
The England football manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, believes that modern soccer matches are not won on the pitch, but inside people's minds. This film examines not just how Eriksson got inside his players' brains, but how he is now starting nothing short of a revolution in English football thinking. Eriksson's plan, devised with sports psychologist Dr Willi Railo, has two critical elements. These are to banish the crippling effects of the fear of failure from the minds of the England players, and to encourage them to train mentally as well as physically to reach the highest levels of performance - dubbed playing in 'the zone'. Neurologists and psychologists from some of Britain's most prestigious universities believe anxiety and the fear of failure can make top professionals turn in performances like amateurs, and that Eriksson and Railo have a way to help the England team endure the pressure. Their view is that England's football past has been dogged by fear of failure. Piling on pressure and relying on patriotism to get people to perform doesn't work when - at heart - it's just 11 footballers taking on 11. If players accept they could lose (and that it's alright when they do) then they'll be less nervous and less prone to what's called 'choking'. When sportspeople choke, familiar instincts are overwhelmed by pressure. Monitoring shows that people use different parts of the brain to perform actions which they are learning and those which are second nature. If the brain reverts to its learning mode, motor skills are constrained and that 89th minute penalty kick goes right over the bar. Visualisation is fundamental to making sure people play to their best at all times. As far the brain is concerned, there's little difference between practising a movement and just thinking through it. By thinking in advance just how intense the pressure could be, Eriksson's players can avoid choking when critical moments arise. Eriksson has a further psychological ace to play. For all his talk and motivation, he knows he's not there on the pitch. To carry his thinking onto the field, he relies on so-called cultural architects, players whose thinking is so close to his own that they do his bidding without even realising. The captain, David Beckham, is clearly one architect; the team keeps secret just whom the others might be. Sports psychology cannot predict whether England will win the World Cup. However, it does show that - for once - England are going into a major competition with an unprecedented degree of psychological preparedness, a critical advantage that the side has never boasted before. Thirty years of hurt may soon be over.
Title | Horizon - Season 39 Episode 13 : The England Patient |
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Alternative Titles | BBC Horizon |
Subtitle Available |
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First Air Date | 1964-02-04 |
Last Air Date | 2024-07-22 |
Number of Episodes | 1169 |
Number of Seasons | 60 |
Genres | Documentary, |
Networks | BBC Two, |
Casts | |
Plot Keywords | , |










Episodes List
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 1 Helike - The Real Atlantis Helike - The Real Atlantis
2002-01-10Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 2 Volcano Hell Volcano Hell
2002-01-17Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 3 Fatbusters Fatbusters
2002-01-24Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 4 The Lost Pyramids of Caral The Lost Pyramids of Caral
2002-01-31Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 5 Death of the Iceman Death of the Iceman
2002-02-07Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 6 Parallel Universes Parallel Universes
2002-02-14Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 7 The Dinosaur that Fooled the World The Dinosaur that Fooled the World
2002-02-21Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 8 The Fall of the World Trade Center The Fall of the World Trade Center
2002-03-07Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 9 Archimedes' Secret Archimedes' Secret
2002-03-14Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 10 The Mystery of the Jurassic The Mystery of the Jurassic
2002-03-28Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 11 Killer Lakes Killer Lakes
2002-04-04Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 12 The A6 Murder The A6 Murder
2002-05-16Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 13 The England Patient The England Patient
2002-05-23Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 14 Freak Wave Freak Wave
2002-11-14Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 15 Stone Age Columbus Stone Age Columbus
2002-11-21Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 16 Homeopathy: The Test Homeopathy: The Test
2002-11-26Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 17 The Day the Earth Nearly Died The Day the Earth Nearly Died
2002-12-05Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon Season 39 :Episode 18 The Secret of El Dorado The Secret of El Dorado
2002-12-19Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.