Talent, Desire or both?

[safe hands 01]

I was having a dicussion earlier about the above. I think that in order to be succesful at what you want to do (incuding sport) you have to have both of the above, my girlfriend and unlce however think that and i quote ' desire is needed to gain talent'.

I dont think that the above is true, in my honest opinion i beleive that talent you either have it or you dont. No amount of desire will 'give' you talent.
I do see however that desire is a key factor in being the best that you can be, however to say that you can be the best in the world by just having desire, i think is foolhardy. Surely if person A was extremely talented at soccer, and had same desire as person B who wasnt as talented but did have the desire to be the best, it is in my opinion that person A would still acheive more than person b.

So my belief is that the two work together, desire alone wont take you to the top, nor will just talent, you have to have the two to succeed.

Moreover i feel that in order to be the best of the best, it is in my humble opinion that you need to have everything perfect, i.e. the right physicality, the right mentality, the talent to succeed the desire to push for your dreams.

Feel free to berate me.. :D

[johan neeskens]

I think its pretty safe to say that without talent you can't get a career in pro football. Without desire you can't either though. I'm sure there are lot more talented Dutch players around than Kuyt and Van Nistelrooy who unlike them two find themselves plastering walls right now. Kuyt and Van Nistelrooy are of course talented, but probably not as talented as a number of other players of their generation who never made it. Maybe there's a talent in having that desire?

When I think of Twente talent Collins John it's just a case in point. He had, and even has, more talent as a striker than Kuyt, Huntelaar and Van Nistelrooy put together but he's made a mess of it all. Perhaps passion is not the right word for it though. It's being a well grounded individual what you need to be if you want to become successfull as a footballer.

[Antonio81]

I was having a dicussion earlier about the above. I think that in order to be succesful at what you want to do (incuding sport) you have to have both of the above, my girlfriend and unlce however think that and i quote ' desire is needed to gain talent'.

I dont think that the above is true, in my honest opinion i beleive that talent you either have it or you dont. No amount of desire will 'give' you talent.
I do see however that desire is a key factor in being the best that you can be, however to say that you can be the best in the world by just having desire, i think is foolhardy. Surely if person A was extremely talented at soccer, and had same desire as person B who wasnt as talented but did have the desire to be the best, it is in my opinion that person A would still acheive more than person b.

So my belief is that the two work together, desire alone wont take you to the top, nor will just talent, you have to have the two to succeed.

Moreover i feel that in order to be the best of the best, it is in my humble opinion that you need to have everything perfect, i.e. the right physicality, the right mentality, the talent to succeed the desire to push for your dreams.


That right there sums it up, to play football at the highest level, everything is taken into account. I do think an untalented player with an enormous drive can make it as a professional (think hardman/midfield workhorse,) but the legends always combine amazing talent with a tireless work ethic.

[Soccer Mastermind]

Without a shadow of a doubt, desire is a must. Talent is a bonus and one that some players neglect. Having played the game for over 25 years I've seen talented players resort to nothing. I've seen ambitious players that are driven with little talent even play in the Premier League.

Talent is another word for potential. It means nothing unless you fulfill your destiny of the big time.

To answer your question, with no desire you will inevitably end up with no talent. Talent if not used and exploited through desire cannot be seen as talent at all.