Soccer and Lessons of Observation

By Nevena Gojak

Recently I read an essay on this website by Branko Terzic titled “Summer, Baseball and Lessons on Observation” which explained baseball to new fans from Europe. He wrote for his father who, having emigrated from Europe, was a keen soccer fan. I am also one of those new to America’s national “pastime” of baseball. While Branko explained baseball to his father, I would like to explain soccer to Branko and other baseball fans.

First, allow me to explain that I grew up in Serbia and I played soccer from kindergarten to the highest levels for women on the Serbian national woman’s team (Under17). Here in the US I obtained a BS in Sports Management and now am completing an MBA. My goal is to have a career in sports management this country.

All those years of “breathing” and living soccer in Europe, I learned the game better and better. The more I played, the more I realized that soccer wasn't just about power or speed; it was about awareness, rhythm, and intelligence. Every soccer game was a lesson in patience, strategy, and observation.

People who don’t watch or enjoy soccer with that point of view can't understand why a game finishing with a score of 0-0 can be thrilling. But to me, each second of those ninety minutes of regulation play time is filled with tension, accuracy, and elegance. Soccer is not just about scoring goals; it's about the lead-up, the mobility, the tactics, and the silent battles being fought on the pitch. Each pass, each tackle, each decision is a small piece of a much larger canvas.

A "good game" isn't necessarily the one with the highest score. Sometimes it's the one in which both teams leave everything on the field, in which the defense reacts to every attack exactly, in which the midfield controls the rhythm like a heartbeat. There is beauty in struggle, in waiting, in the constant watching of the ball moving in space and time.

So, when you watch a game of soccer up close, observing both the individual and the coordinated and orchestrated moves, even a 0–0 match can be one to remember. And for me, soccer is not just a sport; it's a lifetime education in dedication and determination.

Nevena Gojak is completing her MBA at Chatham University in Pittsburgh this December. She obtained a BS in Sports Management at Seton Hill University in 2024. At Seton Hill she was a woman’s soccer team manager and at Chatham she’s a Graduate Assistant Coach assistant coach.