by Sunday, May 19th, 2019 – Detroit City FC 2 Kalamazoo FC 3
“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves…”
I don’t know if Bruce Lee ever played soccer, but if he did, I imagine he would’ve approached it the same way as martial arts: fiercely competitive and open to any technique or way of thinking that could improve his game.
In the middle of his career, Lee became frustrated with the conventional practices and techniques of the fighting styles he had studied. He felt they were too constricting and not well-suited for hectic real-world scenarios.
Detroit City’s loss on Sunday – to a pesky opponent, on a saturated field, amid swirling winds – was a perfect example of just such a scenario. It was also reminiscent of nearly all the losses they’ve suffered in the Keyworth era, which typically follow a similar pattern:
Phase 1: City looks like the better team for the first 30-60 minutes.
Phase 2: Once the opposing team realizes this, they get more and more aggressive, fouling freely and taking yellow cards to break up the play and throw City out of sync.
Phase 3: City starts trying to force the issue, playing more long balls and risky passes. The opposing team seizes on miscues and gets one or more goals, typically off of counter-attacks.
Phase 4: City gets more desperate and their play deteriorates further. Once the final whistle blows, we all file out and wonder how that one got away.
So what’s the solution? How do we break this cycle?
If he were around today, Bruce Lee might suggest using whatever tactics are favorable in a particular situation and temporarily setting everything else aside. By incorporating elements of a variety of fighting schools, he created his own philosophy, Jeet Kune Do, which he also referred to as, “the style of no style,” due to its fluid, versatile nature.
As an outside observer, I obviously have a different perspective and am less well-informed than the people who are coaching and playing, but it seems to me that sometimes the team becomes preoccupied with playing, “The Right Way,” rather than whatever is most advantageous.
By, “Right,” I’m referring to the general notion of aesthetically pleasing, connect-the-dots soccer, in which the ball is worked up the field using quick, short passes, and nifty combos around the box lead to tidy finishes from the attackers.
Within the first few minutes of the match on Sunday, it was evident this strategy would be ineffective due to the poor field conditions. With how wet and slippery it was, City may have had greater success by shooting more often and pumping balls into the box. Indeed, when they did so, it usually created havoc and resulted in chances.
Another thing worth mentioning is mentality. Every NPSL team that plays City treats it as their most important match of the season, and if they win, they celebrate accordingly.
Heading into a fight, Bruce Lee’s aim was to subdue his opponent as quickly as possible. In fact, the fight which made him question his entire approach and led to the creation of Jeet Kune Do lasted a mere three minutes, a result he deemed unsatisfactory.
I’d like to see City come out and jump on teams earlier, undercutting their confidence before it has a chance to grow. They’ve shown they’re capable of this, but it needs to happen more consistently.
This isn’t to say that City needs to abandon its attempts to play quality soccer in favor of turning every match into a street fight, but some more willingness to adapt in certain situations could serve them well.
“…Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
