Learn to Be a Leader

"You have a very serious flaw. Do you know what it is?"

Zidane's words caught Yang Yang's attention.

"A flaw? What flaw?" Yang Yang asked concernedly.

Zidane smiled and reassured him, telling him not to be nervous. "I think you think a lot, but say very little, and insist on your views even less."

"What do you mean?" Yang Yang didn't understand.

"Of all the players I've met, you're the best and most diligent at thinking and analyzing. That's a very good habit, because at the current stage of professional football, what tests a player is no longer merely his technique and ability. It also tests his capacity for thought and analysis. In some ways, that capacity is even more important than anything else."

Yang Yang understood. That was why there was a saying that, in the end, professional footballers were competing in their football intelligence.

"You're good at thinking and analyzing, and at summing up your experience and lessons, but you rarely express your thoughts. Even when you do express them occasionally, you rarely insist on your own ideas. Even if you think you might be right, you're still more accustomed to following the Head Coach's arrangements or accommodating your teammates."

"I can't say whether this is a good habit, because you really are extremely popular within the team. From Ajax to Liverpool to Real Madrid, you've always been one of the most popular players in the squad. Even a player with Ibrahimovic's personality can get along well with you and become close friends with you."

"But have you ever considered another question?"

Zidane's words left Yang Yang somewhat overwhelmed, because he knew they had hit the nail on the head. They had directly laid bare his personality and traits. Sometimes, being overly kind or overly smooth meant merely