The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube Sports Correspondent
FOOTBALL clubs now and again have the opportunity to replenish their squads with many always opting for “big name stars’’ and experienced players. Many clubs have been ruthless on the market doling out a lot of cash. The resultant “star studded” teams become the talk of the footballing community, with high expectations, especially from their owners and supporters.
Hopes rise, fervour goes up, with many preparing for celebrations even before the ball is kicked, while others look forward to the new season with hope, glee and excitement.
Some boast about their team’s envisaged exploits, and perhaps a happy season ahead.
However, in most cases at the end of the season, there will be gnashing of the teeth, as many mourn what should have been a fruitful season, but that never was.
There have not always been successes among the teams that could have snatched the “perceived” top players on the local scene.
Although, the club may still be rated among the best, it always falls short of the expected levels, a clean sweep that never was, perhaps one major trophy or nothing.
Clubs such as the defunct AmaZulu, FC Platinum and Highlanders have at one point or another assembled what was then termed a “star-studded outfit” but failed to match the expectations created by signing on good players.
The then “cash rich’’ AmaZulu then owned by Bulawayo businessman Delma Lupepe, managed to clinch the league championship in 2003, but success came after several attempts. But success came at a huge expense to Lupepe who outbid other clubs, forking out huge signing on fees, and salaries to several star players that included Ronald Sibanda, Esrom Nyandoro, Sageby Sandaka, Costa Nhamoinesu and Norman Komani among others.
FC Platinum also came onto the scene in 2011 with a huge kitty that earned them the nickname Moneybags as they smashed transfer records paying huge sums of money with former Highlanders’ star midfielder, Joel “Josta” Ngodzo being reportedly signed on for a record $65 000, but the club could only manage to take the title race to the wire against eventual champions, Dynamos. The seasons that followed were lean times for the club.
After receiving additional funds from sponsors BancABC to sign up players last year, Bosso brought in a record 13 players, among them returning players such as Rahman Kutsanzira, Josta, Charles Sibanda and Kudakwashe Mahachi. However, it was a disappointing season for the Bosso faithful, as the team finished outside the top four.
But there were exceptions when then newly promoted Black Rhinos, went on a looting spree, to come up with a collection of stars that won them the scudetto in 1984 in their first year of top flight football.
While the jury is still out on why these heavily and expensively assembled teams always flop, football pundits heaped blame on bringing in big name stars without looking at their strengths, and weakness. They also loaded it on the coach’s failure to instil the clubs’ playing philosophy and culture into players’ heads.
Veteran coach Cosmas “Tsano” Zulu said building a team should be done with positional purpose in mind and not just the “best” players and that tactics and style of play also had a huge bearing but always overlooked when a club decided to bring in big names.
“When you have money you are tempted to buy all the best available but the question in football will be; does the best fit into the team? Again the club’s tactics and style of play can affect a footballer’s performance on the field of play. A right back may be required to make inroads upfront on the right wing at another team while at another he will be asked to remain at the back thus impacting on how he performs,” said Zulu, who has been at AmaZulu and Highlanders, among other clubs.
Tsano said failure to inculcate the club’s philosophy into a footballer was the major reason players flopped, while a coach may fail to come up with good combinations from the pool of players that would have been brought in resulting in poor team performance.
Zulu’s views were echoed by former Mighty Warriors coach Benedict Moyo who said bringing in a player without instilling the club’s philosophy was disastrous.
“It is obviously tempting to bring in a player because he was playing well at his previous club but if a team buys Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and their style of play involves using long balls then he (Messi) would be bypassed as he does well in a short passing style of play.
“Orientation is critical because the player will be moving to a different team but sometimes a player just arrives and is expected to do wonders like he has been doing for his previous team but it does not work that way, a footballer has to be schooled in the ways of the club,” said Moyo.
Sportscaster Charles Mabika said it needed a strong coach to control players’ egos and there were few gaffers in that mould.
He said sometimes it will take time for a team to gel but once a club assembled the best footballers, supporters would want immediate results.
“It is unfortunate that patience is a virtue with our local supporters and they want their teams to come up with immediate results but sometimes that is not possible as time is needed to ensure the players read each other well,” said Mabika.
Zulu added it was also important for coaches and clubs to first make sure the player went through an orientation programme before donning that club’s jersey while a coach could also identify leaders within the team and closely work with them.
“When AmaZulu won the championship in 2003, I was called in with six games to go after the club’s 12 point lead was reduced to three points by Highlanders and what I did was work with individual players to psyche them up and make them believe in themselves again, a tactic which is lacking among local coaches,” he said.
