The Kings Opium

By Papageorgiou Alexis

27/11/2015

In the zone! The perfect state of mind senses in a heightened, max level, simply stated, the peak of a
persons existence at a specific moment in time, the culmination of his lifestyle. What separates us from the
other species of this planet and places us on the top of the food chain Certainly not our claws or sharp
teeth, our size, or even our numbers. Its our undeniable artistry to redefine what is to be considered
impossible in our era. And yet, our wizardry comes in the same package with our chains, that little red devil on
top reminding us of the distance, the bumpy road to Ithaca, the comforts in accepting our strengths, rorting us
really in stagnation, give up and slowly rot.
Its also a glance into the near future, an image of what things would be like if we tried a little harder. From the
beginning of time, our curiosity, the childish need to improve and learn, to challenge the unknown and step into
the darkness, took us out of the caves and put the animals inside instead. The prey has become the hunter.
But still, it took us millions of years to improve to the point, where a point can destroy the whole planet when
pressed. Just imagine a world where every person gave 1% more effort, constantly, whatever the activity. The
result would be an instant need for some thousand more journalists to cover the world wide breaking news.
Being Completely Unaware of what's going on around you as you are So Extremely into what's going on right
in front of your face; like anything more than 3 feet away just doesn't register in the brain.
This is the first explanation that popped up when I googled the term, but I disagree. Maybe who ever came up
with this has never seen Xavi transform a giant pitch into a muppet doll house, pulling strings in every direction
like a conductor, throwing orders you run, you stay there, you go away, left and right. For me, its the state in
which every detail relative to the task at hand perceived by ones heightened senses, is instantly registered,
added to the equation to be answered, and in the blink of an eye, the motor part of the brain executes in case
the task is physical.
In the zone lies the true improvement nutriment and its our never ending bridge towards evolutions limitless
steps. Unless of course another apocalypse decides to full format and restart our clock once more. Every
person is capable of zoning, which for this articles needs represents the act of getting In the zone, and the
outcome varies depending on his abilities, and therefore it can differ even for the same person or athlete.
The process of erasing temporary everything insignificant from your brain, and apply all your intellects and
skills as an individual to a series of incoming tasks. When in the zone, the calculations on your brain become
as accurate as possible, and the unimaginable becomes nothing more than another word, just one more
obstacle to overcome in the process of painting the picture in mind, reaching the goal, a life or the actual one.
In my village Geri, lives a person probably with savant syndrome (Im no doctor), able to instantly tell
you the day you where born, if you provide him with a date of birth.
We all have seen and admired jaw dropping theatrical performances from time to time. Feeling alive some say,
for the act of climbing the Everest or Meru, dropping from the sky, walking between buildings, obviously not on
the ground, or skiing down a vertical mountain, and everyone seems to understand their concept. But
analyzing it? No We seem simply satisfied with that admiration feeling that fills us, watching someone in the
zone, perhaps also explaining momentarily the reason of our own existence, or a live proof of what we are
capable as human beings, before normality catches up once again.

But what differentiates the examples mentioned before, from football? Are they cheating death or cheating life?
Lets start from the obvious fact, that these people are actually playing with their lives Its like practicing a
sport in the pits of hell, when death is 360 horizontally and vertically around your being. Senses are forced by
the human desire to maintain its existence and therefore pushed to the limits, achieving that in the zone status,
basically the purest, most perfect representation, of perfection. But is motivation in the face of incoming
demise, really motivation, or is it simply the easy, obvious choice in the need of a life injection. Of course youll
feel alive in the presence of death, but achieving this during every day boredom, is a Kings quest.
Actually having a personal acquaintance with lady zone, helps to comprehend the words of magic described in
this and other articles or stories, so in order to break it down, we will summon the assistance of some recent
examples.

Lewa with his wife after High 5 in 9

"I am very satisfied, that was incredible," he told Sky. "I just wanted to shoot, I didn't really think what
will happen afterwards. Having been one down, we knew that we must improve and score twice at
least. But five goals, that's incredible."
Lewandowskis comments after that voodoo performance, when a touch with the ball gained a higher
percentage to turn into a goal than a Simo Hyh shot reaching a 10 foot away target or bullseye missing a
dart in the movie, are on this articles point, since they were made right after the game, with memory still fresh
and unaltered by after effects. Is he a narcissist for describing as incredible his own acts, or was he simply
unaware at the time, 100% alive and therefore blind to insignificant, simple aftershocks, of the earthquake he
provoked, and therefore surprised when reality came face to face in the form of a microphone?
"I don't know how fast it was, but it was fast," he added. "But when you're on the pitch, you're just
focused on football. After the fourth I looked at the scoreboard, it was the 60th minute and I only
thought: 'Ooh.'
His own ignorance during action, to a world record performance, and an unprecedented one man destruction
of Wolfsburg, who prior to his entrance where better than Bayern, leading 0-1, shines the light on this under
discussion state of mind. The first picture he subconsciously saw was for the team to turn the game around.
Having done that in 1 minute, every obstacle was evaporated and the zone level reached the next volume,
basically forcing the Internet to break down. Surrounded by 80 thousand people, and yet completely alone with
himself and his mission, he volleyed the final nail to Wolfsburgs coffin, forcing commentators to go bizarre with
comments like You just cannot be that good, Remarkable, Inexplicable, absolutely wonderful,
perfection at its best or Naldos got no chance, Benaglio no chance the microphone had no
chance. Naldos extending right foot towards the flying ball, had the same impact towards the outcome of that
phase, every other man and woman on that arena had, despite missing it by a cm or two. Zero. Every single
form of life was turned into a spectator by a single person, including his coach, who invented new jaw dropping
techniques.

Guardiola: "I don't understand this, five goals! I have never in my life witnessed something like this
whether as a player or a coach.
After the flashes of the cameras, an explanation of what we witnessed is necessary, and every irrelevant and
relevant aspect comes into examination, from pure luck towards the acceptance of ones superiority. Even hate
or anger will be used to categorize and store in memory the displayed magic, as was the case for this example.
I cant help than think that this is a huge finger for the coach, said someone after the 5 goal theurgy.
Personally I doubt angers or hates motivational power, when the outcome is this divine. If he scored one or
even two percase, he was trying to prove something to the coach. But to reach a Professor Charles Xavier
focus level, you need the clearest of minds, unstained by paltry feelings like anger and hate.
Back to the You just cannot be that good Apparently he can, just not every day. But during that night, all
the right ingredients where put into the mixer. Maybe even a little desire to prove himself to the coach who
preferred someone else for the starting XI, but I just cannot help than to think, that part was chickenshit
compared to the rest of the mix. If you're motivated by anger, you know exactly how many goals you scored.
You dont need to look at the board to be reminded. Anyway, perhaps I am wrong. But what about happiness?
Especially after the first two that turn the game around. Proudness for the achievement? By the third goal, it
was the purest snow white form of desire to just play football and the fifth was a demonstration of what anyone
can do while in that state of mind, given a prior acquirement of a specific set of skills during practice.
Speaking of volleys, I brought Lewandowski to the vitrine of my thoughts, when I saw Suarezs wonder strike
versus Roma. If I recall correctly, the ball bounces towards the top of the left side of Romas box, after a shot or
a deflection, which has validity only towards talking about Barcelonas game, which is not the issue yet. So,
due to a reason, the ball flies towards Suarez, who is standing on top of the left side of the box. Firstly
calculating the trajectory of the ball he takes a slight step back, with a volley already the plan in motion. In the
blink of an eye, he leaned backwards to perfect his stature, and then makutu! A curling rocket into the right
corner with the outside of the foot in flying mode, left 6-7 players regardless of badge on the shirt in a WTF
state and Vermaelen clapping like a 6 year old the moment the magician finally pulls the rabbit out of the hat.

Dsfsdgfsdf . !!!!!!

Suarezs irrelevance to the point of this article is bested only by Alessandras Ambrosio ugliness. He is the
epitome of examples. A man who has known success and failure, who learned of a wrong modus operandi in
dealing with frustration, a method that if it wasnt for his unique talent, would have rapidly finished his career.
Not because of the evil lying under the action of biting, but of the way the world perceived this specific act
before him. If I was a professional footballer, I would certainly prefer someone to bite me than brake my leg. If
the choice presented itself, I would even scream to him. Bite me
But placing that enormous talent in a squad like Barcelonas, who are taught from a very young age the
priceless value of humility and teamwork above everything else, and boom, the shack is turned into the
Buckingham palace. Of course he wasnt a shack, but I will still use it since it makes my sentence better.
His performing value left no other choice than a second and third chance. You might even consider his acts
suicidal, but there is no bad without good. The outcome was a King free Suarez, focusing on his football and
nothing else and from a selfish point of view, Im actually glad he bit Chiellini and paid the price. Of course if he
could achieve this, bite free, it would have been better, and even though I think people can make lemonade
without lemons, in this occasion I choose to simply not care, in order to properly enjoy the show he provides.

Another bright example is Neymars wonder goal, the final versus Villarreal recently, and Im not referring just
to the finish. I wonder if someday the world will witness a player stepping in the game, already in the zone.
Messi is the only player coming close to this, but even he is far from the arguments point. Maybe in that final
with Atletico Bilbao he was partially zoned from 0, but it took him 19 minutes to break every barrier and
redefine possible and impossible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFyr0oVJSXE
Back to Neymar & Suarez, even that ace goal took the best part of the game to come to life, and only when the
2-0 cushion provided the necessary freedom and took the weight from Barcas bromance feet. But when it did,
destruction was inevitable for the yellow submarine. Two players of the same team in the zone at the same
time is basically cheating, let alone three or four. Suarezs controlled offside run while waiting the heading pass
from Neymar, the ball control and instant run by the Uruguayan and that peach of a curling ball with his weak
foot, deserved nothing less than that Damn son finish.
I thought about the move in advance and it came off.
The power this pinnacle of football provided to its servants, this enchantment, and the act as a whole, was
described by the observers, such as myself, as Epic Epicness, Inhuman and God, yet, there is nothing
godly, or divine about it. Maybe we are so used to mediocrity, that every humans ability for destination
greatness, is now perceived as extraordinary, in order to justify our own failures.

Im happy with my contribution to the team but I think I can improve even more. Together with my
team-mates, we have to keep growing. We played really well, we created a lot of chances throughout
the game. We have to carry on like this. Everyone played well against Villarreal, who is a great team.
Even though Neymars heart is in the right place, Im not sure he understands the extent to which he fulfills his
footballing prowess. In that last CL demolition of the side responsible for ruining a perfect 18 in the group
stages, a complete game by his part, was blemished by the desire to find the back of the net. It could have
worked, but you could sense that it was weighing on his mind. With the game wrapped up, there is nothing
wrong with trying to get your name on the board. But the impact that desire had on his game is there to see,
learn from and improve. This fits the bill for every player, unless of course your name is Pique, apparently the
exception to the rule.
For me, Neymar can be twice the player, by simply not trying to be twice the player, and just enjoy his game.
Keep zoning in until it becomes normal, a muscle memory like breathing. Against Roma, everyone talked about
Barcelonas perfect game, and rightfully so, since that performance was in the best football Ive seen category.
But this team is capable of football Ive not seen, and because Im selfish, I would like to see that, pretty please

In order to improve, someone also needs to comprehend which feelings and actions can put him in that
ultimate state of mind, that baby consciousness and confidence, before they learn failure ... He plays like hes
in the school yard people often say to describe such imperious displays, and yet somehow its white rhino rare.
This somehow is of course obviously our lifestyle and even though we common folks are condemned to fight it
every single day, footballers should cherish the fact that they live in a different, much better environment, and
take full advantage of it. Their teams community, and its every managements paramount task to accomplish a
family, unfazed by outsiders.
And since a button is not invented yet, in order to get in that heightened sense, is imperative to treat every
moment separately, take it a step at a time, give your whole being to a single dribble or a pass or a save for
that matter. Because every little success during a game, is a confidence builder. If in your mind you consider a
goal the only step towards building your game, then you miss all the other stuff that come prior to it, like the big
bang need that created the game in the first place, which is to have fun. The inventors of football didnt create
it, so that you, 100 years later would get laid, or rich and famous.
Dortmunds Klopp players after the game against Augsburg saw the Yellow wall turn against them for the first
time, and it was a wakeup call for the whole organization. Patience had run out, wed used up all the good
will we had in the bank. As the wall fell, so did the certainties. Now we could feel the fear, said Kirch to
describe the bottom his team hit, during Klopps last year peak of crisis.
No one said a word in the dressing room. No one shouted, no one chucked anything, no shoes, water
bottles, nothing. No hairdryer from the gaffer. No anger, just silence. There were players who cried. We
expected the normal response to a crisis, double training sessions, the silent treatment. The gaffer
gets tough, but not this time. Kloppo was super positive about everything. Id never seen him like that
before. He laughed a lot. Loudly. He had already tried everything. So he started building us up. He
worked on our self-confidence. He asked us to visualize what we had already achieved. A weight had
been lifted.
If a memory trip back to basics is the answer to a crisis, then its also the road to drive in order to reach football
oasis.
To sum it up, zoning is the Kings opium. Because once you get acquainted with its magic, very few things, if

any, can much that complete feeling it leaves you with, and you crave more. And you should That
obliviousness to your own labors. Because if anything bests surprising the whole world with a hat trick or a
volley or I dont know what is surprising yourself. But there seems to be a catch You cant have your dose
while wearing the crown.