#59 - Notes on Ronaldo, Cricket and LaLiga

Education Coffee is a 2xWeekly Newsletter on People, Ideas and Culture.

In each edition of this newsletter, I will share some five web resources that I have curated after hours of research to ensure that you have the best education coffee in your inbox. In upcoming editions, I will focus on sharing insights, notes and realizations that I gather from people, ideas, books, films and podcasts. Please subscribe to this newsletter if you enjoyed reading this edition. We are now 92 subscribers strong!

1. Learning from People

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr and the Portugal national team. He is one of the most prolific strikers in the game. He has played for Portugal in 130 matches and has scored 212 goals in a 20 year career between 2003 to 2024 . He has played 701 matches and has cored 548 goals in a 22 year domestic career for clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al Nassr. I am a sports nerd and was delighted to find this overview of statistics from his career.

He recently started a Youtube Channel and shot to 37 millions followers (in Aug 2024) in a few weeks. I truly believe he has a lot to offer about the mental and physical sides of being a top athlete. I think he will publish interviews, short videos and opinion pieces about the world of football on this channel. Here is a glimpse of the content on his channel in this short video about how he handles pressures on and off the field.

He released a documentary called Ronaldo (2015) and my favourite clip from the film was this heart warming clip of some time he spent with his young son. He patiently puts him to bed, feeds him and is unconditionally present as a father. It is beautiful to see how committed he is to being a parent and to see this other side of him as a human being.

2. Learning from Ideas and Questions

Growing up in the public eye, multi-hyphenate creator Bryce Dallas Howard experienced the familiar pressure to share her life with the world on social media. But with her mother's steadfast guidance, Howard learned to set personal boundaries and savor the beauty of private moments. In this personal talk, she draws on three generations of family wisdom to remind us that "a private life makes a public life worth living." I learned a lot about the importance of protecting your private life in this TED talk. It also helped me understand the benefits and perils of having access to a global audience at the click of a button.

3. Learning from Books, Websites and Blogs

ESPN Cricinfo is my favourite website. I use it follow cricket scores, study cricket statistics, stay up to date with schedules, and to read long form pieces about players and important matches. It is an all in one site for cricket lovers and I cannot recommend it enough. Here is a glimpse of the website with screenshots of a match scorecard, player statistics and other features.

4. Learning from Films, Videos and Shows

LA LIGA All Access is an inside look at everything that happens in the Spanish Professional Football League through an 8 episode series about the 2023 - 2024 season. It delves into the minds and lives of players, coaches, fans and commentators associated with this league. A lot of people are familiar with teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona. I think this series does a great job to throw and shed light on other clubs in the league like Athletico Madrid, Sevilla, Villarreal, Real Sociedad, Girona, Athletic Club, Osasuna and more. I loved observing how different teams are fighting their own battles. Some teams are competing for top spots while other teams are competing to stay in the league. The fans adjust their expectations and wants based on team performances. I also loved observing how passionate the fans are about their home clubs and how persistent they are with their in person support at live matches in the stadiums. I binge watched the series in one evening and would recommend it to any football lover.

5. Learning from Podcasts and Music

I love the WTF podcast and am excited to recommend another episode in the series. In this episode we get a chance to look at three individuals and their journeys to build their unconventional careers. Nikhil Kamath interviews Kriti Sanon (actress), KL Rahul (cricketer) and Badshah (musician) about how they went about forging their paths in their respective careers. Kriti Sanon spoke about her bond with her parents, learning on the job and understanding the role of luck and hard work in your career. KL Rahul chatted about his love of cricket as a kid, the importance of practice and using data to improve his game. Badshah his love for music, exploring entrepreneurial pursuits and connecting with diverse audiences through his work. Lots more to learn in this 2 and half hour podcast and I would love to understand your insights and notes from this episode of the #WTFpodcast by @Nikhil Kamath.

Thank you for reading this edition of #EducationCoffee. I look forward to writing weekly editions of this newsletter this year. I hope to continue to share resources that will add value to your life. You can also review the archive of Education Coffee for free at this link (58 past newsletters). You can subscribe to this newsletter for more such recommendations on people, ideas and culture.

Please do send me your thoughts and resources on any edition of this newsletter through email at abhishekashokshetty@gmail.com, Linkedin or on twitter @AbhishekShetty_. You can find my work online at https://abhishekshetty.carrd.co/. If you would like to read pieces in the future please do consider subscribing to this newsletter by clicking the button below. I love taking these discussions forward on those platforms and look forward to hearing your feedback.

Abhishek Shetty