What Makes A Great Captain?
- Thread starter Aasim
- Start date
The best captains in history, have been excellent footballers first and foremost. You can shout all you want, but if your own performances are not up to par, it won't motivate nobody. The title alone don't give you access to such a privilege. You got to earn it. You do so through dedicated performances week in week out. Still, striving for better. It takes time, for your teammates to get comfortable, embrace your leadership and start looking up to you. You'll know so yourself when that happens, that is when you take the next step. samjhe?
You're right to take one step at a time..
Aryagorn
Improvin' Perfection!!
The best captains in history, have been excellent footballers first and foremost. You can shout all you want, but if your own performances are not up to par, it won't motivate nobody. The title alone don't give you access to such a privilege. You got to earn it. You do so through dedicated performances week in week out. Still, striving for better. It takes time, for your teammates to get comfortable, embrace your leadership and start looking up to you. You'll know so yourself when that happens, that is when you take the next step. samjhe?
You're right to take one step at a time..
I'm a huge fan of Sourav Ganguly... He used to be a world beater before he was made a captain but once that happened he has never been the same. His downfall just began during one of his first tournaments as a captain but nevertheless he is one of the best captains our Indian team ever had(IMO he is even better than Dhoni). How do you explain that? Because as a captain he hasn't been any better than an average player but he is a hugely successful captain!!
Cricket allows you to be a great captain if you're a great strategist, even if individually underperforming. The responsibilties of a Cricket Captain is different(or rather more extensive) from that of a Captain of a Football team. In Cricket, the Captain decides the toss, batting order, bowling choices (the introduction of which bowler at what phase), fielding selections,(declarations, follow-on in test format) etc. In short, he makes tactical decisions pre and during games. Hence, if he hasn't been stellar either with the bat/ball, he can still 've a huge influence in the outcome of the game. So, while Ganguly wasn't the greatest player in his time as a captain, he was an astute tactician and strategist. would you agree? Besides, he was a player of significant experience when appointed. His prev. body of work commanded respect to begin with. He was 28 at the time.
A footie captain don't 've similar duties or the authority to make tactical decisions during games, that which can change the outcome in its entirety, certainly not if he's doing individually shit. On pitch the best way he can influence, is to lift the morale and the spirit of the team through example, and for that he has to perform well footballistically. Aasim's case is akin to Thiago being made Captain and the seniors in his team expected to act subservient to him, it's not going to happen. While i understand there's none of Xavi/Puyol's aura in his team, the older teammates would need time to embrace the younger boy's new role, during which they 'll scrutinize his on-pitch presence, from his performances to his behaviour, and if/when he passes that test would they open up and extend his full support to him. If they are unhappy, it 'll only lead to disharmony and drop in team performance. For a captain to operate effeciently, he needs full backing and co-operation of his teammates. It's not as simple and straight-forward as being made Captain (esp, at Aasim's age) and then go start verbally instructing his teammates(the more experienced) with the hope of motivating them. Such an authority is earned, and comes with time.
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Aryagorn
Improvin' Perfection!!
Agree... Cricket gives more freedom for a captain.
But my point is that you should be a bit of a cunt too, along with the qualities discussed already, to make it as a successful captain. You always have to have a group blindly defending you in the dressing room. Ganguly had few stars backing him up all the time... And he was a master of group politics too. This quality definitely helped him. He never allowed the likes of Laxman to get into the lime light who were potential threats to his dominance. Of course when this gets over the board it leads you to your downfall, the trial is to maintain a perfect balance
But my point is that you should be a bit of a cunt too, along with the qualities discussed already, to make it as a successful captain. You always have to have a group blindly defending you in the dressing room. Ganguly had few stars backing him up all the time... And he was a master of group politics too. This quality definitely helped him. He never allowed the likes of Laxman to get into the lime light who were potential threats to his dominance. Of course when this gets over the board it leads you to your downfall, the trial is to maintain a perfect balance
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