More important than Winning

What can we learn from Germany’s failure in the FIFA World Cup 2026?

Germans have a special relationship to soccer. According to Jürgen Klopp, a famous German football coach, “Soccer is the most important of unimportant things on earth.” So after being kicked out of the tournament in the round of 32 the most obvious question in the room might be:”What can we learn from it?”

Here’s my personal five take-aways:

1. See the bigger picture

   Football unites people all over the world. It makes no practical sense to watch 22 men chasing a ball for 90 minutes - actually there’s little activities imaginable that are less productive. Nevertheless those people that watch games for fun are usually all fired up and really emotionally invested. If we could all just see past our local affiliations and acknowledge our broader affection for the game itself, rather than just for “our team”, we might actually enjoy the rest of the tournament as well.

2. Don’t play the blame game

   It did not take long until a stereotypic reaction was spread across media: What went wrong? This question is legitimate and deserves a thorough  analysis. However another question that also surfaced along with the former was: Whose fault is it? is not helpful, as are questions, whether certain roles should be reassigned, like coach, players, or other. Recognize what went wrong but also, what went well. It’s never just black, it’s also white and lots of nuances in between. Take your time to understand, instead of looking for scapegoats.

3. A mission is important, however meaningless without a clear purpose

   Ever since Germany’s victory in Brazil in 2014 I had the feeling that at European and World Cups the mission was put first and the deeper purpose was left unclear. Yes, we want to win the FIFA World Cup for the fifth time - that does not separate Germany from any other nation. But why we want to win, that is left in the dark. In 2006 and the following years, I always felt that Germany wanted to prove a deeper truth by winning: That Germany has changed - we wanted the world to see that we are an open, diverse, inclusive, just and fun country to live in. At least that’s how I felt. With the win in 1954, after the complete human, military, moral and economic failure of WW2 and the unimaginable crimes under the Nazi regieme, Germany wanted to prove “We are someone again”. In 1990, after Germany’s Reunification, I felt the purpose was “We are one again”. I’m not so sure what Germany’s peoples’ current common purpose is. Sometimes I fear that Germany might be drifting into an Anglo-American-ish “free for all”. I feel a clear purpose would certainly help - not only in soccer.

4. Acknowledge greatness, especially if it is not your own

   Football has become more global than ever before during the recent past. Former underdogs often sport world class players in their teams. This is actually very good news. It means football fosters talent globally instead of locally. The fact that Christiano Ronaldo was discovered at an early age on a distant football field on Madeira is well known. At the time this story was the fabric of a fairy tale: a poor kid with exceptional talent reaches for the stars and achieves beyond his wildest dreams. We should be more proud that society as a whole makes these stories more common these days. This is good for football as a sport, because it makes games more exciting and less predictable. Yes, higher quality of participating teams overall will make it harder for Germany to prevail in future Tournaments. But then again: Who really wants to see the German team be king among peasants, rather than the true and only primus inter pares?

5. Learn something and move on

   Finally it’s only soccer. Even if our hearts beat for the German National Team, the best way to deal with every failure is to learn something from it, to move on and to hope to be better tomorrow. After all, the best teams are not the ones that have the most valuable players on the pitch. They are the ones that learn most from their mistakes and adapt fastest. Or better to say it with Jürgen Klopp’s words:”It’s not that important what people think of you when you arrive. It’s important what they think of you when you leave.”

As a conclusion, my most important take-away might be this:

Winning is important, but by itself alone it is not enough. Teams, organizations, and even nations perform better when they are united by a meaningful shared purpose. 

What have you learned from a recent failure?

#notestomyfutureme #leadership #FIFA2026 #football #fairplay #purpose