From vilified to loved: What can we learn from a footballer’s transformation?

Something strange has been happening in recent weeks at my favourite football team Tottenham Hotspur, the English Premier League side better known as Spurs.

It involves the remarkable turnaround of Moussa Sissoko, a 29-year-old midfielder whom virtually every Spurs supporter has vilified since he signed for the club in August 2016 for a then club record fee of 30 million pounds.

Sissoko’s story holds lessons on resilience, teamwork and dealing with criticisms for everyone, football fan or not.

It is evident to anyone who watches football that Sissoko, for all his speed and power, does not possess the silky skills of other Spurs midfielders such as Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen.

British football writer Jonathan Liew got it spot on in a recent column on Sissoko’s unlikely revival: “He always looks so utterly startled to have the ball at his feet.”

The statistics don’t lie: Sissoko hardly creates goal-scoring opportunities, and has scored only two goals in 95 appearances for Spurs.

But the months-long criticism and abuse from Spurs fans suddenly stopped in late October, when Sissoko put in a series of man-of-the-match performances to help Spurs win six consecutive games.

Fans started signing his name, and Sissoko must have pinched himself blue in the face to make sure he was not dreaming.

So what’s behind the player’s transformation, and what can we learn from it?

First, it pays to take criticism in your stride and dig your studs in.

Consider what Sissoko went through.

He signed for Spurs on the back of playing a key role in the French national team’s runner-up finish in the European Championships in 2016.

But some believed that based on his record at his former club Newcastle, his performances for France were aimed at securing a lucrative club move and once he got that, he would cruise along until it was time for another move or contract negotiations.

His five-year contract with Spurs that reportedly pays him 95,000 pounds a week makes him one of the club’s top earners.

But his rather average performances over a prolonged period of time raised questions on his motivation and why the club’s highly-regarded manager Mauricio Pochettino continued to field him.

Pochettino has in turn defended Sissoko, pointing out that his power and pace provided balance in the team’s transitions from defence to attack, and vice versa.

“There is no other player in the team who can provide that. He has been one of our most important players,” said the manager earlier this year.

Needless to say, Spurs fans were not exactly convinced then and they were hardly surprised that France did not call up Sissoko for June’s World Cup.

The player missed out on football’s most coveted prize after Les Bleus went on to lift the trophy.

If I were Sissoko, I would be pretty upset.

Yet, through it all, Sissoko has refrained from responding to fans’ criticisms or abuse.

Instead, he continued to train hard to convince Pochettino that he is still a useful part of the squad.

That is not only professional, but classy. And there are lessons to be learnt from his attitude on and off the pitch.

"I think he's a very honest, professional player," said Pochettino, a stickler for discipline and teamwork who has shown star players the exit door for poor attitudes.

This brings me to a second, related point.

Sissoko never gave up trying because he knew he had the trust and support of his boss and teammates.

It is easy for organisations to throw their managers and employees under the bus at the first sign of trouble, or when the heat gets too much.

This was even more so in Sissoko’s case, given that for over two years, many supporters had called on the club to cut its losses and sell him.

Instead, the manager and club stuck by him and are now reaping the benefits of a player not only in form, but who has won over the fans.

"Even the best players in the world sometimes can have a bad moment, but I try to stay positive,” said Sissoko in late October. This was after a man-of-the-match performance in a league match against West Ham, where he set up the winning goal and got a standing ovation from fans.

“When you get criticised, you have to take it positively and try to train more and give more on the pitch,” he added.

"I knew all the players and staff were always behind me, and when I had the opportunities to play, I've tried to do my best.”

The lack of bitterness against the fans likely won more of them over, and it goes to show that even when public opinion is against you, you can work at turning it around.

In over three decades of supporting Spurs, I can’t recall any player who has managed to transform his fortunes like Sissoko.

Another record signing – striker Roberto Soldado – was sold in 2015 at a 16 million pound loss after two years of unconvincing performances.

To be sure, Sissoko has not suddenly turned into a master dribbler or a Lionel Messi.

But he has set up a few goals in crucial matches and lifted the team with his drive, finally showing that his power and pace can be an asset in a team of more skillful players.

Which brings me to the third point: A team is often more than the sum of parts, including less well-oiled ones like Sissoko.

Of course, Sissoko’s form will not last forever.

But I reckon fans will not be as quick to jump on his back again.

Some of his team-mates have lauded him for “showing a lot of  character”, with defender Ben Davies expressing “delight” that Sissoko is “getting the credit and plaudits he deserves”.

And here’s the final point about Sissoko’s transformation: Know your strengths and limits.

We sometimes turn green with envy when we see our colleagues or friends do well, without realising that we are all different.

“I don't try to be someone that I'm not, I just try to be myself, and I try to do what the manager wants for the team and what he wants from me personally,” said Sissoko in early November.

Days later, he earned a recall to the French team for the first time in over two years, eventually coming on as a substitute in matches against Uruguay and Holland.

Hardly anyone would have seen that coming a few months ago.

And that just goes to show how hard work and perseverance can pay off.