The Sunday News
BARRY Daka is undoubtedly one of the football legends in this country, and a former Highlanders’ son, who has an unending story. With a quiet and unassuming demeanour, those who have known him both as a player, a Bulawayo City Council employee and coach, will testify that the man is full of knowledge and passion for the game.
For his generation, Daka, arguably is miles ahead in terms of documenting and implementing his plans. He commits to the game fully, his sense of humour and great respect for others are a cut of the highest order.
He came to our newsroom last month where he had a chat with Sports Editor Phineas Mukwazo (PM).
Excerpts of that interview?
PM: What can you say about the current happenings at Highlanders and the turbulence that threatens to engulf the club?
Daka: Am here to talk to you about football. And Highlanders is just one of the football teams in Zimbabwe.
PM: Then what can you say about the current state of football in general in this country, and how can it evolve?
Daka: Football is all about junior development, and realisation of that can also be helped by the serious involvement of former players. They (former players) should get involved in football development. After all, they are experienced, and that (experience) you don’t buy. Remember that experience is attained after long periods of playing football. (But) it is common everywhere that people who did not play football have found themselves at the helm. And that former footballers are not always eager to assume new roles in the sport once they leave the game. They (former players) are now spectators, in a game that gave them fame, and in some instances, fortune. Many people think football is easy, that’s why you get many chancers in football nowadays. The results are there for everyone to see, the standards are on a free-fall, period.
PM: What should be done then in that regard to arrest the freefall?
Daka: For example at school and in the early stages of the development of the child in the schools system we need pre-school teachers taking charge of early learning. They have got the knowledge earned over the years. Just as in football, one should have played it early in order for one to successfully pass on that knowledge, learned over the years. Football development starts from the grassroots, but we have been ignoring that, and now we are paying the price at both club and national levels. Former players should be encouraged to get into football and arrest that situation, if we are to catch them young. Catching them young should be the concept, the idea, the trick, and the ultimate yardstick for success. Ask any successful player current and past, they will tell you that they started playing the sport when they were still young.
PM: But are former players well equipped to be involved in football at a higher level even without any requisite coaching courses?
Daka: I think the former players should attend relevant courses in order to add on to the knowledge earned after many years of playing soccer. Even those who are still playing should undergo such training in order to equip themselves for the future.
PM: You were once employed by the Bulawayo City Council as an assistant sports officer. Do you still think the city council is still doing enough in sports?
Daka: Firstly we should thank BCC for their vision of investing in sporting amenities and facilities, where many of us honed our skills. We should thank the likes of Mtshena Sidile, Jimmy Ncube, Mike Ndubiwa, and the housing and community services department that came up with facilities that nurtured many stars in this country. Those (sporting facilities) should be revived; the structures are there which would make it easier to do so. The idea was then to curb child delinquency. What is happening on the ground now is sad, children have nothing to do. Beer and drugs are now the order of the day.
The city council built and organised youth centres for sports and cultural activities. There was money and people at those youth centres. Many players are a result of Tshaka Youth Centre in Makokoba even during our days. There was Thabiso Youth Centre and a lot others in Matshobana, Sizinda and so forth. It was like what Europeans call academies now. That is why we had great players. It will be hard to emulate that but we are hopeful of success in that regard in future.
PM: Do you have any players you groomed from Makokoba who went to Tshaka Youth Centre?
Daka: There are plenty. All the players that graced Highlanders and represented the greater Bulawayo with pride and honour, one way or the other came from these structures. They are a product of that system. Players like Makheyi Nyathi (late), Gift Lunga Senior, Adam Ndlovu (late), Nkululeko Dlodlo, and many others came from there.
PM: Is this why Highlanders is struggling to produce that type of player today?
Daka: No one can say much about Bosso at the moment but I want to talk about the system that worked but was abandoned and the facilities are now white elephants. Stanley Square was home to all theatre and we saw great boxing matches there. It’s all just good memories now.
PM: Do you have any siblings who play soccer?
Daka: Yes, but many people know my boys, Mayfield and Billy. They played for Highlanders and Railstars.
PM: You were once based in Botswana, What were you doing there?
Daka: I went there to coach Premier League teams Notwane, Centre Chiefs, Police XI all in Gaborone and Francistown-based Tafic which I won the championships with. I was also involved with a youth development programme with Happy Hearts Academy, for a club that was playing in the League but had shifted focus on development. It was a well-funded and ambitious programme for nurturing talent.
PM: When was your defining or breakthrough moment as a footballer?
Daka: I played in schools and in the youth clubs that participated in Bafa leagues. I then played for Highlanders in 1965 at a difficult time before the team was promoted into the First Division. We played in Matshobana, Sizinda and all around the City of Bulawayo. That is why people always talk of Highlanders playing at Greenspan. I went on to play for Wankie, and won the 1973 Castle Cup while we were in the First Division.
PM: Then you came back to Bosso?
Daka: I came back to Bosso but the times were challenging and all the football in the then Rhodesia was in turmoil. In 1976, the RNFL (Rhodesia National Football League) championship had to be decided between Highlanders and Dynamos because they were equal on points. There were problems with money and politics. We wanted to play football despite all the problems we had. We formed Olympics where I was the first ever player-coach after undergoing coach training under experienced expatriates like Billy Asbury. That is the group that had the likes of Peter Nyama and Shepherd Murape.
We were sponsored by Archer then and playing in the breakaway Southern Region Football League because of the unfairness of the mother body. So it was well for a moment until independence when the NRFL and SRFL came together to form the Super League. Only 10 teams from each region were permitted and Highlanders being in the Super League did not allow us to join as it would seem there were two Highlanders teams.
PM: But then, who was Supersonic?
Daka: At a later time Archer stopped their sponsorship and we were being bankrolled by Supersonic that is all. It was just the same team but different sponsor. We had players like Boyce Malunga, Marko, Itai, Tito Paketh and the like. I won the Castle Cup with Wankie while in the First Division, and the formation of Olympics in 1976 becoming the first player coach. There are many.
PM: Some fond memories in football?
Daka: Yes, like coaching Highlanders, the national team and national Under-23. I coached Railstars, won silver at the All Africa Games with Grabowski in 1995. It has been a satisfying football journey for me.
PM: Any regrets.
Daka: One cannot live a life of regrets, no matter the mistakes you may make. I have always tried to be very positive and learn from the wrong decisions I have made. Otherwise, I could not be where I am. There are so many things I could have done differently but I have enjoyed reasonable success as a player and a coach.
PM: Who was your best coach to work with?
Daka: A lot of fantastic guys. I worked with Roy Barretto, Rahman Gumbo and Cosmas “Tsano” Zulu. They were all different. Tsano was a physical condition specialist; Roy came from a different background and was a motivator, while Rahman had his playing experience. So it has always been learning from everyone and getting to use each other’s experience.
PM: What do you think of the game today?
Daka: The game has become scientific. While it is an art, it is now philosophical. Usually, people say PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT, which is wrong. PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT and it becomes permanent damage if done wrongly. This is why I think youth programmes must be revisited like when we had youth clubs. At this rate football is going down but there is hope. We have the material. Yes, we have human resources and the facilities. All that is needed is the money. Youth developmental programmes such as the one at Barcelona and Real Madrid are the backbone of former world champions, Spain.
