Our number one passion is soccer. So what
is wrong with South Africa’s
number one passion?
We
speak passionately about soccer at schools; at the bus/taxi depots; at the
sport’s bar; at religious gatherings and every other conceivable place and yet since South African has become a
democratic country we are very, very far from this passion and rate very poorly
in the soccer rankings in both Africa and in
the world rankings. So what are the reasons for our poor showing?
In the last three years, Bafana Bafana, Banyana
Banyana and every other selected South African team which included the Under 23
and Under 17 bombed out in world competitions in the first round. Bafana Bafana
recently did us all a disservice when they actually celebrated a draw with Sierra Leone
with the anticipation that they had qualified for the 2013 African Nations Cup.
The coach Pitso Mosimane actually had the gall and arrogance to tell the
South African public that he had instructed his players to play for a draw.
Which coach in his right sense would tell his team to play for a draw when
soccer is about winning games? Some newspapers were so ironical in their
reports that they said that Bafana Bafana were far better in the skills of
dancing and celebrating than showing off their football skills.
Our Under 23 South African side and Banyana
Banyana will shortly be competing in the World Olympic Games. They would
definitely have all South Africans waving the flag and supporting them
passionately. However, on a more realistic note, they would be going into these
tournaments with the same failed formula as the national teams of the past
three years which makes success in these games a distant second.
SO WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG ABOUT OUR FOOTBALL?
On a very positive note, South African players
are very highly skilled hence we find a number of these gifted players plying
their trade overseas with world class players. There has also been a vast
improvement in the fitness of local players. Another key factor of improvement
has been the inter-change of passes which has seen much more fluidity
especially in the mid-field area which is often regarded as the engine room. It
is also noteworthy that players do not hang onto the ball with the idea of
showing off although there are still a few players who play to the gallery
rather than for their teams.
On the negative side, however, there are a
number of factors which coaches are disregarding and not making mental or
written notes because players are making the same mistakes week in and week out.
Majority of the passes in the matches are
“hospital passes”; “suicidal passes” or “accidental passes” resulting in passes
moving to and from the opposition in quick succession. Very rarely will
spectators see three or four well executed passes being strung together by one
side.
Players are clearly ignorant of the purpose
of the arc at the 18 yard box and because of their ignorance of this very
important area; no set pieces are really executed.
Deep squares from the bye-line are non
existent and when they do occur, they are done so accidentally. Players from
the flanks are continuously placing their crosses in “busy traffic” area
instead of playing the ball diagonally across the goal mouth where there is
hardly any “traffic”. These passes are
seen regularly in overseas football with a number of goals being
resulted.
While players do not hang onto the ball,
they still take a while before they release the ball to fellow players. The
player without the ball is far more important than the player with the ball because
he is the one creating space. Every time a player gets the ball, he should have
a choice of at least three players to pass the ball.
The ball should only be played into the air
if a player is under pressure from the opposition. Goalkeepers also play the
ball into the air and the same applies to players taking corners or free kicks.
Other than the above the ball must be played on the “carpet”. When a player
kicks the ball into the sky, he hopes and prays that the ball reaches his
team-mate. There is a 50/50 chance that the ball would reach his team-mate and
a mine magnate like Mr. Motesepe would definitely not like to see his R100
being halved because of the stupidity of someone else.
There are some brilliant local players who
possess outstanding skills to play in top flight overseas football but are
being ignored because of their selfishness. One example of such a talented
player is Teko Modise who can shoot powerfully and with great accuracy. He is
swift off his feet and has a knack of being at the right place at the right
time. This was clearly evident in his earlier days at Orlando Pirates. The
problem with this player is that Teko plays for Teko and not for the jersey on
his back and it is clear no one in the management is advising him of what a great
player he can be.
He
thereafter unleashed a tremendous left foot into the far end of the goalmouth
and out of the reach of the Mexican keeper to record one of the best goals of
the tournament.
In the match
between Bafana Bafana and Sierra
Leone. You would notice that “Shabba” was
again on his favourite left flank but this time on the edge of the arc and with
ample time to do exactly what he did in the World Cup against Mexico. Alas
and to the disappointment of all our fans, “Shabba” does not get his upper body
over the ball and does not kick the ball to the far end of the goalmouth as he
so brilliantly had done against Mexico.
Instead, he kicks the ball to the near post and over the goalmouth. Maybe, this
would explain why overseas coaches are ignoring this very talented player.
Consider the crowds at local matches and
you would notice that with the exception of Kaizer Chiefs and to a lesser
extent, Orlando Pirates and Celtic you would not find more than 3 000 to 5 000
spectators in huge stadiums when other teams meet each other and what is the reason
for the dismal turnout -- poor quality football week in and week out.
Consider all the facts above and let me
know what are your feelings about our number one passion – football.
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