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verification. (September 2023) |
"2â0 lead is the worst lead" is a clichĂ© [1] used in sporting contests, [2] [3] to describe the situation in which one team is leading by a score of 2â0, causing them to become complacent. [4] The phrase is most common in association football, where it is sometimes applied only to the scoreline at half-time. It is sometimes also encountered in other sports where 2â0 is a moderately large lead, such as ice hockey.
The underlying concept is that, a team which is leading 2â0 will be complacent [5] and have a 'false sense of security' in their lead. [6] If the trailing team then scores to make it 2â1, the leading team can panic and concede further, resulting in a draw, or even a win for the other team. In contrast, a team which is leading 1â0 will tend to concentrate and play with intensity to protect or extend their narrow lead, whilst teams leading by three or more goals have a sufficiently large buffer that comebacks are unlikely.
The cliché may be invoked by coaches to encourage their players to maintain effort levels after obtaining a two-goal lead. [7] It can also be used in broadcasting, such as by a commentator or studio pundit, to suggest that the final result is still in doubt, thereby maintaining audience interest in a game.
There is little evidence that 2â0 is the worst lead in practice. In association football, a team leading 2â0 at half-time only goes on to lose the game in about 2% of cases. [8] In ice hockey, statistics show that if a team builds a two-goal advantage, they go on to win the game in the majority of instances, and that a one-goal lead is far more dangerous. [9] As a result, the clichĂ© is often used in full knowledge that 2â0 is not in fact the worst possible lead. [10] [11]
The clichĂ© was popularized by Czech football coach and television commentator Josef CsaplĂĄr in the Czech football community. His use of the term suggested that a 2â0 half-time lead could only end in a defeat and the clichĂ© is known in the Czech Republic as CsaplĂĄr's trap ( Czech: CsaplĂĄrova past). [12] [13]
In Serbia, the clichĂ© is known for being used by manager and former player Milan ĆœivadinoviÄ. [14]
The cliché was also used by Australian former player and TV broadcaster Johnny Warren. [15]
In Poland, the clichĂ© 2-0 to niebezpieczny wynik ( Polish: 2-0 is a dangerous result) has been popularized by coach CzesĆaw Michniewicz since at least 2005. In 2022 media used this clichĂ© in connection to a game that Poland national football team, managed by Michniewicz, failed to win despite leading 2â0 against Netherlands national football team. [16]
Television pundit and former England international footballer Gary Lineker questioned the clichĂ©'s veracity during a 2016 match between Bournemouth and Liverpool while the latter were 2â0 ahead. [17] On that occasion, Liverpool did surrender both a 2â0 and 3â1 lead to lose 4â3. [18]
At some stage in the previous twenty minutes, in the TV gantry not far from us, Johnny Warren had no doubt uttered one of his favourite truisms: that 2-0 is a dangerous lead. It breeds complacency, he liked to say. The Socceroos didn't need reminding - now.
This article needs additional citations for
verification. (September 2023) |
"2â0 lead is the worst lead" is a clichĂ© [1] used in sporting contests, [2] [3] to describe the situation in which one team is leading by a score of 2â0, causing them to become complacent. [4] The phrase is most common in association football, where it is sometimes applied only to the scoreline at half-time. It is sometimes also encountered in other sports where 2â0 is a moderately large lead, such as ice hockey.
The underlying concept is that, a team which is leading 2â0 will be complacent [5] and have a 'false sense of security' in their lead. [6] If the trailing team then scores to make it 2â1, the leading team can panic and concede further, resulting in a draw, or even a win for the other team. In contrast, a team which is leading 1â0 will tend to concentrate and play with intensity to protect or extend their narrow lead, whilst teams leading by three or more goals have a sufficiently large buffer that comebacks are unlikely.
The cliché may be invoked by coaches to encourage their players to maintain effort levels after obtaining a two-goal lead. [7] It can also be used in broadcasting, such as by a commentator or studio pundit, to suggest that the final result is still in doubt, thereby maintaining audience interest in a game.
There is little evidence that 2â0 is the worst lead in practice. In association football, a team leading 2â0 at half-time only goes on to lose the game in about 2% of cases. [8] In ice hockey, statistics show that if a team builds a two-goal advantage, they go on to win the game in the majority of instances, and that a one-goal lead is far more dangerous. [9] As a result, the clichĂ© is often used in full knowledge that 2â0 is not in fact the worst possible lead. [10] [11]
The clichĂ© was popularized by Czech football coach and television commentator Josef CsaplĂĄr in the Czech football community. His use of the term suggested that a 2â0 half-time lead could only end in a defeat and the clichĂ© is known in the Czech Republic as CsaplĂĄr's trap ( Czech: CsaplĂĄrova past). [12] [13]
In Serbia, the clichĂ© is known for being used by manager and former player Milan ĆœivadinoviÄ. [14]
The cliché was also used by Australian former player and TV broadcaster Johnny Warren. [15]
In Poland, the clichĂ© 2-0 to niebezpieczny wynik ( Polish: 2-0 is a dangerous result) has been popularized by coach CzesĆaw Michniewicz since at least 2005. In 2022 media used this clichĂ© in connection to a game that Poland national football team, managed by Michniewicz, failed to win despite leading 2â0 against Netherlands national football team. [16]
Television pundit and former England international footballer Gary Lineker questioned the clichĂ©'s veracity during a 2016 match between Bournemouth and Liverpool while the latter were 2â0 ahead. [17] On that occasion, Liverpool did surrender both a 2â0 and 3â1 lead to lose 4â3. [18]
At some stage in the previous twenty minutes, in the TV gantry not far from us, Johnny Warren had no doubt uttered one of his favourite truisms: that 2-0 is a dangerous lead. It breeds complacency, he liked to say. The Socceroos didn't need reminding - now.