Had Messi
been born here, we may not have seen him anywhere near the top leagues, never
mind winning any player award.
He is too
short. He is too small. He dribbles too much. He is too fancy. He plays street
football. He needs some gym work. This is showboating. There is too much short
passing. Are these statements familiar? This is where the rot develops, don’t
you think?
Had Messi
been born here, we may not have seen him anywhere near the top leagues, never
mind winning any player award. Would Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Xavi, Iniesta,
Suarez, Neymar, Aguero, Silva, and many others have played professional
football had they been born here? They all seem to fit the above criteria for
exclusion, which is generally used and accepted in our country and yet these
are the biggest names in world football today.
We are so
enslaved with gross physical attributes that we have almost forgotten about the
football brain - the playing intelligence. It is more likely in our country to
find players who are physically imposing getting better opportunities in our
game than those who show football intelligence.
Regrettably,
we still struggle against our African counterparts on the same physical aspect.
Where is the solution? Do you need more fire when the house is burning to stop
it from burning further down? Do you need more water when the house is leaking
to stop the leaks? When people scream, do you need to shout louder to get them
to keep quiet?
Has anyone
recognized the fact that the reigning world champions, Spain, won the
World Cup here in our country last year with one of the shortest teams? I will
not be surprised if this was the shortest team ever to win a FIFA World Cup.
Who are the
reigning FIFA world champions in women football? Are they tall? Are they big?
They are Japanese! DO you remember who they played against in the Final? USA of all
teams! Can you compare them physically and come to a logical conclusion about
the role of physical attributes in today’s football?
This
confirms the role of football intelligence over gross physical attributes.
Have we not
noticed the changes in The Laws of the Game in favour of skilful, dynamic and
creative play and players? So where do we get this notion of big, strong, tall,
etc?
But that is
unfortunately not where the rot starts and ends in our football…
Ever heard
of a nation that trains teachers for secondary schools and universities, but
does not train primary school teachers at all?
I know
there are secondary schools that do not pay attention to all the grades (8 to
11), but put all their effort in Grade 12 to be seen as achieving good results.
Maybe it works for the school, but not for the learners (and definitely not for
the country) who are expected to absorb all the information in less than 10
months of their last year at school.
In the long
run, the country will not have highly skilled citizens, but people with good
Matric results. Ask our Senior National Team players who represented us in the
FIFA World Cup in 2010.
That is our
football. We do not have any continuous program for Youth Football and yet we
are even boasting about offering a professional level/license. Sounds good,
doesn’t it? It is world class. “Thanks” to the Academy in Zimbabwe, there
is young talent in our Pro League. This is the Fingerprint Stage- where
Football Identity is established - The Youth Stage.
Now that
the coaches can coach players at a professional level, where would the same
players have been prepared for that high level? Who is responsible for their
development at young age? Where are their coaches? For the senior team coach to
get information about the young player, who does he speak to? Do these youth
coaches have the necessary qualification (their Level 3)? Are we not guilty of
putting the cart before the horse?
This is
similar to the rushed rules about having the quota system based on age for
different Leagues (Regional, Provincial and National First Division). It looks
good on paper, but in practice it is disaster. Where are these players prepared
for the intensive competition that they are expected to engage in? Who is
responsible for their development? Who trained those coaches who are supposed
to prepare the players?
What type
of training methodology are these young players exposed to for them to continue
developing beyond their youth stage? Why do we pretend to be surprised when our
Youth National Teams cannot perform at International Competitions? Over time
(which has arrived), why do we expect our Senior National Team to improve with
this kind of scenario at Youth Level?
We expect
our Youth National Team Coaches and Players to perform miracles. The current
examples of both our Under-20 in the COSAFA Championship and the Under-23 in
the African Olympic Qualifiers are living testimony to this illusion.
A big thank
you to the Ivory Coast Academy, our U-23 team gained the much needed
experience in Possession Football on Sunday 27 November 2001, in Morocco.
As for the
Under-23, the Egyptians beat us the very same day when our Senior National Team
drew with them. We did not lose that match on Saturday. It was lost in the
planning stage. Their decision to finish the AFCON Qualifiers with their
Under-23 team was always going to bear fruit. This is what they planned for and
this is what they are getting. As I said before, even at senior level, they are
already ahead of us at least for the next two World Cup cycles.
We can no
longer rely on the ‘incidental’ success that came at some point before. That is
not the reliable way for any nation to progress. We need to have our own plan
and stick to it.
Our
Football is indeed Anti-Football.
Many of us
are guilty, but will deny this fact. Very few of us are not.
By Zipho Dlangalala
Main picture supplied
by adidas Football
