Jef Brouwers works remotely with the Red Devils. The psychologist who works at home saw with regret how the atmosphere changed and insisted on a group discussion. He denounces all the negativity that has arisen: “Creating a positive situation is the only thing that can help. That’s why I suggested showing Chadli’s goal against Japan.”
Psychologist Jef Brouwers also noticed that something was not right with the Red Devils: “The atmosphere is not there to win. There is little passion to be seen.”
He works with the national team from a distance and conveys his “view of the situation” to national coach Roberto Martinez.
“It would be naive to claim that nothing is wrong. It is a psychological drama that makes one sad about the approach,” he explains about the commotion that has arisen.
You can only build on the things you see and that is not successful behavior.
“You can only go by what you see and that’s not successful behavior.”
“Americans are proud to play for their country, Spaniards too, Ghanaians too, Belgians no longer. There are pretentious players, which is sometimes confused with pride.”
“Comments on teammates are there because there is no trust in each other’s skills. The seriousness of the matter is that people start arguing after a phase that should normally give a boost to the whole team.”
“Situation is reversible”
Yet Brouwers is positive, according to him it is still possible to turn the situation around in the limited time that remains: “If people start to think differently.”
“You can only achieve something with good moments, there is a study that says that you cannot learn from your mistakes. Because then you first have to overcome a bad moment.”
“Creating a positive situation is the only thing that can help. With the team that was on the field against Canada and Morocco, that will not work.”
Remind the team of good times. Show the clip of Chadli’s last goal against Japan, the perfect expression of everything football should be.
“Remind the team of good moments. That’s why I suggested showing the fragment of Chadli’s last goal against Japan. That was the perfect expression of everything football, teamwork, professionalism and ego should be left behind.”
Group discussion is a step in the right direction
With the group discussion proposed by Brouwers, the team is already taking a step in the right direction. “By taking the tensions seriously and putting them on the table, one gets relief anyway.”
“There is a lot of unconscious tension in such a tournament. By letting everyone, including the coach, talk to each other, things are brought to the table that were often not available at the start of the meeting.”
“It is a matter of trusting each other. And it is important that the long conversation was conducted in a professional manner and was not played personally. It remains to be seen whether the conflicts are actually depersonalized.”
Victory is only possible when players’ competencies are dipped in a sauce of passion, persistence and perseverance.
“It is imperative that from now on it is about football and that the results of the discussion are translated into action.”
“You can only achieve a victory when the competences of the players are dipped in a sauce of passion, perseverance and perseverance.”
