Per Mertesacker: The BFG

[Tir Na Nog]

There is a really fantastic interview from him in the german newspaper about the pressure in football. (published in "Der Spiegel").

http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/...eber-druck_wuergen-bis-die-augen-traenen.html

There is part in Kicker in german. If you want, you can translate it. Haven't found an english version somewhere so far.





After Germany loss against Italy in 2006.

Here's the English version.

http://news.arseblog.com/2018/03/pe...twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter

Will read it now.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Wow, this is really eye-opening and incredible stuff, it's basically like Per absolutely hated playing football. There's a more uplifting quote from the end of the article though.

As for his playing career, there are no regrets. Amid the physical, mental, emotional toil, Mertesacker has become a world champion, a three-time FA Cup winner, a Germany legend and an Arsenal captain.

“Even if I had to vomit before every game and go to rehab 20 times, I would do it all again and again.

“It was worth it for all the memories.”

It's can't be underestimated the mental toll that the pressure has on players and how some just struggle to cope with it all. It's refreshing to see someone so open and honest about the whole thing.

Considering what I've learned from all this it puts some of his immense performance for us over the past 7 years really all that more impressive.

 

[El Granit-Coq]

@Tir Na Nog

It's not all that surprising when you stop to think that football is actually a job for most of these guys. Yes they get paid a lot more than us 9-5ers but the pressures and mental difficulties we go through are still relevant to them as much as it is a to us.

The same way some go to work dreading it, the same can be for them. I have always admired Per, very classy guy and you can see why he has a good relationship with Wenger.

People often think the mentality issue is just a convenient excuse (sometimes it is used as such) but it's a massive part of what makes one do what they do.

 

[Garrincha]

Its why the arrogant or maverick mofos are always the best.

 

[YeahBee]

even Zidane the GOAT threw up before that penalty...

 

[BobP]

Wow, this is really eye-opening and incredible stuff, it's basically like Per absolutely hated playing football. There's a more uplifting quote from the end of the article though.

It's can't be underestimated the mental toll that the pressure has on players and how some just struggle to cope with it all. It's refreshing to see someone so open and honest about the whole thing.

Considering what I've learned from all this it puts some of his immense performance for us over the past 7 years really all that more impressive.

You know, I used to dream about being a footballer, I mean what kid doesn't.

But the moment that changed was, IIRC, when watching us Vs Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the 2014-2015 season. Mind you I was watching it on my computer but I could nonetheless feel the immense tension. I thought to myself "you couldn't pay me to play as a central midfielder in a game like that".

It's why I always say that the best players are ones who are either very dim or who have an incredible level of confidence.

You can be dim and confident, you can be intelligent and confident, but you can't be intelligent and lack of confidence, it'll end up destroying you.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

You know, I used to dream about being a footballer, I mean what kid doesn't.

But the moment that changed was, IIRC, when watching us Vs Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the 2014-2015 season. Mind you I was watching it on my computer but I could nonetheless feel the immense tension. I thought to myself "you couldn't pay me to play as a central midfielder in a game like that".

It's why I always say that the best players are ones who are either very dim or who have an incredible level of confidence.

You can be dim and confident, you can be intelligent and confident, but you can't be intelligent and lack of confidence, it'll end up destroying you.

My dad always said he thought Ashley Cole played well for England in the big tournaments because he was too stupid to understand the pressure of the situation so it didn't get to him as much as it did to someone like Lampard for example.

 

[BobP]

My dad always said he thought Ashley Cole played well for England in the big tournaments because he was too stupid to understand the pressure of the situation so it didn't get to him as much as it did to someone like Lampard for example.

Your father is a wise man.

It's the same with the Brazilian footballer, Garrincha. It wasn't that he was an idiot, although you could argue that he was, he just had little to no concept of football.

1. He had minimal interest in professional football. Had to literally be dragged to trials.
2. When Brazil won the WC in 1958, he couldn't understand why his teammates were celebrating as he had assumed that the WC was akin to a league and that they had to come up against all the teams in the WC.
3. Before the 1962 WC final, he had no idea who Czechoslovakia or any of its players were despite having come up against them earlier in the tournament.

 

[YeahBee]

My dad always said he thought Ashley Cole played well for England in the big tournaments because he was too stupid to understand the pressure of the situation so it didn't get to him as much as it did to someone like Lampard for example.

A friend of mine had two different coaches in different Sports praise him with the same line

You are too stupid to realize it hurts
First incident he was Gk in handball and made a save with his face

Second was a slide tackle in futsal
Sorta Combined bruise, burn, scrape all over his thigh and asscheek) :

He did end up playing pro for a while

 

[YeahBee]

You know, I used to dream about being a footballer, I mean what kid doesn't.

But the moment that changed was, IIRC, when watching us Vs Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the 2014-2015 season. Mind you I was watching it on my computer but I could nonetheless feel the immense tension. I thought to myself "you couldn't pay me to play as a central midfielder in a game like that".

It's why I always say that the best players are ones who are either very dim or who have an incredible level of confidence.

You can be dim and confident, you can be intelligent and confident, but you can't be intelligent and lack of confidence, it'll end up destroying you.

Always said the best cms/dms should have adhd

 

[c00lguy]

Goes to show that money doesn't cure.

 

[Linson]

I actually think more of Mertesacker as a result of this interview. I get horribly nervous playing for my 11 a side team and the max we've ever have on the sidelines is about 7 people. Can't imagine what it would be like in front of 60,000!

 

[KrissKringle]

That was an equally sad and motivational read and it just goes to show that Per is one of the most professional players this club ever had.
I knew him since he played for Tommy Schaaf's Werder, which I was a fan of back in the day and Özil started to shine for them.

I always liked Per as a player, because even though he was slow, he had to make up for it with his positioning and it can never be easy for someone who's 2 cm shy of 2 m on the pitch. You now realize how good this guy has been given his physical issues, which started since he was a kid and talking about the physical and mental tolls the game has on you was the right thing, because it might make others open up to people and get the help they need.
I also completely understand him not enjoying the game anymore after a while and just grinding it out to the end.

Too bad we didn't have more players like him at the club to make it to the very end of the competitions we were involved in throughout the years.

 

[Toby]

People often think the mentality issue is just a convenient excuse (sometimes it is used as such) but it's a massive part of what makes one do what they do.

It kinda doesn't get highlighted enough in football, cause it's a team sport so people focus on team effort, but behind that team are eleven individual high end athletes and all of their mental states and motviations ultimately play a role in how the team performs.

I found it always very interesting and enlightening to listen to top athletes in individual sports about their mental state, preparation and motivation. Like Marcel Hirscher, most successfull alpine skier of all time, he's an absolute mentality monster and there's interviews where he talks about how he thinks and focuses etc.

Going into the direction of what you said about "normal" working people and all other jobs that are out there besides sports, if you listen to successful people like directors, writers, scientists, entrepreneurs and so on, it seems 99% of success is down to mentality. All else, bar maybe natural talent, stems from that. If you haven't got the right mindset to go out and work hard you won't be successfull.

And while mentality sometimes is used as a soft apology for bad results in football, the overall importance of it in this sport for individual performance is probably underestimated by the bulk of fans.

 

[al-Ustaadh]

 

[Sammy1887]

We basically gave him a years wages as free.

 

[DanDare]

Yeah people are very harsh on footballers and expect the same enthusiasm as a player that fans have as fans.

Having chosen a career path at 18 that I probably wouldn’t choose now, I understand these players whose path was essentially chosen at age 5-8 for them might not love their jobs.

They get paid a lot in a competitive field and absolutely should be dropped if effort levels aren’t up to scratch but a bit of room to be human would be nice

 

[Vinci]

Genuinely great guy, glad he will have a role at the club the coming years.

 

[Furious]

Your father is a wise man.

It's the same with the Brazilian footballer, Garrincha. It wasn't that he was an idiot, although you could argue that he was, he just had little to no concept of football.

1. He had minimal interest in professional football. Had to literally be dragged to trials.
2. When Brazil won the WC in 1958, he couldn't understand why his teammates were celebrating as he had assumed that the WC was akin to a league and that they had to come up against all the teams in the WC.
3. Before the 1962 WC final, he had no idea who Czechoslovakia or any of its players were despite having come up against them earlier in the tournament.

@Garrincha?

Isn't he the guy who wants us to play Sead "68% passing accuracy" Kolasinac in midfield?

I see your point.

 

[Sapient Hawk]

Wow, this is really eye-opening and incredible stuff, it's basically like Per absolutely hated playing football. There's a more uplifting quote from the end of the article though.

It's can't be underestimated the mental toll that the pressure has on players and how some just struggle to cope with it all. It's refreshing to see someone so open and honest about the whole thing.

Considering what I've learned from all this it puts some of his immense performance for us over the past 7 years really all that more impressive.

We all give them dogs abuse but despite them being professionals they're as common a folk as we are with the same desires & aspirations.

He's certainly lucky he went on to win the world cup 4 years ago else his comment abput his relief at being ousted by Italy on home soil wouldn't be casually laughed at now