If Son Heung-Min – most likely the only Asian to ever captain an English Premiership side – can lead Tottenham Hotspur to beat Manchester United in the Europa League final on May 22, I wondered if Sergio Aguero, captain of the Asean All Stars, could do the same against the Red Devils in Kuala Lumpur on May 28.
And Aguero did just that at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil. Manchester United were stunned. The “All Stars” from Southeast Asia played with a composure that belied their name.
First half, 0–0. Impressive. Then, in the second half, United wheeled out their big guns: Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho. But it was pointless, because right on the 70th-minute mark, Maung Maung Lwin – captain of Myanmar’s national team – unleashed a shot that sailed past United’s substitute keeper, Thomas Heaton.
Naturally, this went down badly for the ‘noble’ United supporters. Some of these aristocrats started muttering about the match being “orchestrated”.
Which, if you think about it for more than half a second, is a rather silly thing to say. Because if it was ever orchestrated, they’re effectively accusing their beloved United players of being involved in a match-fixing scandal – a scandal where they deliberately lost.
And if it was “fixed”, why not make it a proper spectacle? A few more goals, a bit more drama? Much better for entertainment, surely. Except it wasn’t. Because it was an honest game and the Asean All Stars were tactically superior.
It’s strange, isn’t it? Sergio was one of the Malaysian representatives on the team because he was not called up for the national squad. Furthermore, he was appointed captain of a team that had only two days of training.
He could have been driving around in circles all day, a miserable, anxious wreck. And yet, when the chips were down, when the pressure was on, he absolutely nailed it.
And it’s not just Sergio, either. You see this sort of spirit in professional athletes – especially the para-athletes. They’re an absolutely different breed altogether.
We all know what adrenaline can do. We’ve all heard stories, probably seen clips, of rugby players casually popping a dislocated shoulder back into place and carrying on. We’ve all read about soldiers, riddled with bullets, walking for miles to get back to base. And we’ve all experienced it ourselves: that uncanny ability to completely forget discomfort when there are more pressing matters at hand.
But imagine, if you will, if we could somehow wire ourselves up to summon that adrenaline-like benefit at will.
We could all be Aguero. We could all be John Rambo. That would be a breakthrough in human performance.
Back in my competitive debating days, university debaters would try all sorts of things to get their heads in the game. We understood that your state of mind has an immediate, profound impact on your performance.
Aguero, by all accounts, is the only Malaysian footballer to ever lead a team to beat Manchester United. The question is, could Aguero wilfully summon that side of him we all saw on May 28, again? I hope so. Because I certainly enjoyed watching that Aguero.
The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of Twentytwo13.
