I WOULD like to share my thoughts on the saying “Never look back”. From a sports perspective, I can justify this by citing a few examples.
I have been a sports fan since the mid-60s, and the name Howard Kendall immediately comes to mind when I think of this phrase.
He was successful as a player for Everton Football Club during the 60s and 70s. Subsequently, he became manager of Everton in 1981. Kendall was on the verge of being sacked in 1984, when by a stroke of good fortune, he survived.
And so started the rags to “ribbons” story of Kendall from 1984 to1987, during which time he helped Everton become League Champions in 1984/85, lifted the European Cup Winners’ Cup, and League Champions again in 1986/87. However, Kendall was unable to recreate the previous magic in subsequent spells back at Goodison in 1990 to 1993 and 1997/1998.
Never go back is a popular saying but Everton’s chiefs could hardly be criticised for hoping that Kendall could repeat the success story achieved in 1984 to 1987.
Jose Mourinho too had put a rubber stamp on the above saying. He performed wonders at Chelsea during his first stint in 2004 to 2007, winning silverware after silverware. But, he was not as successful during his second spell in 2013 to 2015.
Recently, Zinedine Zidane also was in the same boat. He had a successful spell with Real Madrid from 2016 to 2018, helping them win three consecutive Champions League finals. Sadly, his second stint in 2019 to 2021 was not much of a comparison.
Career-wise too, the cliche “Never look back” seems to apply. From my personal experiences, I have noticed that when you leave a place on transfer, a good send off will be given in recognition of your services. As such, one should ride on it and move on.
If for one reason or another you decide to return to your earlier workplace, things can never be the same – simply because you have achieved all that you could aim for there. However, it may be different if you were to return on a promotion, which may be acceptable. In such an instance, things can work out well as the scenario is all together different.
From a perspective of a “comeback”, many top sportsman have not been able to emulate their past performances when they decided to make a return from retirement. They may have gained a small measure of success, but getting back to winning was a tall order due to the many factors that weighed against them.
If the comeback trail is just for the love of sport, then it may be a different ball game. Hence, the cliche “to move on in life” is very apt, for we should be always prepared to move on and face new challenges in life.
Thiagarajan Mathiaparanam
Klang