The FIFA World Cup, the planet’s biggest soccer—er, football—event, is nearing its end. What began in early June with 48 teams will culminate this weekend as the final two battle for their place in history.
While the names of this year’s champions have yet to be written, the qualities that make teams succeed never change.
Hollywood has captured this principle in a number of memorable soccer movies over the years. (For consistency, I’m going to use the term soccer throughout this article and ask my European readers for a little patience.) In fact, forty-five years ago this month, it released what some consider to be the greatest soccer film ever made: Victory.
Starring Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone, alongside soccer icon Pelé, the film tells the inspiring story of a high-profile WWII exhibition match between a stacked team of Nazi players and Allied prisoners of war.
What is intended to showcase the superiority of the Third Reich becomes the perfect opportunity for the POWs to execute a daring escape from the German prison camp.
In one of the film’s pivotal scenes, Michael Caine’s character intentionally breaks the arm of his team’s starting goalkeeper to make room on the roster for Sylvester Stallone’s character, an American POW who serves as the Allies’ backup goalkeeper and is essential to the escape plan.
The starting goalkeeper understands the importance of Stallone’s presence and willingly submits to the injury. He lays his arm across two wooden bed slats while his teammate forcefully kicks it, ending his chance to play so the mission can move forward.
Few teammates will ever be asked to make a sacrifice that dramatic. But every team member is routinely called upon to surrender something for the good of the group.
Sometimes that sacrifice is obvious. It means giving up personal recognition so someone else can shine. It means accepting a smaller role, taking on an unpopular assignment, or doing work that no one notices because the team needs it done.
Other times the sacrifice is more personal. It means setting aside your ego after being overlooked for a promotion, choosing encouragement over criticism when a teammate struggles, or investing time to help someone else succeed even when it doesn’t directly benefit you.
Good teammates understand that team victories are rarely achieved by asking, “What’s best for me?” Instead, they continually ask, “What’s best for the team?” They recognize that individual sacrifice is often the price of collective success.
In many ways, your willingness to sacrifice is what defines you as a teammate.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking your value to the team is measured only by what you give. Quite often, it is equally measured by what you give up—comfort, convenience, control, or time.
These are the sacrifices of victory. Being a good teammate means embracing this truth and appreciating those teammates whose sacrifices often go unnoticed.
As always…Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.
