Over the first ten days of the FIFA World Cup, what has stood out to me has been the teamwork on display.
Two things facilitate this:
That collectivism and selflessness are deep-rooted in our countries more than any other group, and;
International teams are forced to work together as they cannot buy or import new players to fill gaps.
I’ve been impressed by Switzerland; a team almost unchanged across the whole four-year World Cup cycle. I’ve been impressed by Japan; a mature team with no true superstar. I’ve been impressed with Australia; a young team with mostly second-tier players who took down highly-fancied Turkiÿe.
In an era of individualism and ‘personal brands’ in football, it has been a welcome change to see teams work together. I even saw Kylian Mbappé chase defensively one time!
And that’s meaningful because Mbappé plays for his club football for Real Madrid, whose new coach is José Mourinho — a man who has never wavered from his staunch belief in the team over individuals.
Here’s three separate interview questions that I have collected over the years, where Mourinho outlines how deeply engrained teamship is within his philosophy:
Mourinho’s introductory press conference at Chelsea
Journalist: Are there any particular Chelsea players who have really caught your eye, who have impressed you, from what you’ve seen so far?
Mourinho: Yes, I have to say yes. But at the same time I have to say that I am a great defender of the team spirit and teamwork. And the first thing I have to promise to my new players is that I will look at them with the same eyes. I don’t want to have a special relationship with one of them, and in fact I hate to speak about them individually. Players don’t win trophies, teams win trophies.
Mourinho’s interview for The Playbook on Netflix
Journalist: You’ve coached some of the biggest stars in the world. Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, Drogba. People that because of their pure athleticism feel like they can do it their way all of the time…
Mourinho: If you are not able to coach the big players, you are not able to coach anyone. It’s very important for a coach to understand you are not going to teach them how to play football. You are not going to teach Ronaldo how to take a free kick. You are not going to teach Ibra how to control the ball on his chest. You are not going to teach Drogba how to attack at the front post and score in the air. You are going to teach them how to play football…in that team. They are special talents, but without the team, they cannot express everything they have. I always say, I don’t coach football players, I coach football teams.
Mourinho’s interview after the 2022 World Cup
Journalist: Were you shocked by Japan’s 2-1 win over Germany at the World Cup?
Mourinho: Of course, it's a fantastic achievement but, to be honest, it was not a crazy surprise. Japan is a good team, has good players, and is getting an accumulation of experience at these events. I think the mentality of the players and the team can also make a difference. At this moment, in European football, there is a big focus on individuals and egos. When I look to Japan’s profile as a people, your profile as a country, the team is the most important thing. People play for the team, they don't play for themselves.
Cody’s Notes
I know there’s a lot of belief in individual player development in elite sports. And there’s a belief that when we put together a bunch of players who’ve been individually developed that they’ll just figure the teamwork stuff out. But it doesn’t really work that way.
I also know it’s incredibly difficult to measure a lot of the teamwork and team dynamic that happens within a game. This difficulty in measurement, particularly in a world where you’re not allowed to hold an opinion without an academic paper to back it up, makes it difficult to be steadfast in your belief in the team concept.
But I’d urge you to consider what more you can do to teach your players to play in a team (beyond individual events like passing the ball). What more can you reinforce with them? What selflessness can you teach them? What can you incentivize that can’t be measured?