Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Saturday, April 11, 2026, 11:27 p.m. / Updated Saturday, April 11, 2026, 11:31 p.m.
10 minutes with the TV on after the matches and you are left with the impression that in domestic football, the ultimate prize is avoiding relegation.
We're not going to the US, but we don't need to either. We are already world champions at avoiding responsibility.
For more than half of our teams, regardless of the place occupied and the time of the season, the main objective seems to be to avoid relegation.
It does not matter that the results so far have caused a gap between them and the danger zone, it is imperative that in any public appearance they insist on this idea to the point of ridicule: what should concern us in particular is the continuity in the Super League.
The phenomenon has a psychological explanation: we try to motivate through fear. We turn relegation into a football bau-bau and outline its face at every public appearance. The reporter asking about winning the play-out or qualifying for the Conference League is the ideal vehicle.
We are convinced that terror will keep the players on whom our positions depend, so we repeat obsessively: first we escape the shadow of relegation, then… we'll see.
Sure, in the short term you could get the expected result, but I invite you to weigh the cost.
How could you foster attachment and belonging to that group, or common goal, if what are you conveying to the player that only tomorrow matters? And how could the player who walks all the time with the “sword” of relegation over his head express himself to his true potential?
And then…
Why do we inhibit boldness? Why are we sowing panic instead of instilling confidence? Why do we seek to motivate through fear instead of setting great goals?
Why are we afraid to admit that we can do more?
We see our legends dwindling, but how could new memorable characters, teams and world-class athletes emerge from such a mixer of ambitions?
Which doesn't collapse under the fear of making a mistake in the first important match, maybe… a World Cup qualifier?
I'm very curious how athletes would develop if they were fueled with the confidence that they can achieve exceptional things, instead of the threat of relegation, benching or termination waiting for them at the first wrong step.
We play to not fail, mold sports characters from the factory and then wonder why we snap at key moments.
We cyclically miss the true performance, every 4 years, and we don't understand where the talent with which we can swear that the juniors of yesterday were gifted has evaporated. But in the end, what would it help us to know? It was important to avoid relegation.
