Life lessons from Michy Batshuayi: Whatever situation you find yourself in, own it
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Here's how to cope with kicking a ball into your own face, getting a bad ranking on FIFA and enduring a goal drought...by Michy Batshuayi.
How annoyed would you be if you were Belgium's Adnan Januzaj right now?
You just scored an absolute worldie in a World Cup finals and all anyone wants to talk about is how your team-mate Michy Batshuayi celebrated YOUR goal.
Serious contender already for best World Cup moment. And Twitter loved it.
If we’ve learned anything by now about the Batsman though, it’s that whatever situation he finds himself in, he makes sure he fully owns it.
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Of course, he’s probably just happy to be able to have the opportunity to spectacularly kick a football into his own face on the big stage of the World Cup. After a bad ankle injury in April, it wasn’t always a sure thing that he'd make it there.
After an injury sustained in April, things did not look good.
Before having a decent spell on loan at Borussia Dortmund this year (seven goals in nine Bundesliga appearances), Batshuayi had an up-and-down spell at Chelsea.
If there was one thing he was consistently brilliant at, however, it was owning criticism. Including from a West Ham fan who pointed out that Simeone Zaza had played more minutes than him this season…
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…and even from his own fans. Remember when he came through with a late goal to sink Watford and ruin this chap’s dinner plans?
His one-man crusade to up his own FIFA ranking has been a lesson in perseverance with good humour against adversity…
When he scored a hat-trick against Nottingham Forest last year, he felt that maybe it was time to amend that ranking. The makers of the game played hard to get…
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Justice was done eventually.
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Most footballers probably wouldn't get away with humiliating a child and come away looking good, but that's the power of Michy.
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And one who has come from humble beginnings, starting out as a ball-boy. Here's him owning that particular narrative.
All this gives us faith that Michy will bounce back from this latest ignominy quickly. We could all learn a lot from him.
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