Psyched up – How the modern sportsman is equal parts athlete, spokesman and psychologist.
Mindgames, intimidation, desperation – call it what you will, but getting into the head of your opponent has been around as long as the sport in question. This week, former England cricket captain and Strictly Come Dancing legend Michael Vaughan had a pop at our old rivals from Down Under by suggesting when the Aussies resort to mindgames, you know the state they're in…
Some might say that those who shout the loudest are feeling a touch of self-doubt. Ahead of the second Ashes of 2013 due to start next week, Vaughan reckons it's all designed to destabilise England before the first ball is bowled. The Aussies picked a fifth-string side to play England in a warm-up game this week with the aim of preventing the holders getting any decent practice. A little bit sad and smacks of desperation? Vaughan thinks so.
Every dressing room is full of characters. They say you should always be worried about the quiet ones – they are the assassins in the team. England have won the last three Ashes tournaments by shutting up, training hard and concentrating on what they do best – playing cricket. To win a fourth, they know they'll have to concentrate on their performance on the pitch, not their mouth, and leave the talking to one side.
The psychological side of the beautiful game comes to the fore during the run-up to Christmas, meaning that the mindgames have gone into overdrive. Sir Alex Ferguson is the master of this art and has a long list of victims, but since his retirement in the summer you would think that football had got a lot less nasty. Think again. Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is back in town, and according to former Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit, his "war games" should be avoided at all costs.
The winners and losers of famous mindgames:
Mourinho the mystic
Jose Mourinho turned up the pressure before Chelsea's Champions League knockout match against Barcelona in 2005 by not only publicly naming his own team at the pre-match press conference, but also that of his of his opponents. It worked. Chelsea won the tie 5-4 on aggregate.
Keegan loses his rag
In 1996, Manchester United and Newcastle were battling it out for the Premier League crown. Fergie questioned whether rivals Leeds would try as hard against Newcastle as they did against his United team. Magpies boss Kevin Keegan was incensed, and exploded with his famous "I'd love it if we beat them" rant.
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