Author – Ryan Miler
Ryan Miller is OMP’s Head of Content
Auckland City FC completed one of the upsets of the FIFA Club World Cup on Tuesday drawing 1-1 with Argentinian giants Boca Juniors.
A literal bunch of amateurs bounced back from conceding 16 goals across their two first group games to share the points with a team filled with professional players.
Auckland’s players have full-time jobs with their squad including a Coca-Cola Salesman, Warehouse worker, and a Sonographer.
What about Christian Gray, their goal scorer against Boca?
Well, he’s a schoolteacher who had to take time off work to go to the tournament.
So, what can we learn from this true underdog story?
🐕 Underdogs can play with greater freedom
Auckland weren’t expected to win – or even draw – so they had lesser expectations upon them allowing them to be fearless.
🧠 Their Resilience is one of their greatest strengths
They didn’t let their heavy defeats against Bayern and Benfica wear them down. They still approached their clash with Boca Juniors motivated and committed to play.
💭 Expectations aren’t reality
It would have been easy for Auckland players to listen to the negative commentary heading into the match. Their confidence and belief that they could go toe-to-toe with a South American powerhouse showed why athletes and teams shouldn’t buy in to what those outside of your camp are saying.
🦾 Worked Through Adversity
In the match they went behind early thanks to an own goal.
Instead of giving up they continued to fight and equalized in the second half, overcoming a major setback within the game.
Auckland faced many obstacles in the Club World Cup, but they proved the old adage that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog.
