Peter Ndlovu should have played against Angola
By Sizani Weza
My limited experience in non-professional football shows that victory requires more than just skill.
First, football is the only sport where a 0-1 defeat can be a positive result. Second, it is also one sport where changes to the original plan may be required in the early stages of the proceedings. Zimbabwe’s national football team needed that in Angola last Sunday.
I am not sure whether the Warriors- as the soccer team is known- went with that in mind only to realize their shortfalls on the second count a little late- conceding one more goal than was required of them to proceed to the AFCON 2013 tournament in South Africa.
Since February 2011, I, along with fellow American Embassy staff, have been involved in part time club football management working with out of school youth in Alexandra Park and Belgravia. The football team, which is popularly known as the Obama Boys, tackles opponents in Harare and surrounding communities. With luck, we get qualified referees for our matches and we have come to realize that the mindset is the same across qualifications.
I watched the Angola- Zimbabwe match at my boss’s house where I had joined five other families for a Sunday afternoon braai. Nothing surprised me as the match progressed. And judging from the expressions of the few individuals that chose to watch the second half with me, it appeared the cameras, the referees and everybody was biased against the Warriors. Were they?
As the 90th minute approached, it became apparent that had it not been for luck we would have conceded more goals. Were the Zimbabwean players psyched for celebrations in a stadium filled with a hostile Angola crowd? Did the coaches decide on the right level of authority during the match?
My experience with the Obama Boys shows that winning a match is more than the amount of skill you put on the field of play.
A day before the Angola match, the Obama Boys partook in a 22 team tournament organized by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR). Obama Boys have played ZLHR twice before- drawn one (one all) and lost another (1- 4). And interestingly, in a semi- final draw none of the Obama Boys officials attended (not of ZLHR or OB’s making), we were drawn against them. No Obaman fancied a victory over a team that has been our bogey side in the past.
Bruno Brian, Obama Boys coach on the day, Lameck Bizali, an ebullient disciplinarian, and I brainstormed on a strategy. We needed the right message before and during the match. But more importantly, we needed authority on the field of play. And guess how? I had to play a part on the field of play. We could have gone technical and fielded the best youngsters to tackle the aggressive lawyers. But skill alone is not enough to win soccer matches.
I have watched Barclays English Premier League matches on television and I understand the important role authoritative figures play in the eventual result. They influence they referee’s decisions on many small things which include determination of how much optional time the referee adds to a match; a call for a foul or a dive e.t.c.. The small things add up and the victory or defeat you needed can be easily lost in the blow of a whistle.
Our strategy nearly did not work as we conceded a late penalty that would have cancelled our 1-0 lead. Luckily for us, the goalie saved and the referee decided against optional time. We won!
Instead of young skillful players, had Peter Ndlovu been in the field of play- the result would have been in Zimbabwe’s favour- my hypothesis! sizani.wordpress.com
