5 little-known motivational techniques used by popular football players and managers

Every once in a while, players need an extra dose of motivation to perform. Sometimes, the same words used on matchdays fail to make an impact. So in a bid to shake things up, managers have resorted to all sorts of innovative means to drive their point home.And we have either read or heard about such bizarre incidents over the years. Also, it’s not just the managers; Lionel Messi too needed external motivation to score goals when he was young. We take a look at some notable incidents and practices over the years. 

#1 Lionel Messi

The Barcelona superstar may need no motivation to find the back of the net nowadays. But as a small child, the Argentine was a pretty mischievous lad. In his stint with Newell’s Old Boys, Messi would only score goals when he was promised cookies by his youth coach.

That’s right, during Messi’s early days, his youth coach Carlos Marconi discovered Messi’s affinity for a kind of chocolate cookie named Alfajores. Soon, Messi was banging in goals left right and centre and Marconi found it difficult to keep track of the number of cookies he owed the Argentine forward.

So, in a bid to make matters easier for him, Marconi presented the forward with a new deal – 2 cookies per goal but the goal had to be a headed one.

The very next game after the deal had been struck, Messi weaved his way through his opponents and just as he was about to score, he stopped, flicked the ball into the air and headed the ball into the empty net. A jubilant Messi then turned to his coach and was all smiles as he signalled a ‘V’ indicating the two cookies he was now owed.