Football: Julian Faubert – The Strange Power Of The Mind

Just two weeks after signing for West Ham United, French mid-fielder Julian Faubert, ruptures his Achilles tendon. He is out of action for 6 months. The West Ham physio tells us that Julian has never had any achilles trouble before. This is major shock to them. But maybe this shock can be explained.

We are told that Faubert’s first choice of departure from Bordeaux was Glasgow Rangers. His agent said that he had wanted to go to Rangers and had given them his word. West Ham outbid Rangers and so he ended up in the East End.

Then the French manager Raymond Domenech said , ‘I can’t understand Faubert’s decision to join West Ham. I struggle to understand why he has done it. It is a great pity when you are on the brink of the French national team. It is OK if they are joining one of the top four in England, Germany, Italy or Spain,” he said. But it is unspeakably stupid to join a club outside of those few, apart from the financial point of view.”

So Faubert wants to join Rangers. The national team manager calls the move unspeakably stupid. Then Faubert’s achilles goes. Coincidence. Maybe?

The mind is a very powerful tool. At a sub-conscious level the player may be wishing that he has not signed for West Ham United. There’s no European football. The national team-manager condemns the idea. International career in doubt. He has signed a five year contract. He is trapped. Against his wishes.

He can’t walk out. So the sub-conscious picks up distress cues. ‘I wish I was back in France’. ‘This was a bad idea’. ‘I’m here for five years’.

Two weeks later, he is back in France for the next six months. As the philosopher Marcus Aurelius said, ‘You become what you think about’.

Posted in Football Psychology, Sports Psychology Blog.