The Gothia Cup Miracle

Some stories are special… This story is one of amazing leadership, a fight, a comeback, a struggle, heroes, an upset, a transformation, glory, and a champion…

I talked a lot about the “MIRACLE US hockey team” and one of the coaches came up to me before the final and said, “This whole journey was incredible... What did you do? This is the Gothia Cup Miracle!!”

Chapter 1: The beginning

After some tactics I write three things on the board.

Opportunity: “Right here right NOW”

Believe: “To be a champion you must believe you are the best. If not pretend you are.” PLAY THE BEST FOOT!

ONE: “We got a better chance of survival if we work together. If we work together we survive”

We have an Opportunity “right here and right now” to play our strengths both individually and as a team. We must BELIEVE in the system, each other and most importantly ourselves and play not only your “Best Foot” but also your “teams” best foot. Everyone has a Role bring your strength today! We are ONE Tyreso ONE Team!

Chapter 2: The struggle

My coaching style is a very possession, creative, attacking style of play. My players know exactly what is expected of them and exactly what connections we are searching for! In the first few games we found the connections but could not finish.. We played beautiful soccer and would lose 1-0 against a direct team with one or two fast forwards.. Numerous refs, opposing coaches, fans, etc. would come up to me and say Wow what fantastic soccer your team plays. It is to bad you didn’t get the win.. You deserved it. Unlucky…” 

Why can’t we finish?? We create so many chances and are playing beautifully. What is missing?? When we would go down a goal we would still keep up this pace and this beautiful play, we still attacked but couldn’t finish..

I figured out why.. FEAR!!!! FEAR of failure. There is a FEAR of taking the chance because there is a slight risk of failure.

Have the courage to Dare.

Chapter 3: The players

We lost the first 4 games. With the last group game 7-0 against an American team… The worst game we played and the best game the Americans played…

“Its not about getting hit. Its about how hard you get hit and keep moving forward.“

 (I hate this I want to quit)

“Do you just quit when things get tough? You don’t hate this game.. You hate losing.. No one plays like you do if you hate this game. It would be like going to medical school and not wanting to be a doctor. No one plays like you do if you hate this game. No one goes to medical school if they do not want to be a doctor. No one put that much into it and works that hard if you don’t want something.”

A team takes away individuality but what sports loves is the “hero” and that “hero” actually goes against the team concept.  I tell my players I want you to be that individual but you need to find a way to be the individual within the team. Your team will only lift you up more. Messi can’t be Messi without his team and the team can’t be successful without Messi.

(I don’t want to go in. I am not good enough. If I go in I will mess everything up. She is better than me. I will just disappoint my teammates”)

Every player has a strength. I call each strength and personality my “Weapon.” Each player has a weapon and I need many different weapons to win a war. It doesn’t mean one weapon is better than another. It just means it’s different… When I have you all loaded up I need you to be ready to “fire!!!” Want to play!!! Do not be afraid to make mistakes I rather lose having you try to play the way I am asking then win with you just “kicking it” playing it safe.  Have the courage to Dare!!!!

(I have no role on this team) tournament play round of 16

“I am injured now. I have no role on this team…”

Tears rushing down her face I looked at her and said “you got us where we are now! Now you have to embrace a different role with your teammates, a role where you can lift them up in a positive way off the field. Give them your positive energy that you beam with”

The leadership Moment

Then as she is still crying my Captain comes over looks at her and says “I need help. Can you help me put my Captain band on?” All the tears went away and she smiled and helped her.  The ultimate leadership moment... Seeing a teammate completely destroyed and asking them to help you with a small task that you can clearly do on your own... Asking for “help” in a way to lift them up to show that they do have a role and is needed on this team.  Talk about a hero? I saw one in a 15-year-old girl… I get the Goosebumps writing this now…

 I started to see a transformation. The team started really playing each other’s best foot, playing with a sense of reckless abandonment and an immense amount of trust in each other.  The cover, creativity and combinations took my feet out from underneath me at times. Players became part of the team and embraced their roles and I am happy to say it took players games to a whole new level. I have these visions in my head of these girls combining with her teammates and scoring phenomenal goals, sacrificing her whole heart and soul for this great team we were creating. Truly sacrificing and playing, not just for herself but for her team.. They understood… They “got it” Got what it is about.

Some of these players were a light before but with their team they all became something else... Something Great!! What they have done in three days takes most players months or years.  I have numerous stories of overcoming adversity, moments of leadership, individuals becoming a teammate, complete trust conspiring, weapons ready to be unleashed and players and finding the courage to Dare!!

Chapter 4: Thomas Edison

(Round of 32- first tournament game-win or go home)

On the board I wrote MJ 9000, 300, and 26. I asked the girls who MJ was and some said “Michael Jackson” I laughed and said true but I meant  “Michael Jordan” I asked what do you think these numbers mean.  They didn’t know. Then I wrote.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost over 300 games. 26 times I have been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. Ive failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeeded.” –MJ

Then I wrote a 700 on the board and TE and asked, “Who invented the light bulb?”  

“I have not failed 700 times.. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. Once I have eliminated all the ways that will not work I will FIND THE WAY THAT WILL WORK.” –Thomas Edison

We have not failed.. We just succeeded in finding ways that don’t work but today is a different day!! I don’t want this to be our last game. Today we find “Our WAY” to “TURN THE LIGHT ON” and at the end of this game we will stand in a circle arm and arm and it will be our turn to say “HURRA HURRA HURRA”

In the round of 32 we found our way and won on the 6^th PK!!!!!!!!! The round of 16 we kept on our same path with complete focus.  Each round getting better and better…. Then in the semi-finals we played a Danish team, a good team.. The performance in this game left me speechless.. I have this vision and they played in a way I see and know how it should be!! It was creative, passionate, fast, absolutely beautiful, sexy soccer!! Every single player had something to do with a goal. 

These tournament games we took our game to another place... Something was set off.  Every player was playing for something greater than themselves.. Doing everything in their power to make each other look good in the best possible way.  We put on a show!!! We created our chances, took the chances and most importantly finished our chances!! We not only pulled a Thomas Edison and “Turned our light on” Our light was so bright. We blinded everyone in Gothia Cup!!

Chapter 5: Not you’re fairy tale ending

The final!! A comeback!!! We went from losing the first 4 games to winning every tournament game… And not only winning but also beating our opponents with this sexy, classy style of play that you cant keep your eyes off of. A beating where there all the other team could do is shake our hands and say “good game”

10 games in 6 days… My players, my team continued to play our style and fight.. Our opponent was strong as well! That day we did not finish. It was not the “fairy tale ending” I was hoping for.. I have images in my head now of certain players sacrificing themselves to win the ball, combinations, the crowd chanting our name, players sprinting at their max to get in the box for a small possible chance on goal, players completely collapsing of exhaustion when the final whistle blew.. Every player picked each other up we meet in a circle and every player with their heads up high looked at me. I took a deep breath almost ready to cry myself and I said how proud I was of them. In my eyes they are winners. They are true champions. So one last time here in Gothenburg at the Gothia Cup we will come together.  I put my arm up and said, “winners go high” Be proud of what you done. You leave this tournament a champion in another way! I am so proud to wear this Tyreso Jersey and be apart of this team.  We are ONE TYRESO, ONE TEAM!! So, for one last time here, as loud as you can, Tyreso on three.. 1,2,3… and they all screamed TYRESO!!!!!

 We went to receive the medals and trophy and as I watched my players each receive a medal in this stadium. Our whole trip and journey flashed before my eyes; stories of defeat, stories of a comeback, and amazing story of coming together were all in my mind and heart. I thought of Thomas Edison and thought to myself that there is no other team I would want to stand with and next to!! I can’t explain the pride I felt at that moment. I have a different definition of success.  A different definition of what it means to be a champion.

I brought them together and shared my thoughts with them. “How many Swedish teams do what you just did? Have you ever heard of any?!? Even these small stories I have been telling you all week. There is a very small percentage of those teams and athletes that fall into that category!!! Talk about a vision of a champion?? You and this is team are the Vision of a Champion!! This is the story of the Gothia Cup MIRCALE.

So thank you!! Thank you again for giving me one of my best coaching experiences yet!!!