Mental Strength: Tips For A Successful Comeback From … Or Stopping One!
When you’re a couple of goals down, what are the keys to clawing your way back into the game? Or how do you stop an opponent for mounting a successful comeback when you are winning?
What stops a soccer comeback from being successful?
We know that patience, staying present, and being vocal are crucial factors in helping you and your teammates launch a comeback when the score is not in your favor. How does it work in reverse? What if you’re three or four to the good at half-time? What can you do to prevent the opponent’s comeback?
How do you give yourself the best chance to avoid succumbing to the pressure of a team chasing the game? 
At any age, youth or professional, players must focus on their team – not their soccer opponent.
It might sound self-evident, but your first action is to stop focusing so much on the opposition.
Teams that are most susceptible to a comeback are those that become overly concerned by the opposition’s actions.
STOP! FOCUS ON YOU.
Focus on your role and its responsibilities. Give yourself a good talk. Tell yourself what you’d like to achieve during the remainder of the match and use your self-talk to inform yourself how.
CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL.
“We’re three-nil up but I’d still like to score another. I have to keep doing what I do at my best as a striker – I have to keep moving and striving to find space. I’m going to work even harder than during the first half.”
“I’m going to be relentless – defend from the front, non-stop. Keep going, keep working, keep moving. Let’s get another goal”
This is a striker focusing on him or herself. This striker doesn’t care about the opposition and what they’re doing. He or she wants to keep doing the same great things that got them into the lead. Keep doing the same great things!
KEEP BEING RELENTLESS!
“We’re three-nil up and I will keep a clean sheet. I have to keep the striker quiet and keep being strong in the challenge. Know where I am at all times – positioning. Stay switched on – on my toes at all times – quality balls from the back.”
This is a defender focusing on him or herself. Very little thought for the opposition, just on what he or she can control. Work rate, attitude, tactical awareness.
Keep doing the same great things! Keep being relentless!
In Soccer – Always be fearless, not fearful
Going two or three ahead can do something weird to your brain. It can switch you into a defensive mindset. It feeds the thought “Don’t lose this” into your mind. It can spread fear throughout your body – especially if the opposition pull a goal back.
This is probably to do with the stress response. You now have something to lose. A common source of stress is embarrassment – “If we draw or lose from here we’re going to look stupid”.
So what happens? You play back foot football rather than front foot. You play not to lose rather than to win. You play with fear rather than with freedom.
I want you to continue to play with freedom.
I WANT YOU PLAY FEARLESS NO MATTER THE SCORE, NO MATTER THE STATE OF THE MATCH.
It’s the manner in which you played that helped you attain the score-line in the first place.
If fear is creeping through the joints in your body and you find yourself playing deeper and deeper, stop! Shout stop to yourself!
Get your body language up. Stand tall and start playing head up. Get on your toes. Spend a few minutes getting those fast feet back again.
Work! Work! Work! Be vocal – help others. Look forward. Strive to become looser, freer and more confident. Do things quicker and better. Focus – get back to you, now! If you can take a little risk. Play a ball over the top or take a shot from distance. Magic moments can break the momentum the opposition may hold over you.
In Soccer — at all levels, it’s a Choice.
Ultimately, remember this: Your attitude when you are winning is a choice. You can choose to play backfoot, or you can choose to be brave or bold.
Be brave and bold when you’re three-nil up. Imagine if PSG had done this against Barcelona. Would they have lost the two leg tie? Really? If they genuinely backed themselves, would they have shipped six goals? Maybe one or two or three. But six? No, they lost because they played back foot. They played with fear, not freedom. They played not to lose rather than to win.
EASY TO DO? OF COURSE NOT! ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU’RE PLAYING THE BEST CLUB TEAM OF THE MODERN ERA.
But it’s what you have to do and you have to see that as a choice. You have to choose to focus on yourself.
You have to choose to play with freedom. You have to exercise your right to choose your attitude as the game is played out.
You have to fight with bravery and boldness to the bitter end. When you do this, you’ll have a great chance to hold that big lead.
A global sports psychologist and author specializing in soccer, Dan Abrahams is based in England and works with professional soccer players in the English Premier League (EPL). Abrahams has worked with hundreds of soccer players – many who play in the English Premier League (EPL). From working with players at Crystal Palace, QPR, Fulham, and West Ham among others, Abrahams counsels players on how to play at peak performance. Abrahams has authored several books and has a Soccer Academy as well.
