Based on the football I’ve seen so far I would like Spain to win. To my eyes they have played the most exciting and most consistently attractive football of all of the teams competing.

But I’m really an interested neutral. If the Dutch play well and win I won’t be disappointed. The fact that they have lost two World Cup finals before in 1974 and 1978 must drive them to go one better then the teams of Johan Cruyff (1974), Arie Hann, Ruud Krol, Johan Neeskens and Johnny Rep.

I got my prediction very, very wrong when I thought that North Korea would give Portugal a stiff test. But I do think this final could go either way. Spain may be playing the better football but Holland are a team that seem unpleasantly difficult to beat.

Usually for a sporting event as significant as a World Cup Final I would place a bet with a friend on the outcome. This time I’ve deliberately stayed firmly on the fence.

Back in 1995 South Africa hosted a very different World Cup – the Rugby World Cup. I was so convinced that the All Blacks were going to win I had a bet with a good friend who foolishly thought South Africa had a chance. I felt nothing but confidence as I could see no possibility that New Zealand, and the towering Jonah Lomu, could be stopped. South Africa would need a miracle.

After the match, and after the miracle, I handed over the grand prize of IR£2. Not a lot to lose on a bet, but G has had bragging rights ever since!

I was reminded of all of this when I read Invictus: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation by John Carlin. It’s a book set around the build-up to that World Cup final.

Rugby does play a part, and the relationship between Nelson Mandela and the Springbok’s captain Francois Pienaar is explored, but the book is more about Nelson Mandela’s vision and ability to win over opponents to his way of thinking.

The book covers a very difficult time for South Africa. It seemed permanently on the brink of civil war. Mandela had been elected President on the foot of the ANC winning a majority of the vote in the first multi-racial elections. But although he and the ANC held office, the country was split. The old ruling white party did not want to give up power and those whites who may have had sympathy for the plight of those oppressed during apartheid feared retribution from the new government.

The book, goes into the various factions that existed and probably still exist in South Africa. But what it does best is give an insight into Nelson Mandela, a man who realised that in order to stabilise a volatile country, he needed to reach out to the hearts of those who feared him most.

The film starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon is entertaining, but it gives far more time to the rugby element than Carlin does in his book. Carlin paints a portrait of Mandela and how from as early as 1985 he set out to gain the trust of the white government. He started this process of reconciliation by talking to those that imprisoned him when he was 21 years into a life sentence for conspiracy to overthrow the existing regime. The book takes us on a journey that introduces us to various characters, some sympathetic, but many fervently opposed to sharing power with the ANC.

Mandela used rugby as a focal point to bring whites who loved the sport with passion, and blacks who despised it as a symbol of their hated oppressor, to a point where they all desired a much coveted symbolic goal – victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final.

As I said earlier I lost a bet on that match, but in 1999 I had an opportunity to win my money back and regain bragging rights when Manchester United played Bayern Munich in the Champions League Final. Although I was less convinced than I was with the All Blacks in 1995, I placed my money on Bayern, and G, being a Man U fan was quite happy to pick the Red Devils.

It all went well for 90 minutes and then disaster in the form of Sheringham and Solskjær struck. Two goals in extra time and once again I was on the losing side.

There are some people you should never bet against!

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South Africa’s Other World Cup

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Why am I reading it? It was recommended by a source I respect and it’s part of a process of self-discovery and self-improvement I started a few months ago. During this process I’ve read several books and as usual they ranged from the useless (in my opinion) to the excellent (again in my opinion).

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How successful people become even more successful is one of the excellent ones.

I’m not going to give a full book review; you can easily find one online. What I will do is give you an excerpt from one of the early sections entitled Shifting into Neutral. It was while reading this relatively short but most impactful section that I realised this book was for me.

Much of the book is targeted at helping executives and senior managers recognise that the habits that brought them success may in fact be holding them back from achieving greatness.

But this book is not only for executives. I think the fundamental principles of the book are so sound that they would benefit people in all walks of life, and would assist relationships in many forms, with loved-ones, with friends and with colleagues.

The chapters on Apologising, Listening and Thanking were my personal favourites.

The following except is reproduced with the kind permission of Marshall Goldsmith.

We have to stop couching all our behavior in terms of positive or negative. Not all behavior is good or bad. Some of it is simply neutral. Neither good nor bad.

For example, let’s say you’re not regarded as a nice person. You wan’t to change that perception. You decide, “I need to be nicer.”

What do you do?

For many people, that’s a daunting assignment, requiring a long list of positive actions. You have to start complimenting people, saying “please” and “thank you,” listening to people more patiently, treating them with a verbal respect, etc., etc., etc. In effect, you have to convert all of the negative things you do at work into positive actions. That’s asking a lot of most people, requiring a complete personality makeover that is closer to religious conversion than on-the-job improvement. In my experience very few if any people can institute that many positive changes in their interpersonal actions all at once. They can handle one at a time. But a half dozen or more changes? I don’t think so.

Fortunately, there’s a simpler way to achieve the goal of “being nicer.” All you have to do is “stop being a jerk.” It doesn’t require much. You don’t have to think of new ways to be nicer to people. You don’t have to design daily tasks to make over your personality. You don’t have to remember to say nice things and hand out compliments and tell the little white lies that lubricate the gears of the workplace. All you have to do is . . . nothing.

When someone offers a less-than-brilliant idea in a meeting, don’t criticize it. Say nothing.

When someone challenges one of your decisions, don’t argue with them or make excuses. Quietly consider it and say nothing.

When someone makes a helpful suggestion, don’t remind them that you already knew that. Thank them and say nothing.

This is not a semantic game. The beauty of knowing what to stop – of achieving this state of inspired neutrality – is that it is so easy to do.

Given the choice between becoming a nicer person and ceasing to be a jerk, which do you think is easier to do? The former requires a concerted series of positive acts of commission. The latter is nothing more than an act of omission.

Think of it in terms of a box. Being a nicer person requires you to fill up the box with all the small positive acts you perform every day to establish the new you. It takes a long time to fill up the box, and even longer for people to pay attention and notice that your box is full.

On the other hand, ceasing to be a jerk does not require learning new behavior. You don’t have to fill up the box with all your positive achievements; you simply have to leave it empty of any negatives.

Keep that in mind as you go through the list of interpersonal issues in this section and determine if any apply to you. Correcting the behavior, you’ll discover, does not require polished skills, elaborate training, arduous practice, or supernatural creativity. All that’s required is the faint imagination to stop doing what you’ve done in the past – in effect, to do nothing at all.

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You want to be a nicer person? Then stop being a jerk!

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So far I’ve come away feeling glad that I saw the following contests:

• Brazil V Korea DPR (North Korea)
• Argentina V Korea Republic (South Korea)
• Slovenia V USA
• Cameroon V Denmark
• Brazil V Ivory Coast

Brazil may not be the flamboyant team of old but they do seem to have a good balance between defence and attack.

Of today’s three matches the one I really want to see is Portugal V Korea DPR; I think Portugal might find this one a tough game to win. Brazil found it hard to break down the North Korean defence and I don’t think the Portuguese are capable of the same moments of magic we saw from Maicon, Robinho and Elano.

But we’ll see. Football after all is a funny old game.

Although this isn’t directly related to the World Cup itself I started thinking about the football books I’ve read and which, if any, I’d read again if I got the opportunity.

I’ve read quite a few, and I tend to prefer the books that live more in the graft and grime of the sport than those that tell of the greatness of players.

Here are my five favourites and the reasons why I liked then.

My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes

Gary Imlach describes a time when football internationals and FA Cup heroes worked as fitters, plumbers and painters during the off season. In so doing he reconnects with football and more importantly his father’s memory and gives us an insight into a time when professional footballers’ salaries weren’t so far removed from their fans.

The Damned Utd

This book by David Peace may be a fictional account of the unlikely marriage of Leeds United and Brian Clough back in 1974 but it is a wonderful read all the same. This period is very painful for many Leeds fans of a certain age as it marked the decline of an aging but ruthlessly skilful team built by Don Revie. Leeds have had more damaging years since then and one wonderful season in 1991-1992 when they won the 1st Division title (last season before Premiership), but they’ve never come close to the success they had from 1968 to 1974.

The Miracle of Castel di Sangro

Joe McGinniss tells us the story of Castel di Sangro, newly promoted to Italian Serie B, and their attempts to survive their first season. This is football in Italy and with it comes plenty of excitement, emotion and corruption.

Forza Italia: The Fall and Rise of Italian Football

Paddy Agnew pulls from his experiences in journalism to put together a book that tackles the good and the bad of Italian football. When I read this book in 2006 it was called Forza Italia: A Journey in Search of Italy and Its Football. It was just before the World Cup of that year. Italian football was suffering. A match fixing scandal had touched several of the big clubs including Juventus, Lazio, Fiorentina and AC Milan. The 2006 World Cup was coming and how could Italy possibly win. The book was republished in 2007 with the title Forza Italia: The Fall and Rise of Italian Football. Guess what happened!

Full Time: The Secret Life of Tony Cascarino

Paul Kimmage and Tony Cascarino have written a shockingly honest book about football. You don’t get exposed to many of Cascarino’s successes, instead he lets you in to the day to day drudgery of a professional footballer and makes at least one unexpected confession.

If you haven’t read these books and you’re not in to reading about the minute details of how a great footballer scored one of his many great goals then you might want to give them a go. If you’ve read them already, please let me how you rate them.

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My Five Favourite Football Books

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Its sub-heading is What makes the human heart sing? Researchers are taking a close look. What they’ve found may surprise you.

I enjoyed reading the full article which was written in 2005, and I feel I’ll get most use out of one particular section, Eight Steps Toward a More Satisfying Life, reproduced below.

That section contains practical suggestions from University of California psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, based on research findings by her and others.

Sonja has kindly agreed to allow me use the text of that section in this post.

So here are Eight Steps Toward a More Satisfying Life…

1. Count your blessings. One way to do this is with a “gratitude journal” in which you write down 3 to 5 things for which you are currently thankful – from the mundane (your peonies are in bloom) to the magnificent (a child’s first steps). Do this once a week, say, on Sunday night. Keep it fresh by varying your entries as much as possible.
2. Practice acts of kindness. These should be both random (let that harried mom go ahead of you in the checkout line) and systematic (bring Sunday supper to an elderly neighbor). Being kind to others, whether friends or strangers, triggers a cascade of positive effects – it makes you feel generous and capable, gives you a greater sense of connection with others and wins you smiles, approval and reciprocated kindness – all happiness boosters.
3. Savor Life’s Joys. Pay close attention to momentary pleasures and wonders. Focus on the sweetness of a ripe strawberry or the warmth of the sun when you step out from the shade. Some psychologists suggest taking “mental photographs” of pleasurable moments to review in less happy times.
4. Thank a mentor. If there’s someone whom you owe a debt of gratitude for guiding you at one of life’s crossroads, don’t wait to express your appreciation – in detail and, if possible, in person.
5. Learn to forgive. Let go of anger and resentment by writing a letter of forgiveness to a person who has hurt or wronged you. Inability to forgive is associated with persistent rumination or dwelling on revenge, while forgiving allows you to move on.
6. Invest Time and Energy in Friends and Family. Where you live, how much money you make, your job title and even your health have small effects on your satisfaction with life. The biggest factor appears to be strong personal relationships.
7. Take care of your body. Getting plenty of sleep, exercising, stretching, smiling and laughing can all enhance your mood in the short term. Practiced regularly, they can help make your daily life more satisfying.
8. Develop strategies for coping with stress and hardship. There is no avoiding hard times. Religious faith has been shown to help people cope, but so do the secular beliefs enshrined in axioms like “This too shall pass” and “That which doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” The trick is that you have to believe them.

The How of Happiness: A Practical Guide to Getting The Life You Want by Sonja Lyubomirsky is available if you’re interested in reading more.

There’s also an iPhone app based on the book.

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Eight Steps Toward a More Satisfying Life

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It was fantastic. It instilled that conflict that comes only when reading a story that demands my full attention; with a third of book left I wanted to finish it, but I put it down because I didn’t want it to end too quickly.

It tackles an episode from the Trojan War when the grief stricken king of Troy travels to his enemy’s camp without his bodyguards and usual royal retinue, to plead for the return of the body of his slain son.

The war has been going on for years and although there have been many losses on both sides recent events, the tragic death of Achilles friend Patroclus at the hands of Hector and the subsequent slaying of Hector by the vengeful Achilles, bring Priam, Hector’s father and king of Troy, and Achilles the most fearsome Greek warrior, to a fateful meeting.

The story has themes of loss, pride, revenge, humility, mortality and transformation. Each approached with deft skill in this relatively short, 224 page novel.

David Malouf has had a fascination with Troy since he was a child.

I’ve also been fascinated by the story which is full of whimsical gods, larger than life heroes and fatally flawed mortals.

Unlike Malouf, I haven’t read Homer’s Iliad, but I have listened more than once to Andrew Rissik’s excellent Troy Trilogy. I don’t think it is available to buy, so keep an eye on BBC Radio 7 which I believe has broadcast it every year since 2004.

I appreciate that the style of writing can be a major influence on the enjoyment of a story so here is an excerpt from the book courtesy of the New York Times to help you decide if it’s for you.

Once I knew the setting of the tale I was always going to read it. I’m glad I did. It is the most enjoyable book I’ve read in a very long time.

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Ransom by David Malouf: An epic tale told beautifully

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Last night at around 8pm I turned a corner and there staring right back at me was The Hunter, Orion.

I was facing south and at an elevation of about 30 degrees and I was able to make out his shoulders, his shiny belt, his right knee and his left foot, set against a clear night sky.

When visible, Orion is easy to spot because it is bright and has a distinctive shape, three close stars for Orion’s belt, two stars above are his shoulders and two stars below mark a knee and a foot.

I wasn’t able to see his club, held above his head, or his shield as there was plenty of light pollution to contend with. Dublin, like any city, isn’t the best place for looking at the stars. Lights from buildings, street lamps and cars make it hard to see faint stars without the aid of binoculars or a telescope.

But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible, and last night it was easy to see and identify half a dozen constellations with your eye alone. All you have to do is first find Orion (look south) and let it be your guide.

This is what you do:

• following the line of the belt towards the northwest you’ll meet Aldebaran of the constellation Taurus (The Bull)
• following the line of the belt towards the southeast you’ll meet Sirius of the constellation Canis Major (The Great Dog)
• A line from Rigel through Betelgeuse (stars of Orion) points to Castor and Pollux of the constellation Gemini (The Twins)
• A line eastward across the two shoulders leads you towards Procyon of the constellation Canis Minor (The Little Dog)

Away from Orion, if you look to the north you can see Ursa Major (The Great Bear), Polaris of Ursa Minor (The Little Bear) and Cassiopeia (The Queen).  I’ll let you look these up for yourself.

For a long time I thought that Polaris (The North Star) was the brightest object in the night sky, but that distinction belongs to Sirius of Canis Major (The Great Dog). (I feel a John McEnroe impression coming.)

Looking at the stars, learning about the constellations doesn’t cost much and there are plenty of online articles and books that help.

Two books I really liked are

The Stars: A New Way to See Them by H. A. Rey

and

Simple Stargazing by Anton Vamplew

Apart from books there’s plenty of great software freely available that you can use to identify the stars and constellations.

My favourite at the moment is Stellarium which is available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux operating systems. It allows you to set your location, set your date and time, and explore the night sky with easy navigation.

It’ll display constellation lines and constellation art to help identify what you’re looking at. It helps track star movements over time (the Earth doesn’t stay still, orbiting the sun and spinning on its axis means that many constellations are only visible at certain times of the year, and they appear to move through the night sky).

If you decide to hunt “The Hunter”, here are a few  tips:

• pick a spot where street lights, houses and trees don’t obstruct your view too much
• clear moonless nights are best
• if the night is clear, but there’s a moon, do it anyway
• if there are only a few clouds, do it anyway
• no telescope or binoculars are needed
• Identify North: find north using The Plough (The Big Dipper) part of Ursa Major (The Great Bear) and let it point you to Polaris (The North Star)

A friend who likes to look at the stars, got into the habit of sending me a text in the early hours of the  morning whenever they were clearly visible. It got out of hand when on a cloudy night he sent a text saying that there was a total eclipse of everything. I don’t keep my phone near my bed anymore.

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Star Gazing and Constellation Spotting in Winter

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I have just finished reading Mutiny On The Bounty by John Boyne and loved it. When I start a historical novel I am filled with expectation. I want it to be a great read, force me think differently about the world, and if possible learn something new. From the first page where we meet John Jacob Turnstile, to the last, I was hooked. The book retells the voyage of the Bounty under the command of Lieutenant William Bligh, which set out from Portsmouth in 1787 for Tahiti. The journey took longer than expected. The crew were at sea for almost a year before reaching their goal, Tahiti, an island paradise that few wanted to leave.

I enjoyed the book for many reasons:

• The story is well told
• I liked many of the characters
• There are heroes and villains
• The skill and determination of Bligh
• The coming of age of Turnstile
• A view of a very different and very tough world

The first time I learned of the story of William Bligh and the Bounty was when I saw the 1935 film Mutiny On The Bounty starring Charles Laughton as Bligh and Clark Gable as Fletcher Christian (leader of the mutineers). That film, although excellent, appears inaccurate, as it portrays Bligh as a cruel commander and Christian as the crew’s saviour. The John Boyne book takes a completely different view, more in keeping with evidence from the ship’s logs. But even if the story is not accurate, that 1935 film is excellent.

So is the 1960 version with Trevor Howard as Bligh and Marlon Brando as Christian. And it doesn’t end there. There is a 1984 version with Anthony Hopkins as Bligh and Mel Gibson as Christian. The fact that the story has been turned into a movie so many times is an indication of how fascinating it is.

Watch the films certainly, they are all great. But if you want a story rich with adventure and excitement, a well told yarn that won’t disappoint, then read the John Boyne book. As with the best historical novels, you get an insight into a way of life that is completely alien to us in our modern world. I find it difficult to understand why anyone with a choice would opt to set sail, attempt to round Cape Horn and travel the long way to Tahiti via the Cape of Good Hope. Perhaps most of the sailors had no choice, but Bligh and Christian certainly had.

Bligh has a connection with Ireland and he is responsible (among others) for one of Dublin’s largest landmarks. In 1801 Bligh presented a survey of Dublin Bay which assisted in the subsequent building of a sea wall to prevent Dublin bay silting up and becoming dangerous for shipping. Dublin’s North Bull Island, great for swimming, bird watching and kite surfing, has developed naturally since the building of this wall. 200 years of silting resulting in Dublin Bay having a monument to Bligh.

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William Bligh, The Mutiny and Dublin Bay

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