TFC 3: Why Zlatan Went Up & Mario Went Down


In the world of Football, two guys promised to take the game to the next stage with their talents around the year 2010, they are Zlatan Ibrahimovic the Scandinavian Giant, and Mario Balotelli the Italian Mafia as people refer to him because of his on and off-pitch behaviors. Both players played for the same team – Inter Milan in Italy at some points. Ten years down the line now, the younger one – Mario went into oblivion while the older one - Zlatan, who should by all standards be retired is currently, the top goalscorer in Italian Serie A. What a twist of fate for the two talented and enigmatic superstars. 

Both of them were known for their enigmatic personalities that many people see as arrogance. However, while both of them may be confused to have a similar trait, there is a lot of difference between the two that may have marked the difference in their careers as it now stands. While Zlatan Ibrahimovic will retire and be recognized as a legend in the clubs he has played for, Mario Balotelli will go down as one of the brightest talents in football that never truly fulfill the enormous potentials that earned him a comparison with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at some points in his blossoming career. So what marks the difference between Zlatan and Mario, much so that while the formal is going stronger at 39, the latter does not even have a club at age 30? Could it be destiny playing its part in their lives?

We may not be entirely sure what happened but of course, we can point to something they could have done to make their careers great. It is worthy to note, however, that these players have entirely different traits – they are not similar at all. Mario is arrogant, while Zlatan is proud. There is a difference between these two qualities that people confuse to be the same - being proud takes you up while being arrogant brings you down as we have seen it play out in both players’ careers. If you want to know the difference between ‘proud’ and ‘arrogance’ go back and read true fuckers code number three.

Mario always had disciplinary issues and was known to always insult managers that dare to discipline him while Zlatan only has issues with coaches that underutilize him. Mario does not care about going to training late, he often did, but Zlatan does not have such issues; he trains harder than many of his teammates. Mario spends his time at nightclubs but Zlatan stays at home with his wife and rest when it is needed.

What indeed marks the difference between these players is that Zlatan appreciated his talents while Mario did not. Appreciation means to increase a thing and that is exactly what Zlatan did by training hard and resting when needed. Mario depreciated himself by doing the exact opposite. Zlatan is always forgiven for his excesses because he performs to expectations on the pitch while Mario goes down for the same reason because he always performs below expectations. 

It was obvious Mario appreciated his weaknesses more than his strengths, and it resulted in self and career depreciation for him while Zlatan did the exact opposite. This story exonerates the importance of appreciating ourselves. The life of Zlatan shows that even if you are arrogant as people confuse him to be, once you appreciate yourself by constantly improving on your strengths, you will be forgiven for it.

However, the best bet for self-appreciation is to appreciate your strengths and depreciate your weaknesses. As time goes on, people will forget your weaknesses because your strengths always overshadow them. If your weaknesses overshadow your strengths, whether by your making or otherwise, then you are doomed to mediocrity. No matter how up you go, you will eventually come down. Of all appreciation, self-appreciation is more important even though it will not be complete without the appreciation of other people and nature.

Culled from MOTHERFUCKERS CODES, a book written by Soul’e Rhymez. Soul’e Rhymez is a Lagos, Nigeria-based Author.

To purchase the PDF version of MOTHERFUCKERS CODES, click here: MFC Preorder

https://paystack.com/buy/motherfuckers-codes-swwink

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