KKR's Mike Horn says that issues crop up in the IPL because of the money on offer

Motivator and explorer Mike Horn’s status in sports is so legendary that there is a mystical air accorded to him these days. What is common between India’s 2011 Cricket World Cup triumph, Germany’s 2014 Football World Cup triumph and Kolkata Knight Riders’ unbelievable 9-match winning run on way to the IPL 7 triumph? Mike Horn, who simply talked to the players of these winning squads.

It can never be known what pearls of wisdom Horn imparts to the sportspersons who have so much success under his watch, but he had some insight to offer before leaving KKR’s IPL 9 camp on the basic differences between footballers and cricketers.

The 49-year-old told The Telegraph that the basic difference between German national footballers and KKR cricketers was the approach towards the game. He implied that the footballers were playing more out of love for the game than the cricketers, who were more professional in their approach.

He said, “Internationally, some of the German footballers are really big superstars, possibly even bigger than the top cricketers I've worked with. No disrespect to anybody and I must not be misunderstood, but I thought the footballers came across as great human beings and honest. They stayed humble right through, all for a reason - to win.”

He seemed to be saying that IPL cricketers start out for their love of the game, but later lose their way in the mire of professionalism and money that is on offer in the high-pressure league.

Germany’s attention to details makes IPL look like primary school: Horn

Horn said that money was a crucial factor in how individual players as well as the team functioned.

“Money was never part of any discussion for the footballers. It was neither a problem for them nor the reason why they were playing for Germany. If you go back in time, sport wasn't played in a professional environment. People played for the love of sport. Later, when professionalism grew, people got paid. When money becomes bigger and bigger, then issues crop up.”

Horn did not elaborate on the ‘issues’ that he had seen cropping up, but it was clear that he felt that money was a deterrent to how he usually aims to make a player perform at his best.

He also said how football teams had more control over how they functioned. He implied that there were a lot more external factors at play when it came to how a cricket team ran itself.

Recalling his days with the German team, he said, “They trained when they wanted to, ate what they wanted to. They were their own masters.”

He also suggested that this autonomy helped teams bring out their best. “Their attention to detail makes the IPL look like primary school. Everything that could have been done was done.”