Body Fitness and the Human Mind

     The Interplay of Mindset and Fitness: Lessons from Football Icon

“A healthy mind in a healthy body” -Socrates

  It will be the 6th Consecutive Euros Edition (Euro2024) that Vintage Cristiano Ronaldo will feature in; a competition in which he already has made an indelible mark as a tournament winner (2016) and the highest goal scorer.  His participation in the sixth Euros marks his 24 years of professional football. In the gallery of this unique sport, with a career spanning over two decades and four years, ,  he has enjoyed an unprecedented run of success, marking the longevity of peak, individual entertaining performance, a cult-like personality for many young players, and a brand trademark —  a global icon, CR7. A global Icon in every appearance that milks fortune for every media affiliation. He earns a staggering 3.23million dollars from any Instagram posts. He is 39 at a game where players are expected to do away with the game at 35  to retire attending testimonials and acting as a pundit; Yet, he ages like a fine wine.  All these have been forged by the Hammers of hard work on the anvil of talent echoing In the chambers of Fame.

   CR7’s consistent posts on Instagram stories about ice-cold baths leave you wondering about the cold discomfort and the gym equipment in his personal space, making you wonder if his brutal training regime is meant for war. He often shares interviews about cutting out soda drinks and living on a strict nutritional diet of nuts and bland salad. His former teammate at Manchester United, Patrice Evra, once shared an amusing anecdote in an interview with Talksport about an invite from the superstar. He teased, “If Ronaldo ever invites you for dinner, say no.” Evra recalled that after dinner, Ronaldo wanted him to train. He added that Ronaldo shows a remarkable hunger and passion for training his body for the sport.

The truth is, his fitness has been the behind-the-scenes driver of his success story. His fitness in this sport has preserved his age (39 years) in a game where players are expected to retire at 35, according to the PFA, as their bodies do not function as they did in their 20s and teenage years. Fitness in sport wanes with age. The next question is, what fuels the desire to keep fit and play for many years in football? The answer is his mindset. Many coaches, teammates, and opponents have often alluded to his continuity, immeasurable success, and winning willpower in the sport as a testament to his mindset.

         A winning Mindset in any Sport is what sports champions, from ordinary athletes to top athletes. Mindset is what announces record breakers to the world rather than the glimpse of being an uprising athlete. Mindset makes you stand on top amidst the tantrums, odds, and taunts of life before they become roaring cheers and flowers of compliments from the audience. Mindset makes an athlete make extra runs in the cold morning and sacrifice fatty, spicy meals for a strict meal.  Mindset makes you move your body to practise even if you do not know what to do. Mindset and fitness in sports success are often melded in layers. It is based on discipline, consistency, and confidence. 

          The intertwining of such relationships is often shared in the success stories and failed careers of Sportspeople. Without the right mindset, Fitness in sports is bound to decline for any athlete. It is simply the relationship of the head and body. I shall give examples of each side of the intertwined relationship. One is Luis Adriano, the former Brazilian striker who was tipped to be the successor of R9, Delimar Ronaldo. He started well in his early career trajectory, with the prediction of his name written in the Star and etched in gold. 

         During a training session in San Siro, a message that had brought the end of what the world would have witnessed: a new greatness to a player, Adriano's biggest inspiration, his Dad, had died. From the eyes of Javier Zanetti, the former captain of Inter Milan, and his Teammate, in an interview by Sky SportItalia: Adriano was down and broken and battered by the situation. He took him under his wings to help him; however, he didn't respond to it. 

      His other teammates would come to training watching him retch on the pitch and drunk from the late-night drinks of his long mourning. His mental state was down so was his fitness and his performance waned. He left top-flight football for Brazil where the whole world's attention dimmed. It seems the gods of athleticism never favored him to shine. 

        However, as brutal as Adriano’s story is, in the hands of cruel fate, there are other players who have had the opportunity to challenge the oddity of nature. A prime example of such is Santi Cazorla, who suffered an even greater misfortune. He was out of the game for 668 days due to a horror injury in his foot, gangrene—a decomposition of body tissue caused by a bacterial infection. He lost 10 cm of his tendon and had to leave Arsenal. His condition was so severe that his doctor told him he should be grateful if he could walk in the garden again (as reported by The Guardian).

Gutted, he decided to seek treatment in Vitoria, Spain and underwent rehabilitation. He made a remarkable comeback season at Villarreal, becoming their Player of the Season. During rehabilitation, he described the process as a miracle, explaining how he was tricked into walking and playing ball slowly. The doctors had faith in him, which reignited his mind, interest, and desire to play football despite the pressure to give up. Santi Cazorla went on to excel. His endurance led to his fitness in the sport. This shows that while the physical challenges of athleticism can be formidable, mental fortitude ultimately determines an athlete’s destiny and is a strong asset.

     Although, they are players who have lost such fitness  to playing games owing  to cruel hands of nature owing to issues that cannot be reversed or re-engineered by the law of medicine; but their love for the game can still turn things around.  Thomas Tuchel, the German Tactician, couldn’t continue to play the game of football owing to injuries from a muscle disease. He had 77 appearances in the game: 8 from Stuttgart Kickers and 69 from SSV Ulm. Rather than giving up from his dream sport then decided to go on to coaching which by major consensus of his Trophy catalogue in his managerial stint ( Dfb Pokal at Germany for Dortmund, A league and Cup trophies for PSG and Bayern munich, European Champions league, European Super cup and FIFA World Club Cup at chelsea) he has been a successful coach. As much as fitness is required in sportsmanship, the mental fortitude is a Fulcrum. 

    Judging from this treatise, there is an interplay  between the mind and sport fitness. For  Ronaldo, his success and longevity has relied heavily upon his personal obsession  with training; For Adriano, his mental Fortitude couldn’t bear his personal loss leading to his fall; To Santi Cazorla, the miracle he needed was endurance and Faith investment to be back in the game, and Thomas Tuchel, his desire kept the love burning for the sport..