At Bayern Múnich in 2018, Niko Kovac asked his players to do 30 extra minutes on the exercise bike after every training session. James Rodríguez refused. “I’m not going to the Tour de France, I’m a football player”, he explained himself in a documentary.
Erling Haaland thinks differently. In another clip, the Norwegian says that even when he does not feel like training, he does it anyway: he tells himself he is not tired, because he knows it is good for his body and mind.
An X user, Jules EDF, put both videos together and the result surpassed 2 million views. The timing could not have been worse for James: he said goodbye to the 2026 World Cup without goals or assists in five matches, while Haaland scored 7 goals and took Norway to the quarterfinals. Two ways of understanding football, the same tournament, opposite results. Which one do you prefer?
And this is why we are never going to win anything. Until we change that mentality pic.twitter.com/alVsRTt87a
— Jules EDF 🎮⚽ (@JulesEDF) July 8, 2026