By Lot Chitakasha
I have been reading a number of articles recently in which former players have been complaining bitterly about the failure by their clubs to give them roles. Leading the charge sheet was former Arsenal captain Patrick Viera who accused long serving manager Arsene Wenger of deliberately sidelining former players of the club.
He accused his former manager of failing to tap into the vast experiences garnered by former players to inspire the current crop of players. His partner in that awesome midfield department at the turn of the century, Emmanuel Petit concurred with his former captain.
He even went as far as accusing Wenger of lacking respect for those who served the club so well. The purpose of this paper is to investigate if a role can be found for former players at their clubs. I will use a few examples from Europe but as usual my main focus will be Zimbabwe.
In Europe, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and to some extent Real Madrid, AC Milan and Inter Milan are renowned for bringing their former sons to work in one capacity or another at these clubs. They either come in as junior coaches and more so as head coaches or managers.
Currently Ajax have Marc Overmars, Dennis Bergkamp, Frank De Boer in their coaching set up and Edwin Van Der Saar as Marketing manager. The trend started with Johan Cruyff who can rightly be considered as the god father of the Ajax football philosophy.
Barcelona has also tended to rely on their former sons to carry the club forward. Again, Johan Cruyff set the ball rolling, playing and then coaching the club in the process shaping their playing philosophy. Other legends who picked up the torch include Frank Rijkaard, Pep Guardiola and current coach Louis Enrique. Other European powerhouses try to accommodate their former legends as well.
Let me stretch the Arsenal argument further. Veira in his interview appealed to Arsene Wenger to bring back former greats so that the current crop of players can benefit from their vast experiences. For reasons best known to himself, Arsene Wenger has been reluctant to bring back his former stars to work in some capacity at the club.
Even when the opportunity has presented itself, the manager has let it pass. For example, when Viera decided to come back to England after a stint in Italy many concluded that he would rejoin Arsenal to wind down his career before joining the coaching department.
To everyone’s surprise, he ended up at Manchester City leading the academy. Why did Wenger let this opportunity slip, does he feel threatened? Only Arsene can answer these questions. Another case is that of Thierry Henry another club legend who was given a role with the juniors so that he could acquire his coaching badges.
The moment he criticised Wenger and expressed the displeasure and frustrations of the fans, Wenger gave him an ultimatum. Resign from the Sky Sports punditry post or leave the junior coach role.
Obviously, Henry knowing where his bread is buttered decided to give up the coaching role. It is clear that the manager does not take well to criticism and maybe that explains his reluctance to bring in his former players. Those who have been brought in like Steve Bould do not seem to contribute much in terms of coaching input.
One can also question why legends like Tony Adams, Dennis Bergkamp and David Seaman among others have been kept at arms length despite their vast experience in the game. Like Emmanuel Petit said in his interview, it is good to build statues for former players but they should also feel they can go back to the club to make some contribution.
At Manchester United, an attempt was made to find roles for Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt but this did not last. The incoming managers, starting with Van Gaal, quickly dispensed with the latter two’s services. When Jose Mourinho was appointed he quickly followed suit and made it clear that there was no role for Giggs.
Through those managerial decisions, a combined seventy five years of experience were lost, these were people who knew the club in and out and surely a role could have been found for one of them. If there is one legend who is not welcome at this great club, it is former captain Roy Keane, not if Sir Alex Ferguson has a say in it. This is because of the bluntness which is the hallmark of his speaking style.
One can go on and on about current managers and clubs who are not so welcoming to their former players. In fact, a current manager at a club might have a love hate relationship with the former sons of the club. I remember well that Van Gaal felt these former legends were unfairly criticising him especially those working in the media. This alone will make it difficult for a manager to bring these former sons home when the opportunity arises.
It still remains a mystery why clubs in England are so reluctant while clubs in Europe are so welcoming. At national level this is also the case with Germany and Italy leading the way in involving former greats in the coaching and administrative structures of the game. In England, all the legends end up in punditry.
What about in Zimbabwe? Are former legends recognised enough to get some roles at their former clubs.
At Dynamos, there has been a sustained attempt to accommodate former sons in the coaching structures of the club. In fact, it is an unwritten rule that only former players can coach the club except for that ill fated experiment with Portuguese gaffer Silva.
This is guided by the belief that the former sons have an in depth understanding of the club and are therefore more able to share there passion and knowledge with the current crop of players. But if the truth be told, not all sons are equal. Others are given numerous opportunities to coach the team while others are hounded out of the club after a short term. Others still are waiting for their turn.
Like at all football clubs, the choppy waters of football politics have to be managed carefully and former sons who try to stick to their principles find it hard to survive. For example, Moses Chunga wanted to promote young players when he was coach but the powers that be wanted immediate success, they lacked the patience of his long term vision. He was fired midstream. Elvis Chiweshe refused to buy into the behind the scenes practices at the club because of his Christian beliefs and he had to leave.
Another football giant Highlanders have tried to keep the former sons involved in the club. Coaches like Madinda ,Willard Khumalo ,Methembe Ndlovu, Rahman Gumbo, Barry Daka, Amin Soma have all had a crack at the coaching role. Others like Gift Lunga Junior continue to work with the juniors. Other former players have had some administrative roles and in this I have Netsai Moyo and Ernest Sibanda in mind.
Caps United have also tried to give some roles to their former sons. Currently Lloyd Chitembwe and Fungai Kwashi are the coaches while Alois Bunjira until his resignation recently was the publicity officer at the club.
However it remains a mystery why legendary captain Joel Shambo was never given a role at the club and he had to cut his coaching teeth at Blackpool together with Friday Phiri, another club legend. Goal king, Shacky Tauro did have a stint but not for long.
I still wonder why another legendary captain Joe Mugabe was never given an opportunity at the club. The fans expected it to happen when Rahman Gumbo was appointed coach. Surprisingly the new coach dispensed with Kode’s services, echoes of the Giggs story. The legend had to move to newly promoted Sporting Lions who were owned by music guru Thomas Mapfumo. He was player coach and saved the club from relegation.
At Black Rhinos, one of the fallen giants of Zimbabwe football former sons have continued to contribute. Currently, Stix Mtizwa, Fanuel Nyamukapa and Gift Makoni are the coaches and they have a great chance of getting promoted. It is my hope that these legends will bring back the clubs former glory.
It is an accepted fact that not all former sons can have a role at a given club. Others will have to seek pastures anew. A joke is told of how the inimitable Moses Chunga once declared that he does not want to end up like Nesbert Saruchera who only coaches Black Rhinos. Like all things that Bambo says in jest, there is an element of truth in this although to his credit, Nesbert has also coached Flame Lily.
What I feel strongly about is that former legends must be welcome as and when they visit their clubs even as fans. It is sad to read of former players being mistreated and harassed as they try to gain entry into stadiums to watch their former clubs.
Henry Chari the former Dynamos defensive pillar was once denied entry into the stadium by the marshals, marshals who lack an iota of respect for former greats. The treatment of George Shaya, a club legend who is treated like a leper by those who currently run the club is heartbreaking. Fans are nostalgic, they respect their legends and they expect clubs to continue showing this love to their heroes.
It is true that former legends are still in love with their clubs and would like to continue this relationship. From Manchester United to Dynamos, legends should be welcome, not all of them can have roles but the least the clubs can do is to show the love.
