In football’s firmament,
Costa Rica is considered a faint star, barely visible next to the supposedly
glowing stars of Italy, Uruguay and England.
Someone clearly forgot to
mention that to the plucky, never-give-up Costa Ricans in the 2014 World Cup,
currently in progress in Brazil.
Whatever may happen in the
next phase of the tournament for the team from the tiny nation, the Ticos (formally,
Costarricenses) have shown that
they can outrun, outfight and out-strategize the best teams in the world, and
do it with verve and style.
A nation of about 5 million with
a landmass of about 20,000 sq. mi, Costa Rica nurtures a well-deserved
reputation for its progressive environmental policies, the only country in the
world to meet all five criteria for measuring environmental sustainability. It
constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949 and has consistently
been among top-ranking countries in the Human Development Index.
Is it any wonder that out of
a nation of enlightened government come a team of energetic Davids ready to
vanquish football’s Goliaths?
Not so fast, you say. There
is no proof of any correlation between good governance and football prowess.
Besides, this is only the first stage of group games. Next is the knockout
phase where anything can result from a maddening combination of luck, pluck,
bad and good calls and that x-factor, the intestinal fire to win.
But that’s beside the point.
The Ticos have already shown that they can take on the best by believing in
themselves, working hard and seizing opportunities whenever they present
themselves. They have no superstars, no Messis and Neymars, yet as a cohesive
team they are as solid in the back and fluid in the front as any team in the
world.
They were in the so-called ‘Group
of Death’ and now they are the ones most alive in that group.
We are too focused on name
brands and so lose sight of genuine wonders. Costa Rica has so far been the
wonder of World Cup 2014. When they beat Uruguay (champions in 1930, 1950) 3-1
in Arena Castelao in Fortaleza and Italy (champions in 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) 1-0
in Arena Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil, they taught the world one thing: the unheralded
can beat the celebrated through fearless, attacking football.
On June 24, the Ticos take
on England, a mere formality, since England is already out, having lost both to
Italy and Uruguay. If any team deserves pity and scorn in equal measures, it is
England’s Three Lions, the most overrated and hyped team in history. To call
these “lions” lambs would be to insult lambs. While Costa Rica should play to
win on June 24, it should conserve its energy for the next phase and happily settle
for a draw.
Costa Rica’s performance
lends itself to academic lessons. If Brazil, Argentina, Holland and Germany
represent Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley and, say, Caltech, Costa Rica represents
a community college. Yet community college students need not feel inferior to
students from these elite universities. Through grit, focus and faith in
themselves, they can compete with the ivy-league educated students in any field.
On July 23, when two teams
compete for football supremacy in the World Cup 2014 final, Costa Rica is
unlikely to be one of those two.
But that will not in any way
diminish what the tiny nation has already accomplished: They can compete with
the best and win.
So, if you are a community
college student and you are competing for a job with a Stanford or a Harvard
graduate, don’t give up. Prepare for it, give it your best shot and the job can
be yours.
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