It cannot be denied that the recent World Cup helped focus on one of the world’s most popular sports. And it cannot also be denied that psychology plays an important part on who is going to be the winner.

During the World Cup, the Algerian team prepared for its matches by watching the legendary movie “The Battle of Algiers.” The movie, which depicts the fight of Algerians against the French ruling their country, perhaps helped them to a reasonable performance during the Cup.

The Brazilian team, which was on the way to what the players thought was a certain victory, particularly after the first goal against the Dutch, saw their hopes crushed after the Dutch tied the game and went on to win it at the end. Here psychology played against the Brazilians.

Psychology also played against the Argentinians, who, led by the legendary Diego Armando Maradona were convinced they were going to be among the finalists. An early goal by the Germans, a couple of minutes after the start of the game, was a factor in their poor performance and the ultimate 4 to 0 defeat of their team.

Thinking about that psychological effect brought to my mind an event that happened years ago. My town’s basketball team had been on a losing streak, and the players’ mood could be said to be underground. Never before in the history of the club had they had such ruinous performances.

The officials at the club were desperate. They talked to the players, they offered them incentives, they threatened to fire them, all to no avail. The team continued losing. This happened until finally one of the officials had a brilliant idea on how to improve the situation. Why not use the services of a psychologist to better the team’s morale?

The one finally chosen was a friend of mine, known to all by the nickname “Rabbit” obviously because of his uncanny resemblance to that animal. My friend was a hardworking but down to earth professional. I knew he was going to do his best to improve the team’s performance.

In effect, during a long holiday the players were called back to work with my friend. He used several techniques to lift the players’ spirits. Movies, music, pep talks, role playing, everything was tried and nothing seemed to work. When the season resumed, the team continued losing every single game. The fans were disappointed and the club officials were furious with my friend.

One day, I was doing errands downtown when I met the Rabbit. I couldn’t help asking him how things were going. “Terrific,” he answered. “Come on, Rabbit,” I told him, “what do you mean, terrific? Your team has continued losing every single game since you became their psychologist.” “That is correct,” he answered, unperturbed, “but now my job is done. Now, when they lose a game, they at least feel good about themselves!”

César Chelala is a writer on human rights and foreign policy issues.