The measure of Success

The man who said that ‘winning is not everything’ has actually never won anything. The man who said that ‘winning is everything’ might not be fully correct either.
The year was 2015, the month was December. In a Liga game against Real Sociedad, Messi was kept on the bench by Luis Enrique. The game was lost by the Catalan side by a score of 1-0 as the home side scored in the first minute itself and successfully defended their lead despite Leo coming on later in the game. Amidst a rumored controversy between the manager and the number 10 of the club, Barcelona were in the darkest hour of the season. They were a point behind leaders Madrid and had played a game more than them. The time was tough and they were failing to find success. The flair of the team was nowhere visible. It was seeming like yet another average season where Barca would probably try to go for the Copa Del Rey at the end of the season. Champions league? The current run which the Catalan club was having they were no longer seeming a side capable of challenging for it. Yes, the current situation was nothing less than a failure for a club of Barcelona’s stature. But failure is never fatal. They went to their next game as if it was an opportunity to sort things out right. They handled the situation one match at a time. The matches were not big, but they took every match as their last match. Gave everything to win it. Match after match their wins started piling up. They went on to beat Atletico Madrid three times in a single month. Be it Liga or the Copa Barcelona again were being feared as a side in form. Yes, they were building their form back again, brick by brick, kick by kick, goal by marvelous goal and a win after another win. Haters said that it was just a run of form due to the stint of poor or mediocre sides playing against them. It didn’t matter to Barcelona, because back in December they were rock bottom, and the best thing about being down is that the only way left to go is straight up. Their minor run of good form avalanched into one of the most successful unbeaten runs in La Liga history, a dramatic El Clasico showdown to get back into the title race, and a treble at the end of the season! Failure back in December was not fatal for the Catalan side. They made their way back to glory.
The season was 2015, Mourinho had successfully won the Premier League title for the first time in his second stint at Chelsea. And what a win it was! The Blues of London were 8 points clear off the light blues of Manchester. Everything was seeming to be in seventh heaven for the club from the Capital. The following season, however, was the most dreadful season that Chelsea had ever been a part of since the start of the new century. A home draw in the season opener against Swansea avalanched into a string of winless results. Despite change of styles and strategies, nothing seemed to bring back the form that Chelsea possessed in the previous season. It was like the blues had forgotten how to play the game. Come the end of the season the defending Champions finished 10th. Mourinho, the idol of the Londoners a year back was sacked mid-season. Among the fans there was a mixed response, some were sad to have lost him, some were neutral and hoped for better things for the club as well as the Portuguese. By the end of the season a surprise win by underdogs Leicester City overwrote the glories of the London club which had turned Premier League into a one-horse race. Chelsea was forgotten, Mourinho was forgotten.
There is a lot to learn from the mentioned tales of Barcelona and Chelsea. The Catalan side was amidst failures, but they found a way out of their situation. They didn’t let their circumstances write their future. Failures earlier in the season were not fatal, they just fuelled them when they decided to win. In a popular UK-based talk show hosted by a popular Englishwoman, Jose Mourinho was invited. During the interview, Jose made a remark on what he considered as the measure of success. While the trophies and accolades of Mourinho were being talked about by the host of the talk show, Mourinho made a clear statement when he got the turn to speak.”For me, the real measure of success is always the next match, your next game, your next season.” Seems a simple statement but it truly has a very deep meaning. Winners are forgotten, someone else will take their place. Losers are forgotten for the same reason as well. Success is not the full stop, because the next time that success is again available, everyone is going to put a fight to achieve it. No matter how big your success is, your glory will stale out if not forgotten. Success is not final.
If winning was everything then Chelsea wouldn’t have been forgotten. If winning wasn’t everything then Barcelona would never have desired to reach the heights they reached after a disastrous first half of the season. What is truly important is the desire to win. Whether you fail or you succeed, the thing that should never be lost is the desire to win. Winning is definitely not everything, because the desire to win is everything. That is the only thing that truly matters. That desire is the only fuel that will keep you going through your rough times and make sure that you don’t just bank upon your previous glories and soon be forgotten when someone else takes your place. ‘Winning’ is not everything, but ‘wanting to win’ is.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts” – Winston Churchill

– Already conveyed to the world by the Beautiful Game, just drafted into words by Gagandeep Singh Lall