A 'kick' for rebirth: the aesthetics of the game and the role of the Goalkeeper by Francesco Farioli (Patreon)

Introduction

In everyday speech, we often come across forms of language that refer to or draw upon terminology commonly used in the world of sports. TV and newspapers are filled with expressions such as "entering the locker room," "taking the field," "playing an important match" to describe political or everyday life situations.

How? Why? And with what consequences?

These are just some of the questions to which we will attempt to provide answers, starting from this terminological debate and constantly referring back to the origins and mysteries that surround the world of sports.

We will seek answers and solutions in the field of aesthetics to understand the role of the Game in our daily becoming and living.

The French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre claimed that "football is a metaphor for life." A thought-provoking statement that caught the attention of Professor Sergio Givone, who internalized, reinterpreted, and, in some ways, reversed the original phrase, stating that "life is a metaphor for football." This change of perspective, on one hand, aligns with Huizinga's ideas about the seriousness of play, and on the other hand, finds events in our daily lives that make us reflect on the ephemeral value attributed to life. Do we play as we live, or do we live as we play? Is one always a consequence of the other? Are these opposing perspectives, or can they coexist?

Embarking on a journey through the great classics of literature, drawing on recent psychological studies, incorporating the empirical experience of the playing field, and not least, the emotional sensation of the game, it is now time to delve into this issue and capture the synergy that links football and life.

A connection much stronger than one might think. A bond that thrives in the game: the game of football and the game of life.

So, what is the game, then?

Let's start with the primal image of a child at play.

The phrase "bambino che gioca" sounds like "pàis pàizon," in which we immediately recognize the common root of the term "bambino" (child) and the playful activity. However, in this visceral connection, one of the greatest misunderstandings in philosophy also thrives, marking the consideration attributed to play in philosophical contexts for a long time. In the past, much emphasis has been placed on the expression "pàis pàizon" to portray play as an exclusively childish activity, subject to the most obvious and superficial discussions, marginalizing its significance in existence and speculation. It is at this point that Huizinga's reflection comes in with vigor and discontent.

By analyzing the etymology of the term "gioco" (game), which, as mentioned earlier, is usually associated with children's activities, Huizinga, Fink, and previously Schiller, arrive at a pedagogical reevaluation of play. They elevate and describe it as a wholly serious activity, wherein apparent dualisms between freedom and rules, seriousness and playfulness, reality and fiction are transcended, without sacrificing the profoundly aesthetic quality of play, materialized in the beauty of the participants' actions.

Play becomes an inclusive third entity (transversal third) with respect to these grand dichotomies that characterize it, understood as a moment of synthesis, surpassing every antithetical aspect that might seem to define it. Given the vastness of the worlds encompassed by the word "gioco," I sought empirical evidence to support my thesis by delving into the world of football, the one I know best. Considering that life is a representation, and so is play, the stage on which the theater of life unfolds is the stadium. Similar to the Shakespearean theater of the 1600s, today's stadium is a place where actors and spectators are integral parts of the same spectacle, which, in turn, is a match within the match.

In that theater, both Hegelian and Kantian beauty coexist: the former idealized by the playing field, which becomes beautiful through its use, and the latter sublimated by the beauty of actions that defy the laws of nature. In the stadium theater, the ideal beauty and the sublime find their harmony and balance. In those actions, which find their raison d'être in precise timing, the wonder that fills the eyes of the viewers is nourished, while simultaneously preserving the mystery of the game, thus representing its purest essence.

A save by Buffon and a goal by Messi become the final representation of a much longer and intricate process. However, in the game, it often happens to encounter the figure of the "guastafeste" (spoilsport).

The spoilsport is an individual (or a group of individuals) who undermines the essence of the game by withdrawing from it, pulling out of the play, revealing its fragility and mystery. Sports, especially the world of football, have suffered over the years from many attacks by "poisoners" and "plaguers" who have destabilized the system and its foundations, making it waver, and in severe cases, risking its collapse, leading it towards disintegration. The same attacks have been directed at the use of spoken and written language, which is mistreated and abused on social media and TV.

We have emerged from these attacks and scandals thanks to the beauty of the actions of its protagonists. A save, a dribble, an illuminating pass, or simply a goal.

Professor Givone, in this regard, stated that "Football ceases to be a game the moment someone behind the scenes uses it, manipulates it, controls it, and rigs it for other purposes. Clearly, a rigged game is no longer a game."

As Franco Toscani rightly argued, "we find ourselves, or are strongly at risk of finding ourselves, in the absurd and horrible situation of no longer conceiving any alternative to rigged games and, therefore, accepting rigged games as the only games possible for us." The normalization of any cheating, the lack of moral scruples, and a supine resignation to the existing evil seem to have reached an extreme point today. Perhaps we all need to relearn the sense of individual and collective adventure, the candor and passion of the game, its beauty, and purity.

This is why we are all involved in football scandals and risk losing ourselves as individuals: the stakes are not just about football but also about our way of being and living. Moral survival and civil ethics are at stake in these events.

It is not only about the game of football but also about the entire existence and civil coexistence.

Rethinking football means, among other things, reconsidering the relationship between play and existence, giving the game its relevant role without reducing all of existence to mere play. There is no identification between play and existence; instead, there is an osmosis, intertwining, and chiasmus. The way one plays implies a certain way of living and conceiving existence, just as the way one conducts their life involves a particular approach to playing and understanding the game.

If someone were to place football at the center of the world, deluding themselves that by doing so they could erase or forget the dramas and contradictions in which humanity struggles, they would do a great disservice to football itself. Football would be attributed with undeserved prerogatives it doesn't possess. No game can erase or diminish the weight of the unavoidable pain of existence. Even those who, morally and ideologically, refuse to indulge even for a moment in the pleasure of sports and only focus on the tragedies of humanity would deprive themselves of appreciating and experiencing the significant playful dimension of life, with disquieting consequences for the dark and serious meaning attributed to their own life and relationships with others.

The "dream of a thing" for us is, therefore, football removed from football-related idiocy, the vulgarity of some fans, corruption, and pollution that threaten to suffocate it. It's football conceived in harmony with other activities, modalities, and spheres of existence, brought back to its original source, its nature as a game filled with adventure and the joy experienced by children who once played endlessly in suburban fields. Borges is right when he claims, "Every time a child kicks a ball on the street, the history of football is reborn there."

However, to save football and its ideals, we also need, and above all, individuals capable of fighting the system from within, creating a new scale of values with which to confront and, if possible, prevail.

"The beauty will save the world" (quote by Fyodor Dostoevsky).

Thus, from the ashes of that footballing Phoenix, the great masters of our time were born: Ancelotti, Guardiola, Mourinho, and Conte. Coaches, but also philosophers, aesthetes, and idealists of a new football, even though interpreted with diametrically opposed schemes and principles. Different ways of interpreting football, but one common goal: these coaches have focused, and continue to focus, their work and attention on creating that common goal, which is the well-being of the team. But what does it mean to be part of a team?

Living in a team prioritizes the absolute acceptance of a system of rules. These rules, as mentioned earlier, while limiting individual freedom on one hand, ensure the survival of the individual within the group and of the group itself. True freedom lies in the choice to self-limit. This concept is very similar to what Hobbes proposes in Leviathan, illustrating how a state comes into being. This is why the stadium becomes a microcosm of representation, a stage from which to continuously receive stimuli.

Football creates an event, and from this event, to say it in Heidegger's terms, philosophy has the task of grasping its provocations and dedicating a proper reflection to them. If we were to focus on one concept, among all the possible ones, the most important would be that of choice.

"I play and continue to play because I have chosen to do so. Even if it is not your ideal life, you can always choose it. Whatever your life is, choosing it changes everything." (Andre Agassi, Open)

Among all the possible choices within a team context, the role that best embodies the ability to choose is that of the goalkeeper. In the goalkeeper, the three life models proposed by Kierkegaard coexist. The enjoyment of the goalkeeper lies in catching the ball precisely at the moment in time, and throughout life, they chase that moment. In this pursuit, they develop an increasing awareness that leads them to reaffirm their choice every single day, in every single training session, even after the pain of making a mistake or facing a defeat. To coexist between the joy of the moment and the boredom of repeating the choice, the goalkeeper transcends themselves in a path of self-faith.

The work on the field, to become a good goalkeeper, becomes a journey very similar to the one that leads to being good human beings. All goalkeepers who return to the field, especially after disappointment, are nothing more than individuals who focus on and challenge their fears, taking responsibility for the situations that life places in their path.

"Then those lives that, despite their fragility, take on the problem have meaning. Those lives that ignore the problem, as if they lived in the time of blessed innocence, have no meaning." (Givone - Metaphysics of the Plague)

To choose such responsibility and understand what must be challenged, it is absolutely necessary to know the language, the very language that was the initial driving force of this entire reflection.

Language is what distinguishes, defines, and names, drawing things into the domain of the spirit. Language allows us to give names to life and our experiences because, through it, we name things, some very simple, others very complicated. Naming is precious for all; we give names to things to defend ourselves from them. If we did not know how to name them, we would not know what they are. If we could not name them, we could not accept them or, conversely, challenge them. Naming is essentially choice. Choosing is a matter of taste, and as taste, it's about beauty. Naming and playing intersect there, in the realm of aesthetics; in the profound value of beauty.

Conclusion

Can the beauty of the game save the world? It's a grand challenge, in some ways utopian, devoid of materiality, yet rich in substance. Philosophy and psychology are disciplines that cannot be measured and, as such, only offer suggestions that, in the happiest of cases, give birth to ideas. These ideas, in turn, have the power to ignite other ideas.

Philosophy, composed of φιλεῖν (phileîn), "to love," and σοφία (sophía), "wisdom," i.e., "love for wisdom," is a field of study that raises questions and reflects on the world and humanity. It explores the meaning of being and human existence, attempts to define nature, and analyzes the possibilities and limits of knowledge.

From this endeavor and the awareness of its own limitations, we can say that philosophy is the mother of all sciences and, as such, it is our responsibility to approach this inquiry with determination, awareness, and the responsibility to move towards solutions that often turn out to be nothing more than new questions. Only logic helps and guides (at least initially) our conclusions, articulated on a rough syllogism ranging from Kant to Socrates.

Kant said, "Beauty is a symbol of moral goodness." Socrates argued that "he who knows what is good cannot do evil."

Therefore, to conquer chaos, it becomes evident that we need to recreate an aesthetic sense in humanity, allowing for an initial openness and dialogue on a logical and, in its highest form, aesthetic level. In this domain, the actions of individuals and the resulting beauty become moments of inspiration, aesthetic sharing, and ultimately salvation, with the primary purpose of conceiving and recognizing the beautiful in order to do good.

The playing field thus becomes one of the best arenas in which to practice, on one hand, accepting rules and responsibilities, and on the other hand, exercising the contemplation and practice of beauty through the beauty of the game.

Education in choice and practice lead us out into the world, helping us recognize what is beautiful and just, as well as what represents evil and, even more culpably, its trivialization.