Danny: He told the players when they're in the tunnel, to give them a bunch of flowers but wrapped in barbed wire.
Danny: I go back into the dressing room after the game, all the players are there singing, "Sadhguru, Sadhguru, Sadhguru."
Sadhguru: I was in… you know I went and spoke to the Everton Football Club.
Is anybody following English Premier League? Hmm?
So, that's one of the best leagues in the world, English Premier League, highest quality.
The best players play there. Now, the Spanish League is getting much better,
but still English League is – in terms of talent, it's great.
So,
last time when I was in Birmingham, a young man attended the program;
not the program, just a talk, evening talk.
Danny: So, I didn't know anything about Sadhguru. I've never heard of him until the day before.
And then just before he's about to speak, this energy just came into the room, it just hit me like a ton of bricks.
And he's standing there, this guy – this incredible guy and he starts speaking.
So, I went home and he was an incredible speaker, as you know,
incredible energy and it really had a big, big effect on me.
And so the next day, I’m thinking I'd love to get him in, to speak to the players.
Sadhguru is a big football fan and a big sports fan as you know.
So he agreed to come in and speak to the players and I was so excited.
So, the next morning – it was a Saturday, he was coming in to kind of meet the players and watch training.
And all of a sudden, I started to get very nervous.
Normally, I don't feel stressed but I was very stressed and nervous.
And the moment that I saw him, the feeling of panic that I had completely dissolved,
and I I felt completely at ease and at peace. And that's part of the impact that Sadhguru has on people.
Sadhguru: So, they took me to the Everton Football Club
and they wanted me to speak to the boys; they are stars in their own right.
The moment you enter a professional football league, you are a star in your own right,
because there's a certain talent there.
Then, with a couple of boys I kicked the ball around a bit and then I was to talk to them.
Danny: And he had his sandals on and his flowing robes and he was out there kicking the ball around with Jack Rodwell,
and it's just a very funny, funny sight and funny experience to have this Indian Guru here,
kicking the ball around with Premiership footballers.
So, that night, it was at the team hotel in Formby, we're about to play Liverpool in the Derby the next day,
and we'd not beaten Liverpool for years.
Sadhguru: So, I went, and they were training. See, when the football clubs train,
they are under the manager’s whip and its very rigid and things are going through paces
because the next day they are playing a big game, a very big game with Liverpool.
Liverpool has really fabulous stars – Torres, Gerrard,
These are kind of people who can change a game individually, single-handed.
The manager is putting them through the paces, and you know the usual things and running up and down.
They don't want to put them through too much stress the previous day,
they’re just enough to keep them limbered up.
So, I went there, I said I just want to be there and observe, and I was just there.
Danny: So, he comes into the room in his robes and the players are sat there,
and I noticed immediately that the players, all of a sudden, they just got this... like they calmed.
Normally, a lot of them can't sit still but they completely sat still
and were completely present and calm and peace kind of came into the room. It was an incredible experience.
Sadhguru: And from being, "Okay', to slowly they became like (Gestures), like this.
Because they thought some religious preaching is going to come.
I just asked them a simple questions and made them look at the game in a certain way.
I'm not trying to teach them soccer, they know how to play soccer.
But how to keep yourself – just this an-hour-and-a-half talk.
Next day I had special pass to go and sit in the box for the game and I went and sat for the game.
Danny: And one thing I remember is, he told the players, when they're in the tunnel
and regarding the opposition, is to give them a bunch of flowers but wrapped in barbed wire.
And I won't go into what he meant by that but it always stuck with me,
and I know it stuck with the players as well.
Sadhguru: One of their stars is Tim Cahill.
Tim Cahill is from Australia, and I saw this boy was just sitting there like this.
I said, “Today, when you enter the field, say nice things to the Liverpool players.”
He looked shocked, (Few laugh) “Say nice things to them?”
I said parti... he is a Forward.
So, I said, “Particularly, go to the goalkeeper and say nice things to him." (Laughter)
He looked like this, I said, “Yes, you do this and see.”
And I said, “Find out something about the goal keepers’ life.”
They said he had a daughter three months ago. I said, “Go and ask how his little daughter is doing?”
Just do it, and if he thinks it's a friendly...
In his mind, for a moment if he becomes friendly with you and slackens down for a moment,
a moment of slackness is what you need. (Laughter, Applause)
That's all the game is. (Few laugh) And the first goal, he scored. (Laughter)
And I saw him actually, you know, when they were introducing, he not only shook the hand,
he went to the goalkeeper and he tapped him on his chest and said something nice. (Laughter)
And within twenty minutes, he scored the first goal.
They scored one more.
And they dominated the whole game right through,
which was a huge surprise headlines in all the newspapers next day. They won 2-0.
Danny: I go back into the dressing room after the game,
all the players are there singing, "Sadhguru, Sadhguru, Sadhguru."
And it was one of the best days of my life.
And that evening on Match of the Day... Match of the Day was just starting,
and it was just panning around, and it comes on to Sadhguru because he had the Everton shirt on,
that Jags had given him and the commentator goes, "What? Here's an interesting gentleman."
Sadhguru: It is just that constantly Liverpool means you are overpowered,
overwhelmed by the reputation of the big players there.
Nobody's reputation is going to win any game or any situation, anywhere.
How you conduct this situation is how it's going to work.
I have a great reputation, but tomorrow you can make a fool of yourself, isn't it,
if you don't conduct it properly?
So, reputations are to be respected when you walk on the street.
Never to be respected or even considered when you are actually in the situation or the game.
Danny: So, the impact that Sadhguru had on the players was huge,
and he gave them meditation techniques like Isha Kriya. And I know that several of them still do it till today,
and several of them still follow Sadhguru, his talks, and he's a huge inspiration.
And hopefully, when this pandemic ends, we'll be able to get him back in here
and he can help a new generation of footballers succeed.