The Emotional Dysregulation in Football

Footballers are rigorously trained to meet the tactical, strategic and physical demands of the game. The speed and the intensity of training to meet the demand is so much so, that players not only meet expectations but surpass them, performing unconsciously to levels that are consistently revolutionising football.

David Beckham sent off for kicking Diego Simeone during the 1998 World Cup quarter finals

Footballers have another demand that they are expected to meet, but are not trained for and it’s emotional regulation. They are expected to regulate their emotions at all times, regardless of what’s going on in their personal or professional lives.

Week in, week out we see players allowing their emotions to take the lead, reacting to stimulus and finding themselves in trouble. From David Beckham kicking Diego Simeone and getting sent off during the quarter finals of the 1998 World Cup to Arsenal’s former Captain, Granit Xhaka who swore at his own fans after they boo’d him during a Premier League match against Crystal Palace. Bother incidents are 21 years apart, different content, but same context.

Emotional regulation has been a key component for thousands of players earning a career in professional football. You cannot have a career at the highest level without meeting the required level of emotional regulation (subject to the manager’s opinion). No one speaks about this and the managers do not refer to emotional regulation but they do refer to its offspring.

Emotional regulation plays out in football in many ways. Below I will focus on the most talked about part of emotional regulation that is made up of daring to take calculated risk, not being consumed by the opponent or controlled by time = Composure.

We see the fruits of composure in how players utilise time, choose and execute their decisions.

Who demonstrated examples of emotional regulation whilst playing?

Paolo Maldini not going to ground unnecessarily, Andrea Pirlo’s ability to search for and execute opportunities that expose the opposition’s vulnerabilities (with his passes) and Dennis Bergkamp’s cool finishing within a busy environment, are just three examples of many. They acted on their watch and were not hurried by the environment, because they were able to regulate their emotions, they were able to be better versions (players) of themselves. Without emotional regulation, Maldini would unsuccessfully commit himself into tackles when overwhelmed by a counter attack, Pirlo would rush his passes, taking less effective options and Bergkamp would strike in hope, instead of place with precision.

Emotional threshold

We travel through life with our emotional baggage and when the trigger comes… BOOM! Anyone can get it. It’s the same when a person puts on a football kit, players can regulate their emotions under certain conditions however, when something changes within the environment, it increases the chances of affecting them. When the intensity increases or pressure persists, it can be one step too far. Both Beckham and Xhaka, have demonstrated high levels of composure, it’s an unofficial requirement to being a Premier League footballer. David Beckham would of played against players that would of frustrated and taunted him before the Argentina match however, when you add the intensity of a World Cup quarter final, it makes the situation different. Granit Xhaka himself highlighted the previous abuse from his own fans, but it was the persistence and the intensity that pushed him over the cognitive horizon.

Emotional dysregulation has ruined many careers before they started, tarnished established careers, lost teams points, cost teams their league status, lead to World Cup exits and for Granit Xhaka it has cost him his captaincy and potentially his Arsenal career.

Granit Xhaka acknowledging the boos from the Arsenal fans

If emotional regulation is important, why don’t we value it?

Our emotional performance is a big part of football, but like life outside of the game it’s just not valued as much as the physical. Why? Because we cannot see emotions, it takes a skilled eye and heart to see and feel past the reactions, and go to the root of the successes and the problems caused by emotions. This lack of emotional literacy leads us to neglecting parts of ourselves, thus stunting empathetic growth.

We are in a world where emotional illiteracy is common and adaptation is survival. If directing our attention towards the development of the physical and collecting external achievements is going to be the expectation, that’s what we shall adhere to.

Train them to meet the expectation

If players learn emotional literacy it will help them to manage their experiences, and progress past playing the role of a role model and enable them to fulfil it. Players are holding and suppressing a lot, personal issues, contract problems, pressure from fans, frustration from playing a different position, angry that their Manager has spoken to them, and these are just a few of the common examples. 

In Granit Xhaka’s case, developing emotional literacy would put him in a position to overstand the fan, he would be in a place to see the situation for what it is and not for how it made him feel. He will truly be the professional within the dynamic, currently he is a professional footballer with the expectation of being a professional self-regulator.

If clubs have high expectations of their players, they will need to educate their players to a high standard to meet their expectation. Helping players to regulate emotions keeps them on the pitch, improves their performance, maintains the community feel within the club and it also equips them to be model professionals. We cannot expect people to be model professionals because they sign a piece of paper and kick a ball. It’s a process, so it’s only right that players are put through the process so they can meet the expectation.

Enriching your players, enriches your club.