“It was a very difficult game. In the first half we came out alive, they were quite a lot better. We knew our moment would come … We knew how to suffer. That’s football.” – Real Madrid’s Dani Cavajal to Movistar
“We knew how to suffer. That’s football.” Cavjal’s amazing quote reminds me of something former Honeybaked Ham CEO and world-class triathlete Chuck Bengochea once told me. He said, “Anyone can run a marathon if you are just willing to suffer for a few hours.”
Suffering is necessary for success.
Thanks to goals from Carvajal and Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-0 today to win their 15th Champions League title. They are soccer’s flagship franchise and this particular squad is one of the all-time greats.
8 Leadership Quotes and Lessons
Afterwards, I captured the following are 8 Leadership Quotes and Lessons from Real Madrid’s Champions League Championship Match. First is the lesson followed by the quote.
- Leaders Must Connect With People To Get The Best Out Of Them – “That’s the magic bullet at this level – connecting with the talents at your disposal, getting the best out of them.” – CBS Sports announcer speaking of Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti on how he gets players to play for him.
- Great Teams Have Great Depth – “That’s Real Madrid for you. We’re never out of the game. You can’t write us off. We have game-winners all over the pitch and we showed that again tonight.” – Jude Bellingham told CBS Sports just after the victory.
- Humble Teams Are Much Easier To Lead – “It is the history and tradition of the club, of course the quality of the players, the club is a family, we work altogether without problems and the atmosphere is really good in the dressing room. I need to thank the club and the players, no big egos, really humble, it was not difficult to manage the squad this season.” – Ancelotti
- Championship Teams Don’t Waste Opportunity, They Seize It – “[Dortmund] played better than us and had more chances than us, but they let us get away with 0-0 at half-time. In the second half we had more balance, played better and managed to win the game.” – Ancelotti from this ESPN article.
- Increased Commitment Can Overcome Decreased Talent – “I think this season we had many, many troubles. We lost quality players and had to replace their ability with commitment.” – Ancelotti
- You Need Sacrifice, Resilience, And Talent To Win Championships – “You need both sacrifice and quality to win Champions League, but this win makes me very satisfied because we never give up and always fight until the end.” – Ancelotti
- The Players Make Winning Special – “I’d rate us as 10 out of 10 this season. This season has been 10/10. My players have been spectacular.” – Ancelotti
- Great Players Are Never Satisfied – “In this club, there is a continuous demand and we are never satisfied. After the Euros and Copa America, the players will come back with the same hunger and ambition as before.” – Ancelotti
This is what greatness looks like.
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