The ManicaPost
ESTEEMED followers of the game of football, thank you for finding time for interaction.
In starring for Dynamos as they overcame sworn enemies Highlanders to win this year’s Independence Cup on Uhuru Day on Tuesday at National Sports Stadium, goalkeeper, Tonderai Mateyaunga imitated and emulated former Liverpool shot-stopper, Bruce “Jungleman” Grobbelaar as he evoked memories of the ex-Warriors goalie helping the Reds win the 1984 European Cup, the modern-day Champions League against AS Roma using the “spaghetti legs” trick.
The setting has been similar in both cases in that the Cup final matches had ended in a one-all draw in regulation and had to be decided by a penalty shootout.
And, perhaps by design or by default, Mateyaunga “did a Jungleman” by making a nuisance of himself just so to throw his opponents off their confidence balance, have them drop their self-assurance guard and put them off. As Bosso cancelled out DeMbare’s lead right at the death of the match through a penalty, Mateyaunga had tried to whip and flurried the taker Ralph “Banolila” Matema by flaring up all over the place – even kneeling before both the ball and taker prior to the kick.
He then borrowed and put to good method the “spaghetti legs” gambit – wobbling his limps into a hobble – as Grobbelaar did over three decades ago. As originated and popularised by Grobbelaar and picked up to efficacy by another Liverpool goalie, Jerzy Dudek in another European Cup final against another Italian opponent, AC Milan, in 2005, the “spaghetti legs” is an eccentric move where the ‘keeper sways from side to side on his goal-line as though his legs were pasta-like and caving in under him during a penalty shootout in order to put off the takers.
For the two Liverpool goalies, the means justified the end as it saw them help the Merseyside club secure the prestigious big-eared trophy for the fourth and fifth time in their history.
And so did Mateyaunga to hand the Harare giants the Independence Cup using the same scheme.
While it did not initially pay off as he conceded the equaliser, Mateyaunga would get his revenge on Matema, who had earlier sent him the wrong side, with the Bosso forward cannoning his effort when it kissed the crossbar as it went over in the face of the clowning Mateyaunga.
With the former ZPC Kariba keeper keeping his finger pressed on that “spaghetti legs” button, the Highlanders penalty takers were switched off as he saved Peter Mudhuwa and Simon Munawa’s spot kicks. The rubbery limps trick works in that while it presents the ‘keeper as being afraid of facing the penalty kick, he actually instills fear into his rival. It practically cripples an opponent.
While Grobbelaar recalls of the incident, “It came down to Joe Fagan (then Liverpool coach). He put his arm around me before the penalties were actually taken and he said: ‘Listen we are not going to blame you for trying to stop the ball from going into the net. If they can’t hit the target, it’s their fault!’ As I walked away, he said: ‘But Bruce, try to put them off!’
“I looked at the players who were taking the AS Roma penalties and I did those silly things with my legs . . . I wanted to put off the best, and (un)fortunately they came short and they failed – which was great for us,” Liverpool great Jamie Carragher appeared to be giving a similar tip to Dudek on that May night in Istanbul, Turkey.
And Graziani recollects of that “spaghetti legs” meal: “[Grobbelaar] gave me the err . . .heebie-jeebies. One minute he had legs of a man, the next err . . . pasta.” Mateyaunga also served that to Matema, Mudhuwa and Munawa from his bowl.
Friday Football Echoes wonders if those affected Bosso players, who landed not high but low, with their penalty kicks will ever find spaghetti edible again.It’s Game On, Play On!
Feedback:
These people overpay themselves from the ratepayers’ money to deny the same ratepayers soccer development which has the potential to create employment and generate the much-needed revenue than what they collect from the vendors they hound every day. Some people make decisions without considering the plight of the public they represent and one wonders why such people went to school. Mutare City Rovers is the people’s team for Manicaland and no corrupt thinking should be allowed to destroy what others built with the future in mind. – Richard Mahuhushe Chauke.
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