Chapter 60: Personality Determines Destiny
As the players exited the pitch, Kaka and the opposing goalkeeper exchanged jerseys, shaking hands in a display of sportsmanship. The goalkeeper opened his mouth, seemingly intent on saying something, but after a prolonged pause, he failed to articulate any words, creating an amusing spectacle.
Kaka found himself in a similar predicament, only managing to pat the goalkeeper's shoulder and utter a simple "Well done." Visibly relieved, the goalkeeper reciprocated, "You too." They exchanged awkward yet polite smiles before parting ways.
In stark contrast to Brazil's heart-stopping golden goal victory in the final moments, Argentina's journey to the semifinals proved far more comfortable. They dispatched the ambitious French team with a 3-1 scoreline, punching their ticket to the next round with relative ease.
Notably, France had yet to capture the prestigious Youth World Cup title, having participated in a mere two editions up to that point. In the 1997 tournament held in Malaysia, the French youth squad, led by the esteemed Gérard Houllier, carried substantial expectations on their shoulders.
Their formidable strike partnership of future national team mainstays Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet was regarded as a potent offensive force. However, in an unexpected turn of events, they suffered a penalty shootout defeat against Uruguay, failing to progress beyond the quarterfinals.
This time around, Francis' French contingent was also touted as title contenders, boasting rising stars such as Moussa Sissoko, the current Bayern Munich midfielder Lassana Diarra, and Lille's prolific striker Mathieu Maton. Yet, this talented ensemble fell victim to Argentina's prowess, suffering a comprehensive defeat.
The catalyst for Argentina's triumph was undoubtedly Javier Saviola's outstanding performance. The standout player from the 2001 Youth World Cup netted a hat-trick in this encounter, emerging as the decisive factor in his team's victory.
Saviola's blistering form prompted Barcelona to promptly increase their bid to secure his services, while Bossio, who had previously exchanged glances with Kaka, appeared to vanish from the spotlight.
With eight goals in five matches, Saviola surpassed Kaka's tally of seven to claim the coveted golden boot award as the tournament's top scorer.
In the other quarterfinal clashes, Egypt overcame the Netherlands 2-1, while Paraguay edged out the Czech Republic by a narrow 1-0 scoreline. Kaka expressed his disappointment at the Dutch team's early exit, as he had hoped to face them instead of Egypt. Unfortunately, after Frank Rijkaard assumed the reins of the national youth team, their fortunes only seemed to worsen.
Rijkaard's mention is warranted because when a team boasts talents like Arjen Robben, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Rafael van der Vaart, Maarten Stekelenburg, and Ron Heytinga, yet suffers defeats against Costa Rica and Egypt, draws with Ecuador, and narrowly edges past Ethiopia 3-2, the blame undoubtedly falls squarely on the shoulders of the head coach.
The four semifinalists were finally unveiled: Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, and Paraguay. Unlike the Champions League, the Youth World Cup knockout stage does not involve a draw. Instead, it follows the World Cup format, with the winner of Group A facing the runner-up of Group B, and so on.
According to this system, Argentina and Brazil could only meet in the final – a scenario that most neutral fans would undoubtedly relish witnessing.
The semifinals were scheduled to commence three days later, with the two matches staggered by a few hours. As per tradition, no training was scheduled for the day following their victory over Ghana, and the exhausted players had no desire to venture out, opting to remain at the hotel and engage in activities such as card games and video games to pass the time.
On the following day, the team resumed training sessions. Costanio placed a particular emphasis on practicing set-piece situations, perhaps inspired by witnessing the effectiveness of Kaka's set-piece tactics in previous matches.
Kaka's personalized free-kick training program aimed to incorporate the best practices from various sources, leading him to seek advice from Adriano on executing powerful free-kicks. Even with his innate abilities, Kaka never ceased his pursuit of knowledge.
Whether it was the more experienced players like Falcao and Cicinho, or his more recent acquaintances Robinho and Adriano, they all served as mentors to Kaka. Of course, through these interactions, Kaka also gained valuable insights.
For instance, the oldest squad member and captain, Cicinho, approached Kaka's inquiries with a mindset of mutual exploration, resulting in a shared learning experience and growth for both individuals.
On the other hand, the remaining three tended to adopt a more instructive attitude when engaging with Kaka – not a condescending one, but a subtly self-satisfied demeanor, as if thinking, "Someone as talented as Kaka is seeking to learn from me, I must be truly exceptional."
Thus, personality shapes destiny. For an individual, the greatest influences are environment and mindset. Environment is an external factor, often beyond one's control. However, in terms of mindset, if one lacks even a shred of desire for progress, being left behind by the relentless march of history becomes an inevitability.
(end of chapter)