SportsPsychologist.com Blog by Dr Victor Thompson

Football World Cup 2014, 8 th June 2014, semi-final Germany 7 – Brazil 1 What a match! As a sports psychologist, who's worked with footballers at different levels, I really enjoyed the match. Here's what I saw: 0-0  The beginning. For Brazil there was such hope. When they had possession of the ball, the crowd cheered, and most of the stadium was a sea of Brazilian yellow and green. For Germany, they played equally well as Brazil, but the crowd was not willing them to do well or win. 1-0 Germany scored, Brazil looked surprised, their supporters looked surprised, the pressure increased for Brazil.  The Germans gained momentum after the first goal and looked more in control. 2-0    When Germany scored the second goal, the Brazilian players and fans looked shocked. How could this be happening? Is this really happening? What do we do? For Germany, their momentum and confidence grew. 3-0    After the 3 rd German goal, the Germans played with more confidence a

It is a shame that on big occasions, when things aren't going your way, some will not manage the emotions of frustration or anger and lash-out. When they don't get a corrective response straight away - like being pulled off the pitch and then sanctioned - fans, including children, learn that this is probably okay. The behaviour today of role models such as Luis Suarez will be reflected on football pitches, school playgrounds and streets tomorrow. Anger management can help, but does Suarez want to change? If not, there will be no change in behaviour. Why does anger happen for top players such as Luis Suarez? Because the setting is important to them, their performance is key to the outcome and they perceive that they are heading towards and undesirable outcome. That within an individual with poor self control creates a dynamite situation. For me, this echos the Zinedine Zidane situation in the previous World Cup final.