08 Jul The Night of Seville!
Where were you on July 8, 1982?
Exactly 40 years ago, if you’re French or German, most likely, you were watching the anthology football world cup semi-final between France and Germany that ended with Germany’s victory in the 1st ever penalty session after the game drew 3-3.
This game has since then been labelled the “night of Seville”!
For all its drama and intensity, this legendary match (for me one of the top 5 football games ever) has offered everything a leadership role can offer: empathy, joy, success, conflict and anger, frustration, resilience, feeling of injustice, failure, learning, and likely many more.
Think about some of the events in the match and how they could relate to your role as a leader, for instance:
Conflict and anger: When Germany’s goalkeeper Schumacher aggressed French midfield Battiston, knocking him out with broken vertebras and teeth and no penalty kick was subsequently awarded.
Feeling of injustice: When France led Germany 3-1 in extra time with barely 20 minutes to play and Germany found the strength to draw.
Success: When Germany finally beat France 5-4 after penalty kick (the only football world cup penalty kick session ever where Germany missed a kick!) and got to the final game. Honestly, even if the game remains a drama and a scar for most French, including me, Germany equally deserved to get through that night, on the merits of that game.
The best thing that happened to France this day is without any doubt the learning the team got from that founding game for “Les Bleus” and of their failure that day.
Before that game, Les Bleus were but only an average football team.
After that game, they went on to win 2 world cups and 2 euro championships, finishing second in 1 world cup and 1 euro.
An achievement that is only beaten today by… Germany!
What’s the best ever football match you’ve watched?
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