Overcomers
Unleashing the Assets of the Underdog
OVERCOMERS
Unleashing the Assets of the Underdog
Life Lessons from the Beautiful Game
Tony Bryce
Series Creator & Head Coach
TACTICS® — Wisdom from the Beautiful Game
Originally written in 2021 • Revisited through a 2026 coaching lens
EVERY UNDERDOG HAS A TEAM
Some of the most memorable moments in the beautiful game happen when the team nobody expects to win does exactly that.
The unfancied side.
The newcomer.
The team with fewer resources.
The team without the history, reputation or star names.
They walk onto the pitch against established opposition and almost everybody thinks they know how the story will end.
Then the whistle blows.
And something unexpected happens.
The underdog competes.
Perhaps they frustrate the favourite.
Perhaps they create chances.
Perhaps they discover something about themselves.
And occasionally, against the odds, they win.
Those moments remind us of something important.
The team with fewer resources isn't necessarily a team without resources.
And that's where I want to begin.
Not with what you lack.
Not with everything somebody else has.
Not even with what you need to acquire.
But with a question:
What might you already have going for you?
1. KNOW THE FIXTURE
What Are You Actually Up Against?
Being the underdog means something.
Perhaps the opposition really does have greater experience.
More money.
Better facilities.
More influence.
A stronger reputation.
Greater knowledge.
Better connections.
A longer track record.
More people.
Perhaps the odds genuinely favour them.
Acknowledging that isn't negative thinking.
It's reading the game.
There is little value in pretending two teams are equally matched when they aren't.
But there is an equally important distinction:
Probability isn't certainty.
The favourite is expected to win.
Expected.
The fixture still has to be played.
TOUCHLINE QUESTIONS
What makes you the underdog in this particular situation?
What advantages does the other side genuinely have?
Which of those advantages matter most?
Which are you perhaps exaggerating?
And what does the league table not tell us about you?
Don't minimise the challenge.
But don't enlarge it unnecessarily either.
Read the fixture as it is.
2. KNOW YOUR TEAM
What Have You Already Got?
When we feel outmatched, our attention naturally goes towards what the other side possesses.
Their experience.
Their reputation.
Their resources.
Their contacts.
Their achievements.
Their confidence.
Their apparent head start.
The danger is that while studying their team, we forget to look at our own.
So before asking what you need, let's take inventory.
THE UNDERDOG INVENTORY
What do you know?
What can you do?
What have previous experiences taught you?
Who is in your corner?
What relationships can you draw upon?
What resources do you already have?
What have difficult seasons developed in you?
Where are you particularly resourceful?
What can you do differently because you're smaller, newer or less established?
What do you understand that the favourite might not?
And perhaps most importantly:
What are you overlooking because it doesn't look impressive enough?
A resource doesn't have to be enormous to be useful.
A small team can be agile.
Limited finances can encourage creativity.
Lack of reputation can create freedom to experiment.
Being new can bring fresh eyes.
Being overlooked can give you room to work quietly.
Experience of struggle can develop resourcefulness.
Close relationships can create extraordinary team spirit.
None of those guarantees victory.
But they're assets.
And assets can be played.
CONCEPT FROM COACH
Don't confuse having fewer resources with having no resources.
3. PLAY YOUR GAME
Don't Try to Become the Favourite
One of the easiest mistakes an underdog can make is trying to play the favourite at their own game.
If they have greater resources, copying their resource-heavy strategy may simply expose your disadvantage.
If they have decades of experience, pretending you possess the same experience doesn't help.
If their reputation opens doors automatically, your route may need to be different.
The question isn't:
“How do I become them?”
It's:
“How do we play well with what we've got?”
Football gives us countless examples.
A team without towering defenders might avoid relying on aerial battles.
A team without elite technical players might develop exceptional organisation.
A smaller team might play with speed, togetherness, intensity or unpredictability.
The point isn't that one style is inherently better.
The point is:
Play the game your team is equipped to play.
TRAINING GROUND
Complete this sentence:
“We may not have __________, but we do have __________.”
Then ask:
How could we put that second thing into the game?
That's tactics.
4. THE UNDERDOG ADVANTAGE
What Freedom Does Your Position Give You?
Being unfancied isn't entirely comfortable.
But it can contain unexpected freedoms.
The favourite often carries expectation.
They're supposed to win.
People are watching.
Reputation is at stake.
Previous success creates a standard that must be maintained.
The underdog may carry a different burden.
People aren't necessarily expecting victory.
That can hurt.
But it can also create freedom.
Freedom to experiment.
Freedom to learn.
Freedom to surprise.
Freedom to play without protecting a reputation.
Freedom to introduce something unconventional.
Freedom to enjoy the occasion.
Freedom to ask questions the established team stopped asking years ago.
TOUCHLINE QUESTION
What can you do because you're the underdog that might be harder to do if you were the favourite?
That's worth thinking about.
Your disadvantage may contain an advantage.
5. UNDER THE RADAR
Not Being Seen Isn't Always the Same as Having Nothing to Show
The 2021 version of this article called one underdog asset “under the radar.”
I still like it.
Sometimes you're working and few people are watching.
No headlines.
No applause.
No queue of investors.
No great reputation.
No guarantee that anybody important will notice.
That can be frustrating.
But unseen seasons aren't necessarily wasted seasons.
You can train there.
Experiment there.
Make mistakes there.
Develop skills there.
Build relationships there.
Strengthen systems there.
Discover your game there.
The spotlight isn't the only place where development happens.
TRAINING GROUND QUESTION
What could you quietly become better at while nobody is paying attention?
Then work on that.
Not because someday everybody must notice you.
But because development still matters when nobody is watching.
And if your opportunity eventually arrives, you'll have something to bring onto the pitch.
6. TODAY'S FIXTURE HASN'T BEEN PLAYED YET
Perhaps you've faced this opposition before.
And lost.
Perhaps repeatedly.
History matters.
It gives us information.
But history doesn't play today's fixture.
You do.
Instead of bringing only the memory of previous defeats into today's encounter, bring the learning from them.
What did those games teach you?
Where were you exposed?
What worked?
What didn't?
What would you recognise earlier now?
How have you developed since?
How has the opposition changed?
How have the conditions changed?
VAR CHECK
There is a significant difference between saying:
“I lost last time.”
and:
“I learned something last time.”
One carries only the result forward.
The other carries information.
The result is history.
The learning can still play.
7. WHEN THEY UNDERESTIMATE YOU
Sometimes stronger opposition will underestimate the underdog.
That's their decision.
You don't need to correct it.
If somebody's assumptions about you cause them to prepare poorly, overlook your strengths or become complacent, that's information you can use.
But there's a warning here too.
Don't build your identity around being underestimated.
You don't need somebody else's low expectations in order to perform.
And you don't need to spend the entire fixture trying to prove them wrong.
Their opinion is theirs.
Your game is yours.
COACHING QUESTION
What would you do differently if you stopped playing for their approval?
That's a more interesting game.
8. WHO ARE YOU PLAYING FOR?
The desire to prove people wrong can be powerful.
Someone doubted you.
Someone said no.
Someone didn't invest.
Someone didn't select you.
Someone decided you weren't ready.
And perhaps part of you wants nothing more than to succeed and make sure they see it.
That energy can get you moving.
But be careful about allowing it to become your permanent fuel.
Because if your critics remain the reason you're playing, they're still influencing your game.
Try this question:
If there were nobody left to impress and nobody left to prove wrong, would this goal still matter to me?
If the answer is yes, you've discovered something much stronger than revenge.
You've discovered ownership.
Play because the goal matters.
Play because the opportunity matters.
Play because development matters.
Play because this is your game.
9. CONFIDENCE WITHOUT PRETENCE
“Believe in yourself” is easy advice to give.
It's harder when you're walking into a fixture where the evidence appears to favour somebody else.
So rather than trying to manufacture confidence, look for evidence.
What have you already done?
What have you survived?
What have you learned?
What skills have you developed?
What preparation have you completed?
Who believes in you?
Where have you handled something similar before?
What do you know now that you didn't know twelve months ago?
Confidence doesn't require pretending the opposition isn't strong.
It can simply mean:
“I know what I'm bringing onto the pitch.”
DRESSING ROOM QUESTION
What evidence do you already have that you belong in this fixture?
Write it down.
Sometimes we need reminding of our own team sheet.
10. STAY OPEN TO LEARNING
The underdog has another potentially powerful asset.
You may still be learning your game.
That can feel like weakness when you're comparing yourself with someone established.
But it can also make you adaptable.
Curious.
Experimental.
Coachable.
Willing to change.
The danger of success is that yesterday's winning formula can become tomorrow's unquestioned assumption.
The newcomer hasn't accumulated as many assumptions.
So ask questions.
Try things.
Review what happened.
Learn from people who know more.
Keep what works.
Discard what doesn't.
Develop your own game.
CONCEPT FROM COACH
Being inexperienced means you have things to learn. Being experienced does too.
The advantage belongs to whoever keeps learning.
11. WHAT WOULD A WIN LOOK LIKE?
This may be where my thinking has changed most since first writing this article in 2021.
Back then, the underdog story naturally ended with toppling the favourite.
And sometimes it does.
Those are wonderful moments.
But winning isn't always that simple.
Suppose you compete against someone far more experienced and lose narrowly.
Was the fixture worthless?
Suppose your small organisation pitches alongside an established name, doesn't win the contract, but gets noticed and receives another opportunity.
Defeat?
Suppose you attempt something beyond anything you've previously done and discover capabilities you didn't know you possessed.
Loss?
Suppose the fixture exposes exactly what you need to develop next.
Nothing gained?
The scoreboard matters.
But it isn't always the only measure.
PRE-MATCH QUESTION
Before the fixture, ask:
What would a good result look like for me?
Victory might mean winning.
But it might also mean:
Competing well.
Learning.
Being seen.
Building confidence.
Developing relationships.
Discovering weaknesses.
Gaining experience.
Earning another opportunity.
Surprising yourself.
Or simply having the courage to step onto the pitch.
Define the win before somebody else's scoreboard defines it for you.
WHEN THE FAVOURITE WINS
There is something else the underdog needs to hear.
Sometimes the favourite wins.
In fact, that's why they're called the favourite.
Greater resources matter.
Experience matters.
Expertise matters.
Preparation matters.
Opportunity matters.
Connections matter.
Infrastructure matters.
And sometimes you can play extremely well and still be beaten by somebody who was better equipped for that particular fixture.
That doesn't make the underdog philosophy meaningless.
And it doesn't make you a failure.
Read the game.
What did the fixture reveal?
What would strengthen your team?
What needs development?
What should you continue doing?
What isn't worth changing?
What opportunity might come next?
You don't need to turn every defeat into a motivational slogan.
Sometimes you lost.
Learn what can be learned.
Then decide what you want to do next.
THE INTERNAL OPPOSITION
Sometimes the most influential opposition isn't standing across the pitch.
It's the voice saying:
You don't belong here.
They're better than you.
People like you don't do this.
You're going to embarrass yourself.
Wait until you're completely ready.
Those thoughts deserve examining rather than simply obeying.
Ask:
What evidence supports this?
What evidence challenges it?
Whose voice is this?
What would I attempt if I didn't automatically treat this thought as fact?
Sometimes external opposition is formidable.
Sometimes the internal opposition is giving it additional players.
Don't fight yourself unnecessarily.
YOUR UNDERDOG TEAM SHEET
Before you leave, take another look at your team.
Not theirs.
Yours.
THE FIXTURE
What opportunity or challenge am I facing?
THE ODDS
What genuinely makes me the underdog?
MY ASSETS
What do I already have going for me?
MY EXPERIENCE
What have previous fixtures taught me?
MY PEOPLE
Who is in my corner?
MY DIFFERENCE
What can I do precisely because I'm not the favourite?
MY GAME
How can I play to my strengths rather than imitate theirs?
MY DEVELOPMENT
What would make me better equipped for this level?
MY WIN
What would a good result look like?
MY NEXT PASS
What's the next useful thing I can do?
Now you have something more useful than simply telling yourself to believe.
You have a team sheet.
OVERCOMERS
Perhaps overcoming isn't always what I once thought it was.
Sometimes overcoming is the giant-toppling victory.
Celebrate those occasions.
But sometimes overcoming means walking onto the pitch when you weren't expected to be there.
Competing.
Learning.
Growing.
Returning after defeat.
Finding another way.
Using what you have.
Refusing to allow somebody else's assessment of your chances to become your assessment of your worth.
And occasionally discovering that you had more going for you than you realised.
So if you're the underdog in the fixture ahead, don't begin by wishing you had somebody else's team.
Look again at yours.
There may be experience there.
Relationships.
Creativity.
Resourcefulness.
Learning.
Character.
Energy.
Freedom.
Possibility.
And perhaps a few assets that haven't yet been brought into the game.
The underdog may have more on the pitch than the scoreboard suggests.
Find out what you've got.
Decide what the fixture requires.
Play your game.
And make your next pass.
Tony Bryce
Series Creator & Head Coach
TACTICS® — Wisdom from the Beautiful Game
Setting you up for the game of your life.
Originally written: 6 February 2021
Revisited through a 2026 coaching lens
