W HEN Mamelodi
Sundowns coach
lambasted the
showboating by Bidvest Wits players in the MTN8 Cup final last weekend, he was labelled a sour loser and called all sorts of names.
Social media professors went ablaze and reminded us how big a crybaby Pitso Mosimane really is.
They slammed the outspoken coach for criticising showboating, something they reckon is the DNA of Mzansi football.
Mosimane’s main gripe was when Xola Mlambo, Sifiso Hlanti and Daine Klate started doing tricks with the ball
towards the end of the match when Wits were cruising to a 3-0 victory.
“They played well, they
deserve it, but I don’t like the show and I spoke to Keagan Dolly, I could see he was going to lose it,” Mosimane said after the match.
“Last season we got 71 points, we were 14-15 points ahead of Wits, we scored five there, four there, we were professional the whole year, we passed the ball around, we can also turn on the show.
“That’s not nice because
Keagan lost it and I could see Ricardo Nascimento was going to lose it.
“I said guys, accept it, otherwise, if we don’t accept it, we’ll be bad losers and all that, but I’m a little bit unhappy with that,” Mosimane added.
I know for a fact that small-minded soccer followers are
going to hammer me for agreeing with Mosimane.
I’ve written before that I believe one-sided showboating is just a silly show for the feeble-minded.
I grew up in the townships, watching amazing
dribbling skills and productive showboating. I’m a fan, but . . .
Doing showboating when the other team is defeated and deflated is an act of cowards.
Why not turn it on at the beginning so that the other team can respond and take you on as well. This would afford fans to see an exchange.
Back in the day, players like Vusi “Computer” Lamola
entertained the crowd from the first whistle.
Straight from the center-line kick-off, Lamola used to stand on the ball and wave to the crowds. That set the tempo for a humdinger as players from the opposing team couldn’t be outdone.
From start to finish, it was an exchange of tsamayas, shibobos and vula-valas – fans couldn’t sit down as they chanted and celebrated throughout the match.
What we’re seeing these days is that teams wait for their
opponents to be down and out and then toy with them as if they’re door mats – that smacks of disrespect and can anger opponents.
If we still had rough-and-tumble players like Bernard “Shoes’ Lushozi, we’d see a lot of broken limbs and shattered ankles.
I love flair, but let’s use it to create goals.
Let’s also use the skills to remove the buses that are parked in front of goals – otherwise it looks plain silly and foolish watching grown men flipping, caressing the ball and jumping up and down without purpose.
