I am dedicating Sports Arena this week to this unknown writer on his view on the final of the 2018 UEFA Champions League final which tallies with what I intended writing about. Enjoy it.
\”Many people wanted Liverpool to win and the reason was simple. They have played the best football this season and had the deadliest front 3, however, many overlooked how close they were to being eliminated by Roma.
We also forgot about the several howlers of Karius, Liverpool\’s goalkeeper all season although he seemed to have improved a bit.
Most importantly we forgot that consistently, just like Pep, Klop hardly deploys a Plan B for all his tactical genius and that was exactly where the game was lost in Kiev.
There is no strategist without a joker and who doesn\’t understand how multiple layers of options work. Unfortunately, the bane of genius like Klop and Pep is a lack of plan B because, Plan A on a good day, will deliver.
I told friends Madrid would win before the match started because they are a team that understands how to win finals.
The moment Salah was off (don\’t blame Sergei, it\’s part of the game), Plan A was thrown out of the window and the entire team never recovered.
There is a red card principle which says \’Never follow a red carded player to the dressing room\’. Unfortunately, Liverpool players mentally followed an injured player to the dressing room and the rest is history.
Interesting thing was it wasn\’t also the Plan A of Real that won the match, it was their Plan B with the collaboration of Mr. Karius whose unbelievable errors cost his team dearly. Maybe he had mentally gone to the dressing room with Salah too but this is a strategy lesson for us all.
*What is your plan B?* *What is the quality of your bench?*
At the highest level the substitutes must be as good if not better than the starting 11. Are you the Christiano Ronaldo or Salah of your team who always make things happen or do you have a Bale in your team who can step in should something happen?
The lesson is clear, don\’t be the only star: build systems.
Who else can do what you can do in your team? There is no future for any organization that depends solely on Salah but teams with a Bale will always win should Ronaldo not perform.
Most times we are sure and confident of plan A that we always ignore plan B. Plan is the shock absorber that will save you the embarrassment of failure. It is lack of plan B that ruins businesses and make companies/ firms not to be able to recover when things fall apart.
Always have a plan B\”
Catch you next week as I give you tit-bits on the World cup which is just 16 days away.
