The morning of May 29 2011, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, gave a wonderful speech (another wonderful speech? Na today? Abeg! Abeg! Abeg! Tell us something we don’t know.) What I could identify with in it, however, was we are going to into an era of transformation which I hope to God comes true because we are tired of the same old tricks. The way his kitchen cabinet looks, it seems we are getting the same old dogs that performing new tricks. For instance, I wonder what transformation that madam whom cried on Ore-Benin expressway would bring this time around after all these years at the FEC?
Talking of transformation, thank God I witnessed what happened on the night of Saturday 28th May, 2011. What a transformation that was! Should you miss that one for any reason you should be ashamed of yourself, football fan or not! The transformation of football stars to legends, almost football deity! Viva la Barca! FC Barcelona of the 2010/2011 season booked their place in the hall of fame and perhaps the pantheon of football immortality! I would live the rest of my life knowing I’ve seen some of the greatest football artistry of all time! Men turned to gods! Xavi Hernandez! Andres Iniesta! Carlos Puyol! Sergio Busquests! Leo Messi! Leo Messi! Oh! Leo Messi!...Alright, let me get a hold of my horses and allow my readers to take a look and examine what I’m yapping my head off about.
Before now we have always heard of football greats like Pele (perhaps even see some of his footages at the world cups of ’58, 62’, ’66 and ’70). We saw footages of other greats too, like Franz “the Kaizer” Beckenbauer of Bayern Munich of the ‘70s, Johann Cruyff of Ajax FC of the ‘70s (not the sick joke of a club that sold Luis Suarez to Liverpool FC in 2011), Kenny Dalglish of Liverpool FC of the ‘80s. Not forgetting Diego ‘Hand of god’ Maradona, who held the world spellbound in his time and if not for his use of recreational drugs, (that’s the professional name for anything that can make a man high) would have done more than he did. After these god-like men, we never had other footballers stamp their authorities and names in the game in such like manner.
Lothar Matthais tried, Ronaldo ‘El Phenomenon’ Da Lima tried, Zinedine ‘The Battering Ram’ Zidane tried…So did the AC Milan and the Manchester United of the ‘90s and the 2000s (aka the noughties). Football would never see something spectacular again would it? Basketball, boxing, golf, even tennis have taken fans away from football (thanks to Women’s tennis outfits more than anything else).
Then enter that prodigious, outrageous talent from Rosario who showed up in Barcelona in 2006 (we should thank God for his growth hormone problems for that) Leo Messi from the moment he took to the Camp Nou grounds started bringing football fans back. I’m sure that whoever is doubtful of football being entertaining again is either incarcerated in Siberia or at the bottom of a bottle. Shikena!
While celebrating Leo Messi and FC Barcelona, the club to have produced the most ‘World Player of the Year’ in recent history, we seem to have forgotten the catalyst of the present day success, the man that began FC Barcelona’s era of transformation. Let’s take a ride back in history to around 1992. The era of transformation began with the Johann Cruyff tutored Barcelona of the ‘90s. Cruyff introduced his Dutch nation’s famous ‘Total Football’ to FC Barca when he coached the team. That total football tonic became the club’s mantra and culture. Cast your mind back (if you’re old enough!) and you would realize (if you’re a true follower and not just a fan of a particular club) that Barcelona had since the ‘90s, regardless of the nationality of the coach and the players, showcased wonderful football.
From Johann Cruyff to the Englishman, Bobby Robson, to the Dutchman, Louis Van Gaal, to the Serbian, Radomir Antic, to the Dutchman, Frank Rijkaard, to the Spainard, Pep Guardiola, it’s been that culture of flair, colourful, aesthetically wonderful and pleasant total football. In between these periods the results have varied but the culture of beautiful football was always there, even when they weren’t winning
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If in doubt, count the number of the world’s best footballers from ’92 till date and you’ll be amazed at the percentage Barca players produced. Superstars such as Romario, Hristo Stoichkov, Patrick Kluivert, Luis Enrique, Rivaldo, Sonny Anderson, Luis Figo, Samuel Etoo, Ronaldinho, had the best years of their careers at Barcelona. And all these began with the vision of a few great men led by Johann ‘The Catalyst’ Cruyff!
Where am I going with this? How many of you want to be the catalyst of financial success of your era? How many of you want to be the catalyst of the financial success of your homes, families and communities? Who would want to begin the era of financial transformation through his endearvours? The success FC Barcelona are enjoying and celebrating now is not an overnight success. It took time. It was a gradual, time-tested process, full of ups and downs, a cultured approach to the game till they arrived where they are today. And Johann Cruyff is being credited by football pundits the world over with starting that era of football transformation.
To be successful in any endearvour is not a sudden thing. Neither is it luck. It takes the planning and implementation of processes, substituting and eliminating some elements, restructuring and replacing some processes, additional investment of time and effort and most importantly, sticking to a plan that works and believing you would arrive at your destination. And nothing tests you over a period of time more than trying to arrive at the pinnacle of financial success. Keep in mind, you are competing daily, weekly, monthly and yearly with others and factors such as inflation, opportunity cost, government policies, bullish capital markets and myriad of other fiscal policies. The only thing that is certain is the journey would reach a conclusion some day and the question is, “Where do you want to find yourself?” Where do you want to position your family financially?
Many of you, young people, are waiting to be pressed before taking some major financial decisions. You would love for someone close, a friend or relative, to persuade or even sometimes coerce you into buying that piece of land, investing in those stocks, begin that savings plan, while the chief beneficiary in the long run would be you, the hesitant investor. Have you forgotten the famous saying, “The early bird gets the worm” It’s not like the other birds don’t get worms at all. They do, they get the left-over of the early bird. Simply because the early bird gets “the worm”, the juiciest, most succulent and scrumptious of the worms.
The head start is important, you need the head start. It’s a certainty that at a period in life, the youth would have interest in savings and investments but don’t wait till you are boxed in a corner. Just like homecoming or high school reunions, you don’t want to be far behind your mates when sharing stories of years gone by after graduating 10-15 years ago. Regardless of your marital status and other aspects of life, your financial status is of great importance because of how it holds your ego erect and high. The earlier you start the better and the best part being, you could become the financial catalyst of your home. The culture of planning and implementing well would be ingrained in the family and you would save yourself the stress of running from pillar to post anytime a financial obligation or crisis arises.
Right now, there’s nothing I would want more than to become the financial catalyst of my own time and the beginner of the era of financial transformation. S.A Life has all it takes to handle all your financial needs. Imagine how peaceful your life would be when someone is handling all your tangible and intangible needs. Don’t fight it nor hesitate anymore, it’s time for your own financial transformation. My name is Ogungbemi Olumide, my numbers 07033588160 and 07056989820 and I’m an Insurance marketer with Standard Alliance Life Assurance Limited, Ikeja, Lagos.
This post is a dedication to every follower and fan of the world’s most popular and beautiful game, la jogo bonito, football.
