“Experience is the comb they give you when you’re already bald,” philosophized Ringo Bonavena in one of his many witty neighborly sentences. Something similar happens with leadership. The less football there is on the field, the more the question of leadership, a persistently current topic, arises. Of course, this is an important virtue, like many others. Between two football players of equal abilities, the one who has the greatest personality to lead the team forward stands out. But when you’re looking for a star, you’re not looking for leadership, you’re looking for ability, shot, header, technique, intelligence. Then he learns from his teammates that he also has an influence on the rest of the team, whoever leads the locker room, they follow him.

Garrincha had no leadership, he was just a genius. If Houseman or César Cueto had been asked about leadership at the age of twenty, they would have replied: “What do you eat with…?”. They had no idea about it. They spent their entire childhood and youth with a ball at their feet and were in an intimate relationship with her, they loved her and she listened to them. It worked for them. Has anyone ever asked Tostão, Coutinho, Verón the witch for guidance…? At the time of American and world champion Estudiantes, the matches were as follows: Estudiantes 2 – Palmeiras 1. (Goals: Verón 2). Manchester United 1 – Estudiantes 1. (goals: Bobby Charlton and Verón). The witch had a more delicious product than leadership: genius and goals. Bochini would change in a small corner of the dressing room, without fuss, then come in and win games. And that made tens of thousands go wild in the stands. They were leading from the game.

This is a trend in journalism today. There has never been a group of thirty individuals with thirty leaders, there is one. There are six hundred horses in the herd and only one is in command.

Before there was no question of leadership, efficiency was expected, for the winger to score, for the goalkeeper to cover and for nine to score a goal. Kempes said of Maradona (now the anointed king of leadership) “Maradona had no leadership.” Does the goalkeeper also have to lead… or stop those who go inside…? Which is better, the winger scoring or having the lead…? In Brazil in ’70. Gerson was the boss, Pelé just played. Gerd Müller hardly spoke, but he was a beast of a man. And he invented a club called Bayern Munich. Zidane has always been a secluded subject, however, he is one of the greats in history. Bobby Charlton was the last member of a famous football family in England: the Milburn and Charlton families. His uncles and cousins ​​and his brother Jackie were excellent players. Because of his shyness and lack of spark, no one thought Bobby would follow in his footsteps until a pack of scouts and talent scouts showed up at his mother’s house to ask for his mother’s signature to sign him. He was the greatest English football artist of all time. There are hundreds of identical cases. Was it important for Bobi to hold a harangue before going out on the field or to fight for prizes before the leaders…?

Man is a species, there have always been natural leaders, alpha males, but they were one among many. There can never be 25 leaders in a team of 25 football players, there are one or two, the others add technical qualities, even spiritual, but they are not the leaders of the pack. There are elements of outstanding character (Haaland), phenomenal claws (Kimmich) or overwhelming personality (Dibu Martínez), but they don’t necessarily have a singing voice in the locker room.

In every human group there is a leader, two at most, the others contribute in other aspects. Antonio Ubaldo Rattin was a very discreet player with the ball, but also a great leader. “Pocho” Pianetti shot penalties; he had the kick of a mule. Once a penalty was missed, the next day another and then another. Three in a row Two weeks later, they sanctioned another penalty in favor of Boca, and it was Pianetti who placed the ball. The rat stopped him: “What are you doing, Pocho…? Leave that ball…” Pianetti didn’t say a word, stepped back and kicked his teammate. Therein lies the importance of leadership.

The second time the Boca went bad, they returned to training on Tuesday and in the locker room, ready to take the field, Rattin tells the soldiers: “Don’t leave, we’ll talk.” “So…? Let’s go to a meeting”, answered two or three. And there the captain came out to the great Antonio: “No, no, close the door, let’s talk because we’re doing badly, this is Boca, we can’t lose all the games, we have to correct it. ” And there he just faced one by one. To Mourinho, a magnificent midfielder who was even the captain of the Argentine national team and died in Chile in the tragedy of the Green Cross plane, he snapped: “You, Gallego, you don’t mark anyone.” And so it is either going around the spinel. He had no accusing, exposing tone or personal reproach, he focused on the problem, his colleagues understood him, he was a frontal leader who openly sought the common good. He also exposed his own shortcomings. And the Bottle began to come out of the well.

Rat was a phenomenal leader and was respected as such. But Rattin has one on each campus, not twenty. And he played for it. The others spoke with the ball.

That is certainly a great trait. It’s better to have it. But it seems that now he has to be the leader to the props. “Yes, he is a good prop, he has an impeccable wardrobe, but he lacks leadership.” Does the plumber also need guidance…? And the one who sells shoes…? Isn’t this excessive…? (OR)