Fervent atmosphere surrounds the 2018 World Cup, its ardent passion had infected me and the battle between Argentina and France was the first time I watch soccer. As the match unfolds, each twist and turn in the game intensifies the uncertainty—the lead quickly staggered and the brilliant personal sparkle of stars had touched me deeply. This match, with its relentless pace and unexpected heroes, perfectly encapsulates the sheer unpredictability and thrill of soccer. As Zinedine Zidane once said, ‘In football, you can dominate for 89 minutes and lose in the 90th’, soccer’s uncertainty made me quickly fell in love with soccer.
Then I threw myself into soccer with vast passion inside my heart. I started my hard training with a bunch of foreigners who were also very passionate about soccer. After the day after day of training, we gradually mastered basics skills of football, then I found that our training focus switched the dealing with uncertainty. The session of physicality was for the ability to maintain focus after the game time has passed, the design of tactics were also aimed to cope with the situation when accidents like injuries happened. All of the training were for the uncertainty. Although we tried our best to formulate myriad of solutions toward uncertainty but it was inevitable and inexorable in the match. At that time, the persistent mentality played vital role, the calm and equanimity are the sub-products of the training and it always changed the direction of the game since it could make us suddenly regroup ourselves from the fatal shocked by the happen of uncertain situations.
There was a game of a semifinal of a cup. Started with intensity, both teams quickly switch back and forth between offense and defense, the loud cheering of the crowd and the seems-endless game gradually let me find the state, our team gradually gained the upper hand and waited for a chance that would give us the lead. However, the loved and hated uncertainty arose, our main center back went off with a sprained ankle in a confrontation, an instant sense of unease rose in our ranks, we were shocked and overwhelmed, the advantage of the scene that was so hard-won was gone in an instant, the other side is getting braver and braver and scored a goal in the last moments of the first half.
At half-time there was a deadly silence in our dressing room. This is a wake-up call for us. Fortunately, our coach seized the moment, refocused us, and let us to invoke lessons we learned to adapt to under stress and uncertainty. We regrouped, picked ourselves up and went into the second half with a tactical shift. We gave up our cautious defense and went all out on attack. This aggressive stance was a gamble on our dwindling energy reserves but, driven by our sheer will, we paid off and scored the equalizer.
The climax of the game came in stoppage time. The curious uncertainty arose again when their goalkeeper fouled one of our strikers in the penalty area. When I put the ball in place, the weight of the whole game seemed to fall on my shoulders. But in fact, because of the mentality of daily training, I was really calm, I took a deep breath, executed the penalty perfectly and took the lead at the final whistle. Our ability to accept and respond to uncertainty turns potential defeat into an exciting victory.
After the game, I reminisced about the significant unpredictability of soccer and its reflection to life's uncertainties. This match, with its sudden twists and last-minute victories, was a vivid reminder that uncertainty isn’t just a part of the game but also a fundamental aspect of life. This realization inspired me to approach life as I do soccer: with flexibility, resilience, and a readiness to adapt at a moment’s notice. Training for unpredictability on the field had prepared me for life, where adaptability is crucial. Embracing this uncertainty, I saw, was not just necessary but beautifully transformative.
