According to soccerlens.com,
Messi averages 97.2 touches a game. That
is 2722 touches in La Liga in 2010/2011.
He scored 29 goals in 28 appearances.
He scored a goal on 1% of his touches.
Add in his 17 assists and it rises to 1.3% creating goals. This is arguably the best player in world. What this means is that 99% of the time
Lionel Messi has to be ‘good enough.’ He
needs to be able to keep possession so his team can find opportunities. He needs to allow other players to take their
opportunities. 1,926 of Messi’s touches
were passes, that’s 70%. Of his passes,
86% were completed to a teammate.
Where am I going with this?
For the best player in the world, only 1% of the time does he produce a
goal or assist. You don’t have to make
something happen every time you touch the ball.
In fact, you need to be ‘good enough.’
Good enough to be patient and wait for the opportunity to shoot or beat
a player or serve a ball. Good enough to
trust your teammates that they will also be good enough.
This is the beauty when you see Barcelona, Manchester United,
or your Ohio Elite team playing good enough.
Eleven players understanding their different roles and executing their
skill. Taking opportunities when they
open and not forcing opportunities because you think you are a talented player.
I tell my goalkeepers that their #1 job is to keep the ball
out of the net. I don’t care if it is with
a beautiful full stretch tip save or with the side of their face. Just KEEP THE BALL OUT. Believe it or not, we train at doing precisely
that. Many hours go into learning the
correct technique, how to move, and hand position; however there are times when
the speed of the game is too fast or we slip or whatever. Example, a corner kick and the attacker heads
the service on frame. The ball takes a
deflection, the goalkeeper is already diving one direction and he reaches back
with his foot and blocks the ball. A
defender clears the danger. This is not the
way we draw it up, but it was ‘good enough.’
We train at staying big, and letting the ball just hit
us. We train in situations that are fast
and above normal circumstances. We make
mistakes and we correct them. We make
more mistakes. We talk about being
perfect by just being good enough. We
are trying to be good enough which forces the opponent to be perfect. And being perfect is hard.
In the same vein, field players don’t have to be a
difference maker every time they touch the ball. Defenders don’t have to hit a 50 yard cross
field pass to put a midfielder in, midfielders don’t have to play forwards
behind defenses every time, and forwards do not have to shoot or beat a defender
whenever the ball comes to you. Your opportunities
will open on the field, and when they do take them. Until then make sure you are good enough.
