Take charge of your career!
Let’s focus our attention on the return of football, with the 2022/23 season having started this past weekend. We are hoping that this is going to be a great season with exciting football on display all around. We are also hoping to see individuals emerge and take charge. This is a season where we are also hoping that our striking force, which has always been a cause for concern, will improve. When we look at how our national team is doing, the striking force remains a serious concern, but it starts at club level.
I have watched almost every game played so far that was on television. Look, is it too early for one to have mixed feelings, to be judgmental or to be an observer? I’m asking this because in the coaching language, we are told that the game is a teacher. There is no way that you can judge or analyze without the game taking place. That’s the only time you can tell who is doing what and how. Yes, of course, we hear people saying it is still early days and all that, but from personal experience, there are no early days in this game. The game has evolved in such a way that back in the day, big teams would have a slow start to the season but still catch up with everyone and even overtake them to the summit at a later stage. The so-called small teams would dominate the first five or so game and then falter, so they were more like pacesetters in a race, with the big guns taking over.
When I look at the weekend’s results, considering the tight programme towards the end of the year, as the league will have to accommodate the Qatar FIFA World Cup by stopping games for over a month, it is not going to be easy at all. That means this is going to be a very tricky season and if your planning is not up to scratch, you will be found wanting. This is going to be one congested season and the new signings will be very crucial in adding value because there’s going to be a lot of things to be considered. There is going to be fatigue, suspension, loss of form and even mental challenges when things are not going according to the script. So, it will take proper planning and pedigree to get the job done despite the challenges. This is going to be a tight and difficult season for most of our teams, unfortunately.
When you look at the debutants from the different teams, only a few raised their hands to say they are here to stay and make a difference. You need players who will make it clear that they are here to protect their position and add value to the team. I always like to talk about something and demonstrate it with an example. The new Orlando Pirates striker, Eva Nga, scored on debut to help his team beat Swallows FC 1-0 at Orlando Stadium. This was a crucial original Soweto Derby and those who know
their South African football will tell you about the significance of this match. What stood out for me was hearing the player saying, in an interview, that he hopes Samuel Eto’o was watching the game because he wants to see himself in Cameroon’s World Cup squad. To me, that’s a player with a vision and mission! That’s a player with confidence and a player who knows what he’s doing and what he wants for his career.
If you have a player with that kind of an attitude, can you imagine how your team would be like if you had 20 such players? You would never struggle because they already have a fight within themselves and these minor things make such a meaningful impact in the team. We seldom talk about such, but I’m one of those who are always on the lookout for such. Here is a player who played for Chippa United, where the pressure, competition and expectations were not the same as at Pirates, looking to raise the bar even higher. His vision is to be part of the national team and I’m asking myself, when are we going to hear such from our own players? All we hear is the same, “It is going to be a difficult season… I’m impressed with the new signings…” from our players, but that’s not what we want to hear. Tell us about yourself, how you feel about your career in the past three seasons and what are you doing to change things, going forward.
Tell us, “I’m going to improve my game and ensure that things are going to get better this season. That’s my promise and commitment to our team and supporters because we failed to win anything last season, but things will be different this time around.” That will give us hope that you are taking this game and your career seriously. The worst scenario is that the supporters are feeling the pinch the most. Whether you like it or not, these are the people who are affected the most by the team’s performance and results. When Dr Kaizer Motaung used to tell us what the supporters mean to Kaizer Chiefs, it was always a sobering moment. It is such a pity that I’m always referring to Chiefs when I talk about these things, but that’s simply because they are the only team I have ever played for and know. So, it is not like I’m stepping on anyone’s toes but just trying to paint a picture of what that man used to tell us about the importance of putting a smile on the faces of our supporters. He would emphasise that point every chance he got, whether he was addressing the players or you were about to sign or renew your contract. That’s why we always went out there to make sure we didn’t disappoint him and the millions of our supporters.
If I were to move away from domestic football and look at what happened over the weekend in the Barclays Premiership, where Erling Haaland, who was signed by Manchester City just recently, made a strong statement on his debut by scoring a brace when he didn’t even* have a proper pre-season. People were already negative about his move. That’s how you silence people, through your actions and display on the field. That’s how people will always remember you as a great player, not what you said. I still experience people reminiscing about things I used to do on the field that made them happy.
It is time for our players to start thinking about what they will be remembered by. You hear Cristiano Ronaldo was requested by a youngster to have lunch so that they can talk. I would like to believe none of our legends would turn down such a request because they know how important it is to give brotherly advice. I was very humbled to receive such a request from Kgaogelo Sekgota after he heard my remarks on him and I promised to make time for him because I know it is important to do so. I remember when coach Ernst Middendorp was still at Chiefs, I received an invite to address the players. I can still remember some of the questions from the likes of Bernard Parker and Willard Katsande when they wanted to know how I managed not to have serious injuries and how we became the best team to represent Chiefs. What does it take to play for this team and be a success? These are just some of the questions that came from the floor. If you’re a striker and encountering problems, there are so many former players who can help you out there. Don’t just make it your coach’s responsibility to help you improve. Take charge of your career!