A Eulogy to The Ball
written by The Ball
“This is what we play with. Go and get it!”
That was, apparently, the entirety of the late Brian Clough’s pre-match team talk, once he’d placed a ball on a towel in the middle of the dressing room, according to an article entitled “The Humble Football: A Eulogy” on the British Council’s Football Culture website.
The simplicity and directness of Clough’s message forms the basis for the article, which is worth a read if only because it is the only piece I’ve found which focusses (like we do) on the primacy of The Ball above all else in the game. The author, Pete May, suggests that “next time you see it in action give it a cheer. It is after all, the most important spherical object in the world”.
