Between science and Kiricocho | Sports

new football. Argentina is strong, fighter and supportive, but with Messi he won the Copa America; Italy is bold, energetic and brave, but with Donnarumma they won the European Cup. All that tells us, once again, that football is an associative game that produces effective solutions thanks to inspiring individuals trained responsible for greater or less consistency and daring; The effectiveness of the idea and unbalanced events are taken care of by the players. Millions of neurons are fueled by a culture that begins with the joy of play and continues with training, instructions, games watched and played, sleep and wake, dreams and emotional ambition. This is what we know about individual talent. That capital, less brutal and academic every day, put coaches at the service of a methodical football, very professional and somewhat predictable, but this far from stealing, trying to improve the game.

Kiricocho, 1; big data, 0. I love football, always hopping between the poles. The last runner explains, in his folly, the mystery of an unfathomable game. The penalty shoot-out that decided the European Championship was representative of the scientific speculation that football wanted to turn towards and the superstitious love that it did not want to escape. Southgate selected players as pitchers recommended by the science department of a team that asks big data for mathematical facts, following fashion. On the other hand, Chiellini preferred to resort to Kirikosho’s scream every time an English player threw. Kiricocho was a legendary jinx at Estudiantes de Bilardo in the 1960s. This team, who had harnessed the divine and humanity to win, sent Kiricocho to silence his opponents before every game, seemingly effectively. What no one knows is how the legend leaked out to imbalance the European Championship.

When technology hits the sticks. Technology is taking back football in an attempt to dominate the game. VAR was just the beginning of a progressive relationship. It will cost you something more than in other fields because in the course of games, as in the field of art, you can influence, but you cannot decide. But in his relationship with football, he will find the complicity of coaches, people who need control so that they can sleep peacefully. It’s not about underestimating power and technology when it comes to providing us with data, but, regardless of Kiricocho, the penalty shootout in the European Cup final cleared the fundamental questions. For example: those algorithms do not know doubts, and no matter how much data big data collects, they will never reach the depths of fear, courage, doubt, certainty, anxiety and calm.

Messi won. He who does not cry does not absorb, and he who does not win does not love. Messi finally won with Argentina. He did it against Brazil, at the Maracana and led a young and exciting team. The funny thing is that a large part of the country expected this victory as much as Messi himself, who was little by little admired by many people for something more important than victory: getting up and going after every hit. He did it faithfully to the shirt, with football pride, and even patriotism, resisting humiliation, disrespect and hurtful comparisons. The Copa America made Messi happy and took a country to the streets to celebrate not only a victory, but also an act of football justice with a genius who never got tired of fighting. Celebrate together those who love the way and those who just love to reach.

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