The ManicaPost
PATIENCE – that virtue which enables one to take knocks, endure difficulties, suffer frustrations and tolerantly accept setbacks while staying positive and holding the chin up – is one that many among us are not blessed with.
Some philosophers (Aristotle), inspirational figures (Joyce Meyer, Bill Gates) and the Good Book – the Bible – speak glowingly about patience, which is a necessary but painful experience whose process is bitter yet yields sweet fruits.
And it looks like patience has eluded both Dynamos and Ngezi Platinum Stars given the manner they recently parted ways with their coaches Lloyd “Samaita” Mutasa and Tonderai “Stanza” Ndiraya respectively. By our book here at Footy Footnotes, the two clubs lacked the qualities and values that define this virtue.
The Ngezi, Ndiraya divorce
The Madamburo coach was doing well until he was jettisoned from his position – well, if you consider progress, which has more to do with direction than speed, and discount a dismal run during the second half of this term. For this is the man, hired only a few games into the 2016 season, who won the team a major honour in their maiden top-flight voyage; lifting the Chibuku Super Cup that comes with a ticket of playing in the African club competition (Caf Confederation Cup) and finishing a plausible seventh place on the log.
This is the same guy who led the Mhondoro side to a credible third-place finish in 2017. As he put together a team capable of challenging, his charges were still in the running for the title at the time of his dismissal and would have ended as runners-up should defending champions FC Platinum retain the title (as is highly likely the case now).
It was important for Ngezi Platinum Stars to learn that success is a process and not an event. To sack Ndiraya was rash. A harsh call. We understand the club’s craving the championship triggered this decision given the resources they have sunk into the team and this is where they failed the test of patience. They had, perhaps inadvertently, decided to run their race against reigning champions FC Platinum – which is only natural and perfectly normal on the account that they are cousins – but they failed to learn from the champions, especially in that regard of patience. Since his appointment the Zvishavane miners enjoyed pure platinum progress under coach Norman Mapeza – finishing fourth in his first season in charge (2014); third in the second; second in the third and eventually first in the fourth (they are now on the cusp of glory again as they look set to defend the coveted crown)! Borrowing this template, Ndiraya was taking Ngezi Platinum Stars there too – until the club used their heart and not the head to think!
For cold comfort, the Ngezi hierarchy can digest these wise words by FC Platinum president Goerge Mawere as he purred during his team’s hour of triumph: “At the formation of our club, we were clear . . . ours was a mission to emerge as a force to reckon with . . . (and) as we celebrate today’s success (winning the championship), we are mindful that . . . the journey has not been an easy one. Over the years, we have had a fair share of heartaches and some moments to celebrate. We have learnt the virtues of patience and humility . . . matched by a caring heart and the highest professional standards. Today’s Premier Soccer League title follows a four-year programme we set ourselves as we hired today’s winning head coach, Norman Mapeza . . . We are glad we settled for incremental growth that has eventually rewarded us with this sweetness . . . We remained resolute, disciplined and stuck to our plan . . . And true, for each of the past four years we have attained our yearly targets. Kudos to the entire team and stakeholders for displaying this rarely found attribute.”
The DeMbare, Mutasa on-off romance
Samaita’s script reads like it was plucked from the same book as that of Ndiraya. The former DeMbare tactician has sympathisers in his corner who feel he always gets raw deals and the shorter end of the stick at the fading Harare giants. He has never been in the Dynamos job long enough to work his success, they reckon.
Or how is he expected to build a good, competitive team when he loses some of the squad’s best players each time he tries to assemble a strong side? The Christian Joel Ntouba Epoupa, Tichaona Chipunza and Godknows Murwira examples are just a few cases in point. That during the subsistence of his relationship with Dynamos Mutasa gets fired and rehired in the same season just shows how at times he has been a victim of circumstances and circus crippling the club, during which they once hired a certain Portuguese clown called Jorge Paulo Silva who wanted to mislead us into believing that he was a football trainer.
Need we mention that Samaita was the mastermind – not the eminent immortal DeMbare folklore icon George Shaya – of the Glamour Boys’ giddy campaign last season, which was sound-tracked by the infectious “Nyika Yese Iri Kufara” catchphrase!
Where chopping and changing coaches upsets the rhythm and chokes the team, continuity becomes key.
True to this, FC Platinum progressed over the period they kept faith in Mapeza, who ultimately delivered the big prize; and it is paying dividends.
But just how much is “enough time” for a coach to be successful in a job? And while patience pains, it certainly pays. If it is about football that you care let’s share the cheer because we are made for the game, mad about the game!
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Dembare hapana zvinozivikanwa, Masvingo United iri nane. – Kurai Admire Junior.
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