Looking back on the Champions League

To mark the Champions League final, Jake reflects on the conversations they have had with a range of guests about the Champions League. In this episode, you will hear from Jordan Henderson, Kieran Trippier, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Mauricio Pochettino among others about their relationship to the competition.

This final of the Champions League also a very significant game for Jake as it will be the last ever match he hosts on BT Sport, after a decade of presenting on the channel. He shares how he feels about the significant moment and his final time hosting a competition that many consider to be the pinnacle of the game.

Listen to the full episodes:

Rio Ferdinand: https://pod.fo/e/15914

Mauricio Pochettino: https://pod.fo/e/16521

Kieran Trippier: https://pod.fo/e/17a67f

Steven Gerrard: https://pod.fo/e/a33ba

Frank Lampard: https://pod.fo/e/136b50

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

# High Performance Podcast: Champions League Special

## Introduction

- Jake reflects on his decade-long hosting career in BT Sport, covering the Champions League.
- He shares his emotions about his final Champions League match as a host.


## Lessons from Champions League Legends

### 1. The Power of Resilience and Picking Yourself Up:

- Liverpool Captain Jordan Henderson emphasizes the importance of staying together and looking forward after a defeat.
- Jurgen Klopp's post-match speeches focused on unity and the beginning of a journey, rather than dwelling on the loss.
- This mindset helped Liverpool eventually win the Champions League in 2019.


### 2. Learning from Defeat and Embracing the Journey:

- Kieran Trippier discusses Tottenham's defeat in the 2019 Champions League final.
- He highlights the disappointment but also the pride in reaching the final.
- Trippier emphasizes the importance of learning from the experience and using it to improve in the future.


### 3. The Fine Margins of Success and Failure:

- Maurizio Pochettino shares his perspective on the Champions League final, considering it a failure despite reaching the final.
- Jake acknowledges the fine margins in football and the role of luck in determining outcomes.


### 4. Earning a Place Among Legends:

- Rio Ferdinand reflects on his journey at Manchester United and the feeling of not fitting in until he won the Champions League.
- Winning the Champions League gave him the confidence to consider himself on par with United legends.


### 5. Empathy and Understanding:

- Jake emphasizes the importance of empathy over opinion in understanding the experiences of athletes.
- He highlights Steven Gerrard's act of comforting John Arne Riise after a missed penalty in the 2005 Champions League final.


### 6. Creating a Positive Culture:

- Steven Gerrard discusses the importance of being there for teammates in good and bad times.
- He believes that a strong culture is built on supporting one another through challenges.


### 7. Imagining Success and Practicing for Pressure:

- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer shares his approach to preparing for big moments, including imagining scoring goals in crucial situations.
- He emphasizes the importance of practicing with the same intensity as in a match.


### 8. The Bittersweetness of Success and Loss:

- Frank Lampard reflects on his time as Chelsea manager, guiding the team to the Champions League group stage but losing his job before they won the trophy.
- He acknowledges the disappointment but also the pride in the team's achievements.


### 9. The Passion and Emotion of Football:

- Edwin van der Sar expresses his frustration at Ajax's near-miss in reaching the Champions League final in 2019.
- He highlights the passion and emotion that football evokes, even years after the event.


## Conclusion

- Jake reflects on his decade of hosting football matches and the valuable lessons he has learned.
- He encourages listeners to explore the High Performance Podcast archive for more insights.
- He expresses excitement about new challenges and hopes to continue sharing valuable lessons with his audience.

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[02:38.080 -> 02:46.600] Hi there, you're listening to High Performance, the award-winning podcast that unlocks the
[02:46.600 -> 02:52.520] minds of some of the most fascinating people on the planet. I'm Jay Comfrey, and alongside
[02:52.520 -> 02:57.760] Professor Damien Hughes, we learn from the stories, successes and struggles of our guests,
[02:57.760 -> 03:03.200] allowing us to explore, be challenged, grow and expand our horizons. And after hundreds
[03:03.200 -> 03:06.140] of conversations, we've discovered that every guest
[03:06.140 -> 03:08.840] has managed to unlock their potential.
[03:08.840 -> 03:12.920] This podcast seeks to find out how they did it.
[03:12.920 -> 03:16.640] Welcome to a special Champions League episode
[03:16.640 -> 03:18.360] of the High Performance Podcast.
[03:18.360 -> 03:20.480] Now, by the time you're listening to this,
[03:20.480 -> 03:23.640] I'm actually gonna be already in Istanbul
[03:23.640 -> 03:25.480] hosting my last ever match for BT Sport
[03:25.480 -> 03:29.360] So for those of you that listen to this podcast outside of the UK for the last 10 years
[03:29.360 -> 03:33.200] I've hosted Champions League and Premier League football for BT Sport
[03:33.200 -> 03:38.580] Which is one of the broadcasters of football here in the UK where I live and what I thought would be quite nice
[03:38.580 -> 03:43.360] is just to spend today's episode actually looking back over some of the lessons some of the stories and
[03:43.720 -> 03:48.220] some of the conversations we've had on this podcast with people who've been right at the centre
[03:48.220 -> 03:53.420] of the drama when it comes to the biggest match in European club football, the Champions
[03:53.420 -> 03:57.980] League final. So this episode is being released on Friday morning, which means that tomorrow
[03:57.980 -> 04:02.520] Manchester City go up against Inter Milan for the right to be crowned champions of Europe.
[04:02.520 -> 04:06.000] And it's been a long, long wait for Manchester City to pick up this trophy.
[04:06.000 -> 04:10.000] It's actually two years since they lost in the Champions League final against Chelsea.
[04:10.000 -> 04:16.000] So I thought actually a really good place to start is something that is relevant to all of us in all of our lives.
[04:16.000 -> 04:19.000] The power of picking yourself up and going again.
[04:19.000 -> 04:25.080] So we spoke at the back end of 2022 to the Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson,
[04:25.080 -> 04:31.640] who explained to us what Jurgen Klopp did after their Europa League defeat to Sevilla in 2016.
[04:31.640 -> 04:32.640] It was really interesting.
[04:32.640 -> 04:33.480] Have a listen to this.
[04:34.800 -> 04:42.080] I can remember losing the Europa League final and that was the second final losing,
[04:42.080 -> 04:47.720] I think that year, and going back to the hotel where, if we'd won, there'd have been a party and all of that sort of stuff.
[04:49.360 -> 04:56.040] And as a player, you just so down, the big moment, you know, European final, lost.
[04:56.760 -> 05:02.080] And he was like, oh yeah, bad moment, but that's when you stay together.
[05:02.080 -> 05:03.440] That's when you need everyone together.
[05:04.520 -> 05:07.640] And also, by the way, this is just the beginning.
[05:08.560 -> 05:09.600] This is just the start.
[05:09.600 -> 05:11.400] So, yeah.
[05:11.400 -> 05:13.440] And then by the end, he basically went,
[05:13.440 -> 05:15.880] I want you all on the dance floor by the end of the night.
[05:15.880 -> 05:18.160] And we're singing, we are Liverpool.
[05:18.160 -> 05:19.320] He's singing, we are Liverpool.
[05:19.320 -> 05:20.800] And everybody's saying, we are Liverpool.
[05:20.800 -> 05:25.840] And that completely, my mind was like,
[05:25.840 -> 05:27.360] this is like just totally different
[05:27.360 -> 05:29.960] to anything that I've ever experienced before.
[05:29.960 -> 05:34.960] And to think like that, so close to losing a big game,
[05:36.120 -> 05:40.960] give me definitely so much confidence to think,
[05:42.080 -> 05:45.000] but he's so confident that this is just the beginning.
[05:45.000 -> 05:49.000] He's singing, like he's, we've done, he's obviously looked at it.
[05:49.000 -> 05:52.680] We've done so well to be able to get to the final from, he's only started
[05:52.680 -> 05:58.080] maybe seven, eight months ago, so he could see the signs of improvement
[05:58.080 -> 06:02.600] and he knew it would continue in that way if we carried on doing what
[06:02.600 -> 06:07.080] we'd been doing and he knew he needed everybody together to be able to do that.
[06:07.400 -> 06:12.760] So actually, in the end, I think as players, you took a lot of confidence from actually,
[06:13.600 -> 06:15.600] well, this is just the beginning.
[06:17.300 -> 06:23.400] Now, Damien and I love that because all too often, and it's happened a lot, it's happened particularly with Arsenal
[06:23.400 -> 06:27.520] and the conversations on social media around Arsenal in the last few weeks. Like we
[06:27.520 -> 06:32.000] talk about defeat as being a wholly bad thing, particularly in this era where
[06:32.000 -> 06:35.040] everything is black and white, everything is one way or the other,
[06:35.040 -> 06:39.440] there's no nuance, we all seem to come at life from polar opposite angles which
[06:39.440 -> 06:43.520] is all rather depressing. But there is truth in the fact that you learn a huge
[06:43.520 -> 06:48.220] amount from defeat. You know, I saw a brilliant conversation actually that Ed Sheeran was having on a podcast recently
[06:48.220 -> 06:53.420] with Howard Stern, where he spoke about all his learnings come from defeat. And I love
[06:53.420 -> 06:56.740] that approach from Jurgen Klopp to say to his players, this is the beginning of the
[06:56.740 -> 07:00.180] journey. I want you on the dance floor, celebrate the fact you've made it to a final and be
[07:00.180 -> 07:07.960] excited about what is still to come. And what was still to come was a Champions League final,
[07:07.960 -> 07:11.560] this time in Kiev, this time against Madrid.
[07:12.520 -> 07:15.560] It was two years later and Jordan told us all about it.
[07:17.440 -> 07:20.440] I think what you're referring to was after we lost
[07:20.440 -> 07:23.040] to Madrid in Kiev, Champions League final.
[07:23.040 -> 07:27.960] So that was the year before we won the Champions League final and again in
[07:28.680 -> 07:30.680] difficult moments
[07:30.920 -> 07:37.160] that's when he's really really good. You know, yes, he's very emotional and on the sideline
[07:37.160 -> 07:41.320] he's very animated and stuff, but actually in the dressing room
[07:41.320 -> 07:47.000] he's not like that when the game's on. You know when he's speaking at half-time he's very clear on what he's saying.
[07:47.000 -> 07:49.000] He's not shouting and he's not a moaner.
[07:49.000 -> 07:53.000] He's very clear and you can understand exactly what he wants.
[07:53.000 -> 07:59.000] And it's the same after games or after big moments, big defeats
[07:59.000 -> 08:04.000] that the perspective that he has and he knows that ultimately
[08:04.000 -> 08:06.800] it's just a blip or bump in the road
[08:06.800 -> 08:12.200] you know and you can use it to be stronger and every time we've had one of them
[08:12.200 -> 08:15.000] he's always dealt with it in the best way and we've always responded in the best way.
[08:15.000 -> 08:16.600] What did he do after Kiev for you?
[08:16.600 -> 08:19.600] Kiev was the one where it was like don't worry we'll go again.
[08:19.600 -> 08:20.400] Yeah, yeah.
[08:20.400 -> 08:26.280] You know again I don't think many people at the start of that season would have said that team would
[08:26.280 -> 08:32.040] have got to a Champions League final. I think he could see the bigger picture of that. But
[08:32.040 -> 08:36.240] when you're a player, it's the end of the world. It's a dream of playing in a Champions
[08:36.240 -> 08:40.120] League final. You never quite know if you're ever going to get to play in another one,
[08:40.120 -> 08:50.320] you know how difficult it is to get there. So's the end of the world but so close after the defeat to say don't worry we'll go again and again people can just say that
[08:50.320 -> 08:57.000] but when he says it there's a genuine belief and you feel that from him.
[08:57.000 -> 09:01.200] So there you go, beaten in the Europa League final in 2016, beaten in the Champions League
[09:01.200 -> 09:08.400] final in 2018 but if life is about one, it's about realising the power of consistency
[09:08.400 -> 09:09.800] and playing the long game.
[09:09.800 -> 09:12.200] You know, like if you go to the gym just once
[09:12.200 -> 09:13.800] for nine hours straight,
[09:13.800 -> 09:15.400] not only are you going to injure yourself,
[09:15.400 -> 09:16.800] you're not going to see huge gains.
[09:16.800 -> 09:18.200] If you just go to the gym every single day
[09:18.200 -> 09:20.600] for 20 minutes for six months,
[09:20.600 -> 09:22.600] then you will see the difference.
[09:22.600 -> 09:26.780] Life isn't about big gestures and huge moments
[09:26.780 -> 09:30.360] for a short period of time. It's about constantly going, constantly chipping away, constantly
[09:30.360 -> 09:35.200] doing your best, finding your version of high performance again and again and again. And
[09:35.200 -> 09:39.840] I love those stories from Jordan Henderson, because of course, as we know, Liverpool eventually
[09:39.840 -> 09:45.360] lifted the Champions League trophy in 2019. And in that final, they beat Tottenham. And
[09:45.360 -> 09:50.360] we've spoken to a few people involved in that defeat for Spurs. Here's Kieran Trippier
[09:50.360 -> 09:52.560] sharing his thoughts about that defeat.
[09:52.560 -> 09:58.780] Can we talk about the biggest game of your career so far, the Champions League final?
[09:58.780 -> 10:02.960] Do you have fond memories of the fact that this guy that got released by Man City, ended
[10:02.960 -> 10:06.480] up at Barnsley, almost quitting the game, got to a Champions League final?
[10:07.480 -> 10:09.960] Or do you not like revisiting it because you didn't win?
[10:10.380 -> 10:16.240] Of course, I'm disappointed that we didn't win it, but I'm just really proud of the way my
[10:16.240 -> 10:19.320] journey's gone, if I'm honest with you, from what you just mentioned then to a
[10:19.320 -> 10:20.120] Champions League final.
[10:20.120 -> 10:23.280] I never thought for one second I'll be playing in a Champions League final.
[10:23.280 -> 10:26.800] So to reach it the way that we did reach it,
[10:27.600 -> 10:28.900] it was always a special moment,
[10:28.900 -> 10:33.700] but, you know, I think the first five minutes killed the game really in that final.
[10:33.700 -> 10:35.700] When you think back to that run to the final,
[10:35.700 -> 10:39.000] what is the moment that springs to mind for you?
[10:39.200 -> 10:41.900] I think, there's so many.
[10:41.900 -> 10:43.200] I think, to be honest with you,
[10:43.200 -> 10:45.120] I think the City game,
[10:45.120 -> 10:49.040] I think it was Raz who scored in the last second and then he was offside.
[10:49.520 -> 10:56.640] Then Llorente scored, but then after the Ajax when we was 3-0 down,
[10:57.420 -> 11:00.240] with 45, 40 minutes to go and Lucas scores as a hat-trick.
[11:01.720 -> 11:04.600] So if you're a Spurs fan or if you're now a Newcastle fan,
[11:04.600 -> 11:05.520] which is where he plays his
[11:05.520 -> 11:09.200] football, you can hear the full conversation with Kieran Trippier, one of our most downloaded
[11:09.200 -> 11:13.360] podcasts, and actually one of our most popular videos on YouTube as well.
[11:13.360 -> 11:19.280] We were also joined by Maurizio Pochettino, and he spoke to us about the fact that not
[11:19.280 -> 11:23.080] winning the trophy in the final, even though you're in the final, is amazing, is actually
[11:23.080 -> 11:24.080] a failure.
[11:24.080 -> 11:25.760] Here's what he told us.
[11:37.520 -> 11:47.000] I'm still thinking. I think when it's a massive disappointment in your life, of course that is football disappointment, sport disappointment, it's completely different when the real life affects you.
[11:55.000 -> 12:03.000] Yes, it's going to be, you know, at some point it's very proud to help a club like Tottenham to achieve the Champions League final and to work and I think make an unbelievable season.
[12:03.000 -> 12:06.000] and I think made an unbelievable season.
[12:08.000 -> 12:13.000] But at some point, really sad, because it was a great opportunity for us to be in the history of football
[12:13.000 -> 12:17.000] and to provide the fans massive happiness.
[12:18.000 -> 12:24.000] And for us to say we were capable, with everything again,
[12:25.000 -> 12:26.600] to be very successful.
[12:27.960 -> 12:31.160] I think we were very successful, but always like we were talking in,
[12:31.160 -> 12:33.880] when we started the podcast is, yeah,
[12:33.880 -> 12:37.720] the society put, if you leave the trophy,
[12:37.720 -> 12:38.640] you are very successful,
[12:38.640 -> 12:42.880] but the second is a failure, no?
[12:42.880 -> 12:46.000] And, but we are not thinking like this.
[12:48.000 -> 12:51.000] You see, I'm so torn about this because I think that football is such a game of chance.
[12:51.000 -> 12:55.000] You know, you take a penalty that hits the post, you swing a ball into the box
[12:55.000 -> 12:57.000] and a player is one centimetre offside.
[12:57.000 -> 13:01.000] That is what can determine the difference between success and failure.
[13:01.000 -> 13:06.240] Edwin van der Sar is going to be on this podcast on Monday and
[13:06.240 -> 13:10.860] you know, he speaks to us about after a really difficult year at Ajax, which actually culminated
[13:10.860 -> 13:14.720] in him leaving his job as the CEO. You know, our conversation with him was the last one
[13:14.720 -> 13:19.280] he gave as the CEO. He spoke to us about the fact that we obsess about football, but actually
[13:19.280 -> 13:25.640] it's such fine margins, like luck plays such a huge part. So I'm not, I do disagree that not
[13:25.640 -> 13:29.560] winning a trophy in a final is a failure. I do agree getting to the final is
[13:29.560 -> 13:35.240] incredible and I just can't see that there's a failure in not winning a final
[13:35.240 -> 13:38.920] of a European competition that's taken you an entire season to get to the final
[13:38.920 -> 13:43.120] of, because there are so many factors that can determine whether you win it or
[13:43.120 -> 13:48.640] not. And the biggest thing you've done is learned a huge amount so when you get the next opportunity to be in that final,
[13:48.640 -> 13:51.600] you're more likely to win it, as we heard from Jordan Henderson and Liverpool earlier
[13:51.600 -> 13:52.600] on.
[13:52.600 -> 13:55.820] Let's go all the way back now to episode one of High Performance. Ria Ferdinand joined
[13:55.820 -> 14:00.200] us on the podcast and the really interesting thing that he explained was how he felt he
[14:00.200 -> 14:04.080] didn't fit in at Manchester United until he'd won the Champions League. Here's what he had
[14:04.080 -> 14:06.440] to say.
[14:09.040 -> 14:10.240] My first season at Man United, we won a league.
[14:13.680 -> 14:16.800] But I didn't feel like I was an integral, vital member of that team. They wouldn't have missed me if I didn't play, I felt.
[14:17.880 -> 14:21.000] And I didn't feel like I even warranted the medal in a mad way.
[14:21.000 -> 14:21.480] Really?
[14:21.480 -> 14:24.480] I took it almost reluctantly, like this ain't enough.
[14:25.940 -> 14:31.500] I need them to be thinking about me like they think about X, Y and Z over there. We know we can't do without
[14:31.500 -> 14:33.940] Rudy and his team. I want to be like that.
[14:33.940 -> 14:38.360] When did that change then? Because if you signed for Manchester United, you have a legend
[14:38.360 -> 14:43.400] walking around, Carragher, Old Trafford, Bobby Charlton, someone like that. At what point,
[14:43.400 -> 14:47.440] and it's hard to ever think you're level with pressure, but at what point did you think yeah?
[14:47.440 -> 14:52.140] Do you know what I can hold my head up high now in the company of Bobby Charles Hill we won the Champions League
[14:52.320 -> 14:54.320] Yeah, I felt
[14:54.440 -> 14:59.520] Kind of in or not in or was the wrong word, but I felt a little bit like I'm not at that level yet
[14:59.520 -> 15:05.400] I can't I can't look at Robbo. I can't look at Sir Bobby Charlton and go,
[15:05.400 -> 15:09.920] how are you doing without real like, I'm like you man.
[15:09.920 -> 15:14.040] I don't know, you're held in higher esteem or you're a better player than me,
[15:14.040 -> 15:17.600] but I've done something that I'm etching myself in the history of this club
[15:17.600 -> 15:19.880] from my little bit of my percentage that I put in.
[15:21.800 -> 15:25.760] Do you know, I really like that clip because this podcast stands for one thing more than
[15:25.760 -> 15:30.520] anything else and that is empathy. Empathy over opinion. And I think that we just assume
[15:30.520 -> 15:33.760] because someone's a professional footballer they walk around, you know, feeling like they
[15:33.760 -> 15:37.240] own the world and everything's great and they're flying and, you know, they're brilliant and
[15:37.240 -> 15:41.920] they deserve to be there and, you know, horrible words get banded around about footballers,
[15:41.920 -> 15:49.860] you know, being arrogant and all that sort of stuff. But there's the truth. Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United signing, didn't feel
[15:49.860 -> 15:53.340] like he fitted in at the club, didn't feel that he could hold his head up high
[15:53.340 -> 15:56.820] around United legends until he'd done what they'd done until he'd won the
[15:56.820 -> 16:01.700] Champions League. It's also a fascinating insight into a high-performance mindset
[16:01.700 -> 16:04.460] because for everything that he'd achieved, it was about what he hadn't
[16:04.460 -> 16:06.040] achieved that was on his mind.
[16:06.040 -> 16:10.980] I also want to really quickly look back on a couple of legendary Champions League finals. The first one,
[16:11.640 -> 16:16.800] Istanbul 2005 between another team from the north of England, Liverpool, and
[16:17.360 -> 16:20.720] another team from Milan, this time in the shape of AC Milan.
[16:21.320 -> 16:23.320] Here's Steven Gerrard.
[16:23.840 -> 16:27.800] Shall I tell you the thing that I think about when I think about you as a leader? It isn't
[16:27.800 -> 16:33.700] lifting the trophies, it isn't the big lows or the big highs, it is when John Arnaud Rieser
[16:33.700 -> 16:39.240] misses his penalty in the Champions League final and as he walks back to the group you're
[16:39.240 -> 16:43.680] the first one to break away from the line of players and put your arm round him straight
[16:43.680 -> 16:45.000] away and comfort him. And you are on the verge of missing out on your greatest moment as Iawn, mae'n dweud bod y rhan fwyaf o'r moment yn ei gilydd, oherwydd yr hyn sydd wedi'i wneud.
[16:45.000 -> 16:49.000] Iawn, rwy'n credu, wrth i ti fod yn ddod yn ddyn iawn hefyd.
[16:49.000 -> 16:55.000] Rwy'n credu, y ffordd y byddwch chi'n gweithio, ymdrechion a phethau gwahanol sy'n digwydd.
[16:55.000 -> 16:57.000] Nid yw'r holl bethau da sy'n cael ei weld ar y TV.
[16:57.000 -> 16:59.000] Mae pobl yn cael teimladau, ac rydych chi'n cael gwybod pobl,
[16:59.000 -> 17:01.000] rydych chi'n adeiladu'r gwaith a gwybod pa mor oedden nhw eisiau,
[17:01.000 -> 17:03.000] ychydig fel chi.
[17:03.000 -> 17:06.000] Ac rwy'n credu, mae'n dweud bod y rhan fr pethau da sy'n cael eu gweld ar y TV. Mae pobl yn cael teimladau ac rydych chi'n gwybod pobl, rydych chi'n adeiladu'r gwaith
[17:06.000 -> 17:09.000] ac rydych chi'n gwybod pa mor oedden nhw eisiau o'ch gilydd.
[17:09.000 -> 17:12.000] Mae wedi bod yn nifer o gyfleoedd lle rydw i wedi gwneud pethau
[17:12.000 -> 17:15.000] na'n ymwneud â chwaraewyr ffotbol neu ar y pêch
[17:15.000 -> 17:18.000] sydd wedi gwneud i mi teimlo'n unig fel yr oeddwn i'n mynd i fynd i fyny a'i gynnal trofi.
[17:18.000 -> 17:21.000] Fel ar gyfer cynghorau lle nad oedd Cymru'n mynd yn dda.
[17:21.000 -> 17:45.000] Ac rydych chi'n gwybod bod y grŵp cyfan yn cael eu hysbysu o ffyrdd i ffyrdd. Rydych chi wedi cael ymdrech i gynnal y cyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad a chyfrifiad Oedd y penderfyniadau'n sylweddol, ond yn y moment John Arnareece, oedd e'n sylweddol yn meddwl,
[17:45.000 -> 17:46.560] iawn, mae'n mynd i fod yn ddifrifo'r hyn hwnnw,
[17:46.560 -> 17:47.760] rydw i'n mynd i siarad gyda ni.
[17:47.760 -> 17:48.320] A oedd e'n dweud,
[17:48.320 -> 17:49.240] Rydw i eisiau bod yno,
[17:49.240 -> 17:50.440] Rydw i eisiau bod yno arno arnyn nhw,
[17:50.440 -> 17:53.040] Rydw i eisiau ddangos iddo,
[17:53.040 -> 17:54.040] Nid ydw i'n unig ar ei gilynedd
[17:54.040 -> 17:55.920] pan fydd e'n rhoi hwnnw i'r pwll o 40 oed,
[17:55.920 -> 17:59.080] Rydw i yno arno arno pan yw e'n y moment mwyaf arnyn nhw hefyd.
[17:59.080 -> 18:01.480] Ac rwy'n credu dyna pan ydych chi'n cael eich cymorth
[18:01.480 -> 18:02.160] fel llythyr,
[18:02.160 -> 18:04.640] pan ydych chi yno arno ar gyfer eich cymdeithaswyr
[18:04.640 -> 18:06.960] yn y pethau da a'r pethau ddau ac yn y pethau gwahanol. Ac rwy'n credu bod hynny'n dod yn ymwneud â'r leader pan fyddwch chi yno ar gyfer eich cymdeithaswyr yn y troau da a'r troau ddau ac yn y troau gwahanol.
[18:06.960 -> 18:10.080] Ac rwy'n credu fel gynllunwyr,
[18:10.080 -> 18:11.920] rwy eisiau bod yno ar gyfer mwy o chwaraewyr.
[18:11.920 -> 18:13.440] Chwaraewyr yw dynion dynol.
[18:15.360 -> 18:18.400] Dwi'n meddwl bod hynny'n leadership mewn gwirionedd.
[18:18.400 -> 18:22.400] Ac mae'n werth i ni allu gwrando i'r sgwrs hwnnw gyda Stephen Gerrard,
[18:22.400 -> 18:23.280] os nad ydych chi eisoes.
[18:23.280 -> 18:27.440] Rwy'n meddwl dwi wedi bod yn ddigon llwyr i weithio gyda ni, fel pwndi dros y ddau neu chweil o flynyddoedd. It's well worth listening to that conversation with Steven Gerrard, if you haven't already. I've been lucky enough to work with him actually, as a pundit, over the last three or four years.
[18:27.440 -> 18:32.120] And he remains a leader, whether he's a manager, whether he's a former player, whether he's
[18:32.120 -> 18:34.480] a pundit, like when he talks, you listen.
[18:34.480 -> 18:36.120] And I love spending time with him.
[18:36.120 -> 18:42.560] And I think that that small insight into how he dealt with struggles and issues and problems
[18:42.560 -> 18:44.560] at Liverpool is fascinating.
[18:44.560 -> 18:45.520] You know, we recently had a conversation that's not been on the High Performance podcast yet dealt with struggles and issues and problems at Liverpool is fascinating.
[18:45.520 -> 18:48.320] You know we recently had a conversation that's not been on the High Performance
[18:48.320 -> 18:52.800] podcast yet with Steve Hansen, the legendary coach of the All Blacks, and we
[18:52.800 -> 18:55.920] were talking about culture and I was talking about rules and he said yeah but
[18:55.920 -> 19:01.600] rules don't create a culture, rules enforce a culture. Rules push you down
[19:01.600 -> 19:09.000] the road of buying into a certain culture. That wasn't a rule that Steven Gerrard went over to John Anarisa when he missed that penalty.
[19:09.000 -> 19:12.000] That was an insight into the culture at Liverpool. No one can create that.
[19:12.000 -> 19:16.000] No one can build that in a false or fake way.
[19:16.000 -> 19:18.000] You either have a great culture or you don't.
[19:18.000 -> 19:22.000] And the culture Liverpool had where you stand alongside the person who's struggling the most,
[19:22.000 -> 19:25.560] you sit down right next to them when they're struggling, when they're in their lowest
[19:25.560 -> 19:31.440] moment, gives you the power to go on and win, win a competition like that. I
[19:31.440 -> 19:36.880] remember talking to Sio Koulissi, the captain of the of the Springboks South
[19:36.880 -> 19:40.400] African rugby team and he said to us that you know he sees his teammates as
[19:40.400 -> 19:43.560] brothers and they work hard to make sure they really understand each other and
[19:43.560 -> 19:47.000] they're there for each other, care for each other, love each other. Because in the
[19:47.000 -> 19:50.920] dark moments, in the hard moments, when you look to your left or your right, you don't
[19:50.920 -> 19:55.040] see a teammate, you see a brother. You see someone that you share a really deep connection
[19:55.040 -> 19:59.360] with and that can actually spur you on to go a bit harder, a bit deeper and do more
[19:59.360 -> 20:00.360] than the other team.
[20:00.360 -> 20:04.440] And how can we talk about the Champions League without talking about what happened in 1999?
[20:04.440 -> 20:07.760] Manchester United are a goal down, going into injury time at the end of the match, Teddy
[20:07.760 -> 20:12.840] Scherringham equalises, moments later Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's finish made United the
[20:12.840 -> 20:17.280] first and only English team at the moment to win the treble. Of course a record which
[20:17.280 -> 20:22.120] is under threat tomorrow night when Manchester City face Inter Milan in Istanbul. Here's
[20:22.120 -> 20:26.400] what Solskjaer told us about preparing for that moment.
[20:32.640 -> 20:37.920] Well for me I just played with better players. That meant I got more opportunities to score goals and yeah of course there were better opponents as well but early on in my life I
[20:38.800 -> 20:46.880] was quite good at imagining and living the life. So the goal I scored against Bayern Munich, for example,
[20:46.880 -> 20:51.160] I'd scored hundreds or maybe thousands of times before
[20:51.160 -> 20:53.720] on the field, back home, on my own,
[20:53.720 -> 20:56.920] going through one-on-one, imagining if I score now,
[20:56.920 -> 20:59.760] if I hit the bottom corner, I'll win the Champions League
[20:59.760 -> 21:04.240] or the European Cup, as it was called when I was young.
[21:04.240 -> 21:10.620] So it was just to push my, I've always loved
[21:10.620 -> 21:15.120] creating my own atmosphere and testing myself.
[21:15.120 -> 21:20.320] So when I came here, it's like, well, just do the things that you've always done,
[21:20.320 -> 21:23.320] what you've learned, but do them a bit quicker.
[21:23.320 -> 21:26.520] But my finishes were bottom corner, so Rina Tassajef,
[21:26.520 -> 21:28.680] who was the best keeper when I grew up,
[21:28.680 -> 21:32.000] he wouldn't even save my finishes, even when I was 15.
[21:32.000 -> 21:35.200] That was my mindset.
[21:35.200 -> 21:38.320] Practice as it was a cup final.
[21:40.280 -> 21:41.280] Football is so magic.
[21:41.280 -> 21:42.680] It can give you so much.
[21:42.680 -> 21:44.840] Like, there's nothing that unites people like football,
[21:44.840 -> 21:48.320] but there's also nothing that can actually create the pain of football.
[21:48.700 -> 21:51.360] I mean, I won't ever forget the conversation with Frank Lampard,
[21:51.360 -> 21:54.480] where he spoke to us about being the Chelsea coach,
[21:54.480 -> 21:57.680] guiding Chelsea through the group stages of the Champions League,
[21:58.000 -> 22:02.760] losing his job and then having to watch them be successful in the competition
[22:02.760 -> 22:09.840] and lift the trophy and just watching it on the telly, not being involved. Here's what he said.
[22:09.840 -> 22:15.960] I was quite thoughtful when I took the job. I gave it a lot of time. Going from Derby
[22:15.960 -> 22:23.600] to Chelsea was something I absolutely had to do and I love the fact that I've done it.
[22:23.600 -> 22:25.280] I don't think about it every day now.
[22:25.280 -> 22:29.600] I'm very... Christian always laughs at me. I block things off, I box them off instantly
[22:29.600 -> 22:35.560] and move on. I'm good at doing it. It's a good skill in this job. So I don't think about
[22:35.560 -> 22:41.040] it every day now. But I do know that I was proud to take the job, proud to get us into
[22:41.040 -> 22:44.120] the Champions League, proud to get us through the Champions League group in the next year
[22:44.120 -> 22:49.000] and I lost the job and I watched them go on to win the Champions League, which was a real tough one for me
[22:49.000 -> 22:54.000] because I was really happy for individuals and the club and the fans were amazing with me from the time I joined
[22:54.000 -> 23:00.000] until now and hopefully forever. But the professional side of you goes, you know what I mean?
[23:00.000 -> 23:05.800] I sat there when we played Sevilla in one of the qualifying group stages games and we
[23:05.800 -> 23:09.400] beat them 4-0 away. It was beautiful. We played really well. I remember saying to a couple
[23:09.400 -> 23:13.480] of the staff, we can't win the league this year, Man City and Liverpool, but we can win
[23:13.480 -> 23:17.320] this with what we have individually in this team if we can get it together. Of course,
[23:17.320 -> 23:21.960] I had a phase where it didn't go right and I didn't, but I don't regret anything about
[23:21.960 -> 23:23.480] taking it. Absolutely not.
[23:23.500 -> 23:25.600] I don't regret anything about taking it, absolutely not.
[23:26.640 -> 23:28.920] It's a good reminder that, about just how brutal sport and football
[23:28.920 -> 23:31.000] and life actually can be.
[23:31.000 -> 23:33.680] And maybe for the end of our little Champions League special
[23:33.680 -> 23:35.360] this Friday from high performance,
[23:35.360 -> 23:38.560] we should finish with the final word from Edwin van der Sar.
[23:38.560 -> 23:42.080] We spoke to him recently, the episode comes out on Monday,
[23:42.080 -> 23:43.640] as I mentioned earlier in this episode,
[23:43.640 -> 23:45.040] and four years before
[23:45.040 -> 23:50.980] we recorded this conversation with him, his IAX team, where he was the CEO, were moments
[23:50.980 -> 23:54.300] away from making it through to the Champions League final.
[23:54.300 -> 23:59.440] Or as Edwin put it, almost whatever, five fucking seconds from a, from a champion league
[23:59.440 -> 24:00.440] final in 2019.
[24:00.440 -> 24:02.860] There you go.
[24:02.860 -> 24:04.820] Four years on, it still makes him swear.
[24:04.820 -> 24:06.000] He still feels the passion. And
[24:06.000 -> 24:10.260] I hope that you feel the passion tomorrow night, on Saturday evening, if you're watching
[24:10.260 -> 24:13.840] the Champions League final, wherever in the world you're watching it, Manchester City
[24:13.840 -> 24:17.200] against Inter Milan. And let me just say, at the end of ten years of standing on the
[24:17.200 -> 24:22.520] touchline and getting a very close view of what goes on in the world of football and
[24:22.520 -> 24:27.080] working with some of the legends of the game who I watched as a football fan for years and years
[24:27.080 -> 24:30.480] representing their clubs and representing their countries. It has been
[24:30.480 -> 24:34.880] my greatest pleasure to be a football host for a decade. It's given me plenty
[24:34.880 -> 24:39.240] of insight into the kind of things that I bring to the High Performance Podcast.
[24:39.240 -> 24:42.440] It's also fair to say that the work I've done on the High Performance Podcast
[24:42.440 -> 24:47.240] has actually changed the way I see football, particularly the conversations on it
[24:47.240 -> 24:55.600] around social media, the anger, the vitriol, the abuse. It isn't a nice world
[24:55.600 -> 25:00.520] at times and I guess I'm excited about a new challenge, who knows what comes next.
[25:00.520 -> 25:03.680] And I hope that whether you're into football or not, some of the lessons in
[25:03.680 -> 25:05.880] there were really valuable for you
[25:05.880 -> 25:07.920] and you can take them away into your own life.
[25:07.920 -> 25:09.600] Don't forget, you can delve into the back catalogue
[25:09.600 -> 25:10.960] and the archive of High Performance.
[25:10.960 -> 25:13.600] You can watch the interviews on YouTube as well.
[25:13.600 -> 25:15.040] Thank you so much for tuning in.
[25:15.040 -> 25:17.040] Thank you so much for sharing the lessons you're learning
[25:17.040 -> 25:20.440] from High Performance, and we'll see you very soon.
[25:20.440 -> 25:45.320] Take care. Plus, you can earn fuel points to save up to $1 per gallon at the pump. So it's easy to save big.
[25:45.320 -> 25:47.480] Fred Meyer, fresh for everyone.
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[25:48.480 -> 25:49.480] Fuel restrictions apply.
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[25:52.720 -> 25:56.880] Look for the locked in low prices tags and enjoy extra savings throughout the store.
[25:56.880 -> 25:58.640] Fred Meyer, fresh for everyone.