Three Half Time Talks That Changed Games
The world entered July 2020 with trepidation and for most of us it has been a strange first half. Plans thwarted, business plummeted, jobs lost and relationships on an edge — just about some of the things many of us experienced.
I enjoy sports, in particular team sports. I especially enjoy the pre match set up during games — how they prepare, the interviews they give and the warm ups. You can sometimes tell which team will win just by their pre match preparation. However, there have been some significant games that completely change after half time. One team would be beaten down badly in the first half and in the second half they would appear a completely different team and go on to win the game. Or a team would not be clicking well during the first half and something triggered during half time that lead them to play with fluidity.
The dressing room is the holy place in team sports. Only the manager, coaches and players are allowed in. No media, no fans, no family… That is why we do not hear much about what happened in the locker room until maybe many years later when a player or coach publish a book or said something in an interview. For players, ‘what happens in the dressing room, stays in the dressing room’.
The below are a list of three games that had the trajectory of the game changed due to what was said in the dressing room. Here are three games and the lessons we can pick up from it for the next half of 2020.
Tottenham Hotspur 3–5 Manchester United (White Hart Lane, 2001)
Spurs led United three nil at their London home. It was almost game over. United fans were silenced. The players were ready for the ‘hair dryer’ — a term the media coined for the then manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s lecture towards players. Surprisingly, Ferguson did not say a word during the 15 minutes break. According to his biography, when the dressing room bell rang, all he said was:
“Right, I’ll tell you what we’re going to do. We’re going to score the first goal in this second half and see where it takes us. We get at them right away, and we get the first goal. Okay, you’d better go out there and win the game.”
United scored in the first minute of the second half and went on to score four more to win the game in style.
Lesson for today: Get something done quickly to build momentum! What can possibly push you to finish strong for the year is to achieve something now! Start small. Could it be an article you need to complete? A business plan? Or something you always wanted to do with your family? Anything! Just get it done and you’ll begin to build momentum.
Liverpool 3–3 AC Milan (Champions League, 2005)
Similar to the game above, Liverpool faced a star studded AC Milan team and went down three nil at half time. Liverpool came onto the second half looking like a different team, scored three goals, took the match to penalties and became champions of Europe. Their Spanish manager who was not fluent at English began writing down notes in the first half of what to say to the players. Many years later, in a blogpost, Rafa Benitez revealed what he said:
“I said to Pako Ayestaran, my assistant, ‘I will give the half-time team talk and we will talk about three at the back to have an extra player in the middle. You go and do the warm-up with Hamann (a player he brought in at half time)’.
“The message we gave to the players was about confidence — try to score early, get back in the game. That was the main thing.
“In other circumstances or with smaller teams, perhaps you might be looking at damage limitation because you don’t want to concede four or five goals but this was a final.
“You have to go for it. And then, depending on what happens in the first few minutes, you make decisions. Again, we did it.”
Lesson for today: “…but this was a final”. Self awareness was key to Benitez’s decision. How are you going to view 2020? Is this just going to be another year? Or would you want to make this year to be “a final” and push forward to make strategic changes in your life? Stop doing the same things over and over again and expect results. Make that 1% change.
Florida Gators 24–14 Oklahoma Sooners (BCS National Championship 2009)
In college football, the Florida Gators defeated the Oklahoma Sooners, 24–14, to win their second championship in three years. During half time (after two quarters), the game was tied at 7–7. Tim Tebow, the Gators captain became known of his “30 minutes of your lifetime” speech. In an inspiring and rousing speech, he was motivating his team to give their all for the next 30 minutes.
Hey Let’s go! Get in here! Get in here right now! Hey, we got 30 minutes for the rest of our lives! 30 minutes for the rest of our lives! That’s our bet on first down, it ain’t happening! We get the ball, I promise you one thing, we’re going to hit somebody and take it down the field for a touchdown, I guarantee you that. Look at me! Look at me! We got 30 minutes for the rest of our lives, let’s go!
Lesson for today: Remind yourself that you have set goals despite what has happened the last couple of months. It is important not to forget that. Look back at January and recall what you have set yourself or your organisation to do. Promise yourself one thing, that you’re going to go all out for that touchdown. Many goals are achieved together, with others. It is not impossible even though the tide is against you. Rally your family, friends, colleagues and team mates — who will soldier on with you.
Do not be dismayed if the first six months have not yield much for you. Find a time where you can regroup and do your half time team talk — alone or with your team. Start small, work on the small wins and put in systems to ensure you or your team has the discipline. The momentum will surely pick up. Let’s go!
