Gunslingers to the very end
SOME 10 matches before the end of the Absa Premiership season and I already know who the coach of the season should be. Damn, I can already even tell you my choice for team of the season.
It has to be Kosta Papic and his Polokwane City, surely?
And no, I am not saying it because they are my hometown team ... Far from it.
But have you watched this team play?
Don’t they remind you of your days as a youngster playing on the streets?
I watch City and I am transported back to the days when we used to play just to see who can score the most goals. Defending was not even in our vocabulary as we all wanted to play in the opposition half. It was great fun. And isn’t what this game should be all about? Entertainment for the paying crowd as well as for the protagonists themselves?
Granted, at a level as high as the Premiership, a coach has to include a modicum of defensive stability in his team. But damn, why spoil the fun for the spectators by bothering yourself with stopping the opposition from scoring when all you want to do is score more than them?
That’s Papic’s philosophy at City. And while it has backfired badly in some instances, it has made for some fascinating watching for us the fans.
In the past fortnight City were involved in some exciting matches against both SuperSport United and Orlando Pirates that could easily have produced rugby-like scores.
Granted, they lost both, but it wasn’t because they were out-played, for they too created ample scoring opportunities and could have won those matches. And then Papic goes on after every match to promise that his team will continue with their gun-slinging style, as he reasons, even if you sit back you’re still going to lose.
And I totally agree, better to lose trying to win than get defeated while attempting to avoid the very same loss as most of our coaches often do.
Since he joined City from Chippa United early in the season, the former Pirates coach has imbued the Limpopo side with this incredible sense of belief that they can take on anyone and beat them.
And it is this attack-minded approach to their matches that sees them being the league’s second highest scorers with 30 goals, only one behind Orlando Pirates.
Yes, they also leak them as evidenced by their boasting the league’s worst defensive record with 37 goals conceded. But Papic is not bothered by that. For one, City are unlikely to find themselves in the relegation play-offs like they were last season – thanks to their gung-ho approach to matches.
With a little bit of a defensive structure, this City side has the potential to bring back the excitement to the game, and bums on stadium seats.