahren nach Berlin!

The Argentine Soul

From our dear guest-blogger Levav we have already heard a lot about the Argentine vs Teutonic psyche. I just collected additional info on the Argentinine Soul from a special report on German TV, the night before the game.

Buenos Aire boasts the largest number of psychoanalysts per citizen. (Can this be true? Did they exclude New York City?)  They also have a special church: the Church of Maradonna.  Some of those psychoanalysts and followers of the Church of  Maradonna presented their view of the Argentine Soul.  Basically, Argentinians are emotional and the prime emotion is melancholy (cf. tango, or Levav's prediction of a 3:2 for us "Krauts -- a symptom of anticipatory melancholy).  Argentinians can manage to cover up their melancholy for a while through mania (e.g., after the 6:0 against Serbia).  Mania, however, is not real joy, and once the manic stimulation is over, they fall into a deep depression. This happened to the entire country post-Worldcup 2002, when the team lost in the first round, and Argentina fell into an economic depression. So the commentator asked, “Can we [the Germans] justify to win tomorrow?”  Put me on the couch, and I’ll think about it.

Mano de Dios

Dear Friends,

Back to you after 24 hours.  The stress level is building.  I don't believe that I'll sleep too much tonight in anticipation of the game.  Or maybe I won't be able to sleep because the image of my friend Schmitt in a Kraut jersey with a gory Kraut hat will haunt me (but knowing Schmitt, that hat is probably Dolce and Gabanna).

Schmitt's 3-0 prediction and Michael Ballack's recent press conference where he declared that the Krauts have a 60% chance of winning give me hope that my albiceleste boys will squeeze out a win.  There's nothing that works better for a Latin psyche than being an underdog (just tell an Argentine that Texas barbecue was rated better than Argentinean barbecue, and you'll get yourself the asado of a lifetime, touched by the hand of God Himself).  For a Kraut all these psychological Jedi mind-tricks don't matter because emotion is such a tiny of component of Krautness (even the Kraut team's nickname, the Mannschaft, sounds like an engine component).  But for an Argentinean, watch out...

Yes yes, I now think that Crespo will do some serious scoring tomorrow.   Maybe I'm not quite as confident as the great Nader Tavassoli, but even though I wholly agree with Schmitt on Eurotrash architecture, 3-0 simply ain't gonna happen.  It's still going to be 3-2 Krautland, and I'm willing to put my dignity where my mouth is: If Schmitt is right, I'll wear that silly hat and ugly jersey for a day.

In other news, there is some concern in Argentina that the ref for the game will be the same knucklehead who refereed the Brazil-Ghana game.  This is very bad news for Manchester United and albiceleste star defenseman Gabriel "I love yellow cards more than I love women" Heinze.  And bad news for Heinze is bad news for me.  Then again, maybe Heinze's Kraut ancestry will somehow connect him with the local crowd, and maybe as a result he'll play the same sublime, mistake-free game that Roberto Ayala has shown throughout the tournament.

Also noteworthy is that the Argentine press reports that Burdisso and Lucho Gonzalez are back and fit.  This is a good thing.  Otherwise Cufre will have to stop the attacks of wing Bastian Schweinerei, I mean, Schweinsteiger, and that won't be too good.

In 24 hours we will be 35 minutes into the best game of the Cup.  Let's hope that the hand of God intervenes in favor of the majestic light blue and white.  And while we're at it, Schmitt's "Il mano de dio" is some kind of broken Italian.  The line is "mano de dios," and it was uttered in beautifully Argentine Spanish.  This is a critical distinction because it proves, without a doubt, that God is Argentine.

LEVAV

3:0 for Germany

Another day of silence before the storm (Argentine v Germany).  I am amazed how much I agree with Levav. We agree on the Eurotrash archictecture. We agree on the Ukranians, the Brits and on the Italy team (Grosso going for a PK during the last 10 seconds of the game against Australia was an "outrageous piece of cynical gamesmanship," as one fellow blogger put it, comparable only , in my view, to "Il Mano di Dio"!). And I agree with Levav on the 3 goals for Germany, though I'd make those "2" for Argentina a nil.  So take that as my bet: 3:0 for Germany! Note that that is an utmost risky one:  a self-declared soccer expert and friend of mine, Nader Tavassoli of London Business School, predicted straightout that Germany would lose; he only hopes that they will go down in style. (The same "expert," though, had emailed me before the Sweden game that Germany would have a very, very difficult time. So much for soccer experts! But hey, I had bet 2:1  -- in overtime! -- for Argentina against Mexico and that was exactly right.)

Vamos, vamos Argentina!

Dear friends,

I'm back!

After getting a red card for "unsportsman-like body hair references," which led to my banishment for a few months Schmitt has allowed me back to comment on the world cup.  As the slogan goes, the world cup is "a time to make friends."   

I have to say, Schmitt is right about the stadiums.  Eurotrash architects gone wild (though my sister, who's an architecture student at Hah-vahd, would probably call it "fascinating, evoking themes of rivers, ants, and sauerkraut eating German tourists in Bombay").  It reminds me of Jean Reno's comment to Tom Hanks in the very so-so DaVinci Code.  Hanks asks Reno if he likes I.M. Pei's monstrous glass triangle that defaces the Louvre.  Reno says, "It's awful."  Even though I kind of disagree with Reno, I sure do hate watching my albiceleste boys from down south all washed out in the sun.  Which brings me to my favorite topic these days...

Argentina.
(Ay Maxi, que GOLAZO contra Mexico.  Gracias, dios, por estas lagrimas!  Gracias, dios, por Maxi Rodriguez!)

This is a team that even the most optimistic pundits (in Argentina) had going to the semi-finals, tops.  More than one pundit didn't even have it coming out of its group.  Former US player John Harkes picked them to win the cup, but since he's American, he clearly doesn't know a damn thing about futbol.  So the fact that my boys are headed to a quarterfinal showdown with the Krauts (or should I call them the Poles?  Last I checked, the names "Miroslav (Klose)" and "(Lukas) Podolski" were more Krakow than Kaiserslautern) is actually an achievement in and of itself.

Argentina can beat the Krauts, although it will be tough because the Krauts are the Krauts and they're playing at home.  The Kraut defense is only so-so, and I don't see how it will stop Messi and Tevez when they come in in the 65th minute to replace Saviola and Crespo.  If the Argentine defense is stout, and if super-stud Roberto Ayala's running mate Gabriel "yellow card" Heinze stays out of trouble, and if coach Jose Pekerman solves his right-back problem (let's hope Burdisso comes back from injury because Scaloni just sucks and Coloccini has really bad hair), and if "Pato" Abondanzierri keeps stopping shots (a shocker because he REALLY sucks), then Schmitt might just have to eat his words along with his bratwurst. 

But if we get scored on early then we're hosed because the Latin player's psyche is infinitely more fragile than the Teuton player's psyche.  That's why Argentina is still just known for barbecues and Kraut-land is known for sports cars, efficiency, and sex tourism.  When push comes to shove, sex tourism trumps barbecues.  My prediction: Kraut-land 3, Argentina 2 in a wide open game, with the refs robbing us of a legitimate goal in the first half because of some dubious off-sides call.  It hurts me to say this, but it's mind over heart on this one.  I'm really quite worried that Pekerman's chicos will crack.

A little note on the other teams: Despite what Schmitt says, Brazil is good.  I hate the Brazilians (you have to when you're Argentine), but man they're even good when they're bad.  Germany is terrific.  England is total and utter garbage, as are Italy (the dirtiest, ugliest team left) and the Ukraine.  Portugal isn't going past the semi-finals because they have too many idiots on that team.  The French I have a real affinity for because I spent a year in Paris after college.  Also, you gotta love a team that's pretty much all African with a hint of Argentine (striker David Trezeguet is Argentine), representing the most bigoted country in Europe.  I just love the irony.  I'd love to see the French beating the Krauts in the final.

Man, anyone but the Krauts.  Anyone.  Even Brazil.

Kisses to you all!
LEVAV

World Cup Report: No Nationalism Here

Today, here in Germany, there’s a break in the soccer World Cup. The round of 16 just finished and the quarterfinals will begin on Saturday. So, time for an assessment of the game, live from Germany!

The game – not the branding and marketing of the World Cup by FIFA, which is very well done. They have branded the ball; they have demanded what type of grass can be played on; they play their theme song after every game. Good job.

The game – not the ridiculous design of the stadiums by Eurotrash architects and the global design elite.  The stadiums may win architecture prizes but they are barely functional for a multi-million person TV audience. (The World Cup is the most watched sports event in the world, even before the Olympics.)  By “barely functional,” I mean that in the afternoon games, the picture is usually washed out because those Eurotrash designers love glass and open space and therefore the sun blasts down on the field.  And it seems that it did not occur to the organizers to run computer simulations to determine at what angle the sun hits a particular stadium at a particular date and time.

The game – not the fans, who are fantastic.  Despite reports in The New York Times (focusing on nationalist – even “racist”-- hooligans), this is a huge celebration of friendship among the fans of different nations, and a big party! A few days ago, I was at the Fanfest near the former Olympic stadium in Munich – it was awesome.  Last night I was here in Frankfurt. And participation in these fan events is divided equally among the sexes: roughly 50 per cent men and 50 per cent women.

So let me focus on the game and the teams – the core product. Forget all that marketing, design and customer involvement stuff for a moment. The Germans have played great! And the French sucked! (No nationalism here – just objective assessment.) The French team sucked until last night, when they played really well and beat Spain. The sort of “comeback” story we like, I suppose. The only team that comes close to the German team thus far has been Argentina; so the quarterfinal of Germany vs. Argentina will be the actual final of this Cup. The Brazilian team has played so-so to the dismay of the commentators and fans alike. I view this differently: they have done their job (e.g., 3:0 against Ghana).  They are professionals. They do what’s necessary; they plan to avoid burn-out, and after the game they say they were great. We all know those attitudes and behaviors from top managers, right? So nothing wrong here  -- otherwise we’d have to boo most top management teams.  Who else? A few other teams are qualified as well (e.g., Portugal, which won over Netherlands in an intense fight with lots of yellow cards and four players being kicked out), but they will not shape the games to come. (Among the others are the Ukraine, Italy and also England, who have so far given a pathetic performance – sort of like the Germans in past tournaments – but nonetheless gotten through.) 

And yes, the U.S. team (Number 4 in the world, according to some dubious rankings) had played in the first round as well, before being eliminated by Ghana.

You will hear more on the World Cup from guest-blogger Levav soon.  He supports Argentina; so be ready for some biased comments. And I will be back soon with more as well. Let’s turn the SCHMITTblog into a great online World Cup experience!