The Selfless Ideal of Teamwork

Why Germany’s top two are proving teamwork is the key to success 

 “Most teams have guys who want to win but aren’t willing to do what it takes. What it takes is to give yourself over to the team and play your part. That may not always make you happy, but you’ve got to do it. Because when you do, that’s when you win.” Bill Cartwright

In recent weeks I picked up Phil Jackson’s Sacred Hoops which had been lying on my bookshelf for several months. It is a habit I have of buying books and not finding the time to read them yet I believe that these books choose me instead of me choosing them. You need certain books, lessons and philosophies at certain times and that choice is never always a conscious one. 

Sacred Hoops is a lesson not just on leadership or basketball but on life and spirituality and while reading it you cannot help but see similarities with the most successful of coaches in recent years. The ability to build winning teams is the key message and as this article will show, Jackson’s approach can be seen across some of football’s greatest teams and coaches.

Lessons from the Bulls

 “Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the “me” for the “we”.”  Phil Jackson

Michael Jordan is arguably the best athlete in sporting history. His determination and desire to win allied with his talent and skill made him the most dominant force seen in basketball. Yet when Phil Jackson came in as head coach of the Chicago Bulls he knew how talented Jordan was but knew that if he wanted to create a winning organisation, he needed to create an excellent team.

For Jackson “At the heart of my vision was the selfless ideal of teamwork. More than anything I wanted to build a team that would blend individual talent with a heightened group consciousness.”

Jackson’s philosophy is that the key to building a successful team is to “call on the player’s need to connect with something larger themselves. It requires the individuals involved to surrender their self-interest for the greater good so that the whole adds up to more than the sum of its parts.”

He knew he would encounter problems of ego and individualism and was conscious that building a selfless team “isn’t always an easy task in a society where the celebration of ego is the number one national pastime.”

Yet through his methods Jackson found a way to build a winning team, three straight NBA titles from ’91-’93 came from “the power of oneness instead of the power of one man, and transcended the divisive forces of the ego that have crippled far more gifted teams.” In Jackson’s opinion “No team understood better than the championship Chicago Bulls that selflessness is the soul of teamwork.”  

Yes Jordan was the greatest player to play the game yet Jackson could not rely just on him to succeed. “A great player can only do so much on his own – no matter how breathtaking his one-on-one moves. If he is out of sync psychologically with everyone else, the team will never achieve the harmony needed to win a championship.” 

Working with Jackson Michael Jordan became one of the greatest team players and because of this took his Bulls team to basketball history. He understood the importance of teamwork, unity and collectiveness and instead of minimizing the strength of the players around him he enhanced it. Jackson taught his Bulls team and the Lakers afterwards that selflessness and teamwork was the key to success.

How Guardiola created the greatest “team”

When Pep Guardiola took over as first team coach in 2008 he knew he had inherited a talented group of individuals but was aware this was not a ‘team’. His job was to create the right environment and conditions for his players to fulfil their potential, and it is this which made Barcelona such a great team from 2008-2011.

Guardiola made training sessions secluded, away from the fans and media, he sought to create an environment of oneness and togetherness. He even forced the players to eat together and mix, aware that small groups and cliques were toxic when looking to produce a successful team. Total unity at is what makes the difference between converting a good group of players into an excellent team. He convinced his players of the need to be unified and cohesiveness and it was this which their success was built on.

His influences were based on Cruyff’s teaching based on the Ajax totalfootball philosophy. Team building was the title of the book by Rinus Michels, it is without doubt the most fundamental element of being successful.

The lessons of that Ajax side and philosophy were to sacrifice themselves for the team, yet still to shine individually and to ultimately win games. According to Guardiola that great Ajax side had “All the players, of different quality without exception were aware of their mission on the field of play. They demonstrated a tactical discipline and enormous capacity to apply all that at just the right time.”

During the summer of 2010 to the end of 2011 Barcelona were simply at one with each other, showing such brilliant cohesion, understanding and balance that the acclaim of being the best ever side were not far off. However at the start of 2012 the team started to lose these elements. Like any successful team it is important to continue to evolve it and keep it fresh. Barcelona however lost what made them so successful. Whether it was fatigue, a lack of hunger or perhaps an issue of “ego”, the team began to lose its effectiveness.

Lionel Messi can be said to be the Michael Jordan of football and for three years he was the near perfect team player who had that individual brilliance like Jordan to come up with something special. Yet like Jordan, Messi became over-relied on from those around him, his talents were so brilliant that it appeared the players around him were putting too much hope on him and reducing their own effectiveness. Yes Messi soared to great individual heights yet it was clear that this was having a negative effect on the quality of Barcelona as a team.

A one man attack of Messi became predictable and easy to play against. A successful winning side cannot be just about one player. Sure, individual quality is important, yet a reliance on one player often makes a team one dimensional, predictable and easier to play against. 

Although there can only often be one “star” in a team, it is important, almost essential, to have a strong team and supporting players in the side in order to give the team more dynamism and variability. This was the lesson which Phil Jackson had taught Jordan and his Bulls team 

As teams started to understand and learn how to “play against” Barca the expectation became more about the individual than the team and it is no surprise that Barcelona have struggled, as shown this season.

We witnessed perhaps the best ever team in football because their coach was able to produce a great team possessing great players, perhaps the most difficult task in sports. Only a few coaches have produced this kind of balance and quality which is what makes these coaches so special and sought after. Alex Ferguson is a perfect team-builder and his success and legacy can be seen through this.

Perhaps one of the best coaches who produced a complete ‘team’ was Arrigo Sacchi when at AC Milan. His ability to make great players into an excellent team was the reason for their back-to-back European success. They defended like one unit, a complete whole, much like Barcelona have done. This was their key, success built on a strong defensive unit. Most often coaches allow freedom in attack knowing that they possess some great players who can produce moments of magic. If they stifle this they may restrict their teams quality, they know that their job is to make their players a cohesive defensive team.

The Group One?

The team is really strong and compact. We know what we want and how to achieve it on the pitch.”- Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho has dominated the past decade of football. He regards himself as the special one and it is hard not to argue with him. Yet what is it which makes him so “Special”? Yes he is tactically excellent and has been somewhat blessed with great players, yet the truth is that Mourinho, like Jackson, Ferguson, Guardiola and Sacchi has the ability to produce great teams. Mourinho has the ability to motivate and persuade his players to sacrifice their own ego for the good of the team.

He has convinced his players at Porto, Chelsea, Inter and even Madrid of the need to be a united team and has been successful because of it. The lesson of Samuel Eto’o is a great example of how he can convince those to sacrifice the “me” for the “we”. Eto’o is known for his strong ego and individual approach yet at Inter Mourinho played him as left winger who was instructed to work as hard defensively as when attacking. It was remarkable to see a player with his reputation for being selfish being so selfless. 

Mourinho knew the key to success, team work. Inter would win the treble that season. 

At Madrid you could argue that when he managed to create his harmonious team Madrid became record breakers. Yet when players like Casillas and Ramos started to lose their belief in the team and philosophy of Mourinho, the team faltered. What was clear was that “harmony” had been lost, ego’s prevailed and failure ensued. Great players can win games yet great teams win titles.

This is why we are witnessing an all German Champions League final, because there are no greater 'teams' in world football right now than Dortmund and Bayern.

Germany’s model of success

"You can speak about spirit – or you can live it." Jurgen Klopp

Munich vs Borrusia Dortmund is a game which points to the resurgence of German football on the European stage. Yet what it really is is proof of the value of teamwork. Both of these sides are such unified and cohesive teams and it is this which has been the key to their success this season.

This week there was a great interview with Jurgen Klopp in the Guardian. It was full of humour, intensity and adoration for his club, fans, city and players. It was a perfect example as to why Klopp has achieved so much with such limited resources. His success has been built on developing youth players, great scouting and above all team-building. 

Klopp learnt from Sacchi’s Milan about the importance of team work and defending “We used to think before then that if the other players are better, you have to lose. After that we learned anything is possible – you can beat better teams by using tactics."

Dortmund’s speedy transitions which are fast and ruthless comes from the foundation of a great defence. Counter pressing is what German football have produced in recent years and has been seen with the national team and perfected by Dortmund in recent years. It requires high work rate, anticipation, cohesiveness and trust. Just like the best coaches Klopp has built his team on the principles of selflessness and team work, like Sacchi valuing defending as the key to success.

What about this story of team cohesion. At Mainz, after he'd led the club to promotion in 2004, he settled on an unlikely pre-season trip. "We took the team to a lake in Sweden where there was no electricity. We went for five days without food. They had to do this [he whistles and, using an imaginary fishing rod, casts off]. The other coaches said: 'Don't you think it's better to train playing football?' No. I wanted the team to feel that they can survive everything. My assistant coach thinks I'm an idiot. He asks if we can train there. No. Can we run there? No. But we can swim and fish! We were like Bravehearts. You can stick a knife in me here – no problem. We went to the Bundesliga and people could not believe how strong we were."

Unity, togetherness, a family. These are what Klopp has built his teams success on.

When you watch Dortmund you this same principle. You see a togetherness, a family which is not just with the players but with the fans and the city. It is like they are one. This has been their secret weapon, something more than football. LIke Barca say mes que un club.

In the interview he spoke of Barcelona and commended not their quality on the ball, not even their defensive pressure but the way in which Messi and his team-mates celebrate every goal. He says it’s "like it's the first they've ever scored. It's the perfect thing to show my team. I do it very often. I show them photographs of how Barcelona celebrate. I don't use videos because I don't copy Barça's style. But you see them celebrate goal number 5,868 like they've never scored before. This is what you should always feel – until you die." The value of teamwork and togetherness is the fundamental element of building a successful team.

Gegenpressing

"I think you have to talk about the whole team, we need to work together, stand together and be organised and then you have the chance to nullify a player like that, but things can happen fast," Phillp Lahm

Bayern Munich will be in their third Champions League final in four years this coming weekend yet they have never looked more unified and together than this season. They have possessed some great players yet have been overcome by a stronger Inter ‘team’ in 2010 and more together and focused Chelsea side in 2012. It was almost like their individual brilliance in players like Robben, Ribery and Gomez was not enough. To go from second to first they needed to be a better team, to sacrifice themselves for the team. It is evident that this year they have achieved this “togetherness”.

After the 4-0 defeat of Barcelona Jupp Heynckes stated that Bayern’s teamwork was key to their success “The team were outstanding in executing the tactical plan. That was top-class in terms of physical effort and fighting spirit. It's fantastic teamwork.”

By all accounts it was Van Gaal’s inability to control a dressing room packed full of big players and bigger personalities that proved his downfall. And this is crucially where Heynckes has succeeded; bringing together squad of talented players and making them an excellent “team”.

Bayern appear to have found a special bond and belief which has made them the most dominant side in Europe. Yes they possess world class players yet when you watch players like Ribery and Robben you see players who are working hard to play for the team. Both have been criticised for their selfish attitude and approach over their career yet there is no doubt that Heynckes has convinced them to sacrifice and be selfless. There is little doubt that this team ethic and willingness to work for the team has enabled Bayern to transcend to something bigger than the individual.

Perhaps the key to the improved Bayern is Matthias Sammer. In a game against Werder Bremen earlier in the season Matthias Sammer criticised his players after they left it late to beat Bremen, arguing that Bayern should not believe the hype around them and should make sure they play better in future. 

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the club's cheif executive said: "I really liked what Matthias said We all believe it would be a big mistake, to lull ourselves in. The ongoing praise, the ongoing euphoria - I don't like that." It is clear that lessons from last season are being learnt. Don't get complacent, don't let confidence turn into arrogance. Sammer has maintained focus and kept ego’s in check which has enabled Bayern to look like a complete whole and not a group of individuals.

The Champions League final promises to be a real "clasico" and one cannot help but look across at the Bundesliga with a certain sense of jealously. Excellent financial handing added with a world class youth development system has seen the emergence as Germany as a world class nation with it's league possessing both world class players and teams. 

Yet above all it is the coaches who should be praised for their ability to mould great “teams”. It is the hardest task in football and many coaches have failed to achieve this team cohesion, which is what makes Klopp and Heynckes so special and deserving of a being European champions.

As Phil Jackson says “One of the main jobs of a coach is to reawaken that spirit so that the players can blend together effortlessly. Success as individuals is tied directly to the group performance. Our society places such a high premium on individual achievement, it’s easy for players to get blinded by their own self-importance and lose a sense of interconnectedness, the essence of teamwork.”

The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address

 This will be the final article of the season. The coming months will be focusing on the completion of the eagerly awaited book which is coming out at the end of July. It has been a pleasure sharing my thoughts with you this season and I look forward to the upcoming season. If you wish to share your thoughts or ideas you can contact me at thewhitehouseaddress@gmail.com