5B - Best at Giving Our Best!: July 2014

Dear 5B,

firstly a WARM WELCOME back!

I hope you have all settled in...

As you know, practically the whole world has been caught up with the biggest soccer event for the past month and we are lucky enough to experience two weeks of the action live together as 5B.

I hope this unit has been fun and informative for all of you!

From now onwards, for every unit, we (yes not just you but me as well) will be reflecting so that we can consolidate our learning and also look back.

Unit 7 : TEN

The first day I started this unit, I realised how OLD I was when you guys did not even recognise the most famous World Cup song : The Cup of Life by Ricky Martin!!!!

Soccer may not be everyone's cup of tea. Even in my home, not everyone watches the game (and even if some do, none of them yell their head off at the television set as though the players can really hear them).

But there are many points we can take away from soccer, or even any sport for the matter.

In any game, there will be one who wins and the other who doesn't.
The one who wins has to remain humble or overconfidence is going to get to him/her eventually.
The one who loses has to remain confident or the defeat is going to define them for the rest of their life.
Either way, victory or loss - one should never let it mess with their head.
Here's a player who went to comfort each of his opponents who lost after the game.

Here's another where the winning team's players asked the spectators to clap for the opponent for the good game he played.
These are examples of true sportsmanship!
And my personal favourite:

Next, your previous achievements are just past. What matters is your present effort - every minute counts.

You could be the current World Cup & Two-Time Euro Champion but if you do not make the 90 minutes count, you will be out before you even know it. (Spain, anyone?)

You could have the best heritage for soccer but if you don't put in 100%, you are also going to be out. (Brazil- ouch)

You are someone who made it to one of the top P5 classes - good job! But that's the past, so get moving. Getting to the top class is not going to mean anything more if you don't make the effort to make each lesson minute count.

Anything can happen. Be prepared.

One soccer match is just 90 minutes. In that 90 minutes, unexpected, life changing things can happen.

Mexico had the lead against Netherlands in the round of 16 match till Netherlands scored at the 88th and 90th minute (final minute!!) , dashing the hopes of Mexico at the eleventh hour.

Germany scored an astounding 4 goals in just a matter of 6 minutes against Brazil.

7-1 Brazil vs Germany (the goals once more)

So, always be prepared for the unexpected!

You can be smart/special but you cannot do it alone.

You can be the most gifted player but you still need the support of your team to achieve.
For you - who is your team???
Parents.Family. Teachers. Your fellow 5B peers.
All of us are with you to bring you to your final - the PSLE. So, you need to let us help you and you in turn should support your fellow classmates. You are all going to play in the same match anyway - so why not do it together! You had fun watching soccer together, then why not preparing for the exams??

Strikers are usually famous because they are the ones who get to kick the ball in and score a goal. But in order for the ball to reach the striker, the other 10 players have to give him their support and get him the ball.
The teams that triumph are those whose players are unselfish and who pass the ball to anyone who is in the best position to score - they never seek individual glory.

One gifted 4-time Footballer of the Year Messi was not able to get the World Cup for Argentina. One Germany team was. And that was simply because...(read the pic!)

Indeed - there are no star players - they are one team...no other country had 18 different players scoring.

Last but definitely not the least!

For those who are shocked that I actually watch soccer - my reasons are in this link : (http://4b-the2013version.blogspot.sg/2013/02/journal-6-sports-i-like-best-is.html)

Many of you wonder - why on earth my favourite player is Miroslav Klose and my favourite team in Germany. The reason is simple - besides the fact that I love the way he/the team play , I respect them for being examples of this most important lesson :

Believe and Persevere on and on and on - You will get what you rightfully deserve there in the end!

12 years.
I am both a Klose and Germany fan for the past 12 years (as I am typing this, I realise that that means your entire lifetime and more :P).

12 years ago, I fell in love with Klose and Germany...only to witness them go all the way to the finals and lose to Brazil (2-0).
Since then, I have supported them for every Euro and World Cup (3 Euro & 3 WC(including this year's)).
Each time, it has been heartbreaking to see them go so close to the win just to lose.

2002 : Lost to Brazil in the Final(2-0).

2004 Euro: Lost in the first round itself !They went home. And came back.
(Read this to see how this major failure sparked a change ...)
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2014/germanys-world-cup-win-last-3860856

2006 WC: They were the hosts! Lost in the semi-final to Italy (2-0). They went on to be third. They came back.

2008 Euro: Lost to Spain in the Final (1-0). They became second.They went home. And came back.

2010 WC: Lost to Spain in the Semi-Final. Became third again. They went home. And came back.

2012 Euro: Lost in the semi-final to Italy (2-1). They went home. And came back.

As you can see the pattern - each time they worked and worked and each time they failed. Yet, the next tournament they came back again and again determined to win the crown and 12 years later...

2014 WC: Became Champions! Not just any Champions but the first European team to win the World Cup on South American soil ( No one has ever done this in the history of the World Cup!).

Germany records (achieved in the 2014 WC semi-final alone)

The first team to score seven goals in a World Cup semi-final.
Have now scored 223 World Cup goals, two more than Brazil who are in second place.
Germany netted as many goals in this semi-final as they had in their previous six World Cup semi-finals (1982-2010).
5-0 up faster than any other team in World Cup history (29 minutes).
Germany (10) only had two more shots on target than Brazil (8) in this match.
Scored two more goals than England have in their past two World Cup campaigns combined.

As for Klose?

2002 was the first year he played in a World Cup tournament. Through loads of hardwork
He scored 5 goals in the 2002 World Cup.
He scored 5 more goals in the 2006 World Cup (won the Golden Boot).
He scored 4 goals in the 2010 World Cup.

With another two goals in the 2014 World Cup,
he has made history:

He has equalled Pele and Uwe Seeler's record of being the only players to score in 4 different World Cups.
He has broken the Brazilian Ronaldo's previous scoring record and created a new World Cup record to be the first ever player to score 16 goals in the history of World Cup.
He is the first player to appear in 4 World Cup semi-finals.
He is also currently Germany's all-time top scorer with 71 goals.

All these at the age of 36.

Did all these come easy? Definitely not.

It took him 12 years and his country 24 years.
Klose is the only player in the current German team who experienced the pain of going all the way to a World Cup final just to lose in 2002.

Long time? Yes.
But was it worth it? Absolutely.

Because, in this last World Cup of his, he gets what he rightfully deserves : the best possible ending - to be a World Cup champion and make his nation proud.
And a fan of 12 years gets her dream come true!

Do your part well and you will get what you deserve. Always remember that 5B.

I truly hope this unit, the sport, the teams, the players, their stories have all inspired you to be the best you can be.

I read through your reflections and am very heartened by your responses. I really enjoyed this unit and hope you did too!

Please share your thoughts on this post in the comments section. Look forward to reading them!

Ole, Ole 5B!

The Winning Team of the World Cup Quiz!

The team who could name 10 players from the German squad (Special Credits to Rafi!)

Love,
Ms Priya :)

P.S. For those of you still keen on the subject, here are some famous players whom you can find out more about

- Pele
- Gary Lineker
-Ronaldinho
- Ronaldo (the Brazilian one)
- Franz Beckenbauer

and some links:):

-http://www.fifa.com/index.html (Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA))
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfjD9Kz8DDY (Ronaldo's 15 goals)
- http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/videos/goals/video=2402155/ (Klose's 16)
- http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/videos/goal-of-the-tournament/ (Goal of the tournament)
- Wikipedia is a good source as well (just Google!)