Soweto massacre: Just what the doctor ordered

By Lesedi Dibakwane

South Africans are passionate about their sport. Naturally our football over the past few weeks has evoked an outpouring of emotions and stirred up great debate. There has been chatter about our lack of quality on the field and a general displeasure with any suggestion that we lack the relevant experience off the field as well.

The “massacre in Soweto” on Saturday went a long way towards dispelling both assertions. I dare say that this was the best final in South African football that I have witnessed in recent times. Keeping in mind the teams Ajax beat to reach the final, and the manner in which they dispatched of their opposition in those occasions (Ajax defeated both Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs in decisive fashion to reach this final) Ajax is no fickle opposition at all. They would have been worth every cent of that R8 million, had they won it.

Credit has to go to the Arrows players and their highly impressive coach, Manqoba Mngqithi. The deadly combination of sublime skill and tactical application displayed on the night is a rare sight. We have become accustomed to players lacking the tactical discipline to drive the advantage home when they are in a commanding position. Arrows’ players stuck to the game plan and executed with precision and a ruthlessness that we often only see on television in the English Premier League and other European leagues. The other bane of most coaches’ existence is the tendency to play for the gallery when teams are a mere 2-0 up. None of that on Saturday. Arrows were at full throttle for the entire game, never taking the foot off the pedal. Ajax had no idea what had hit them. Wave upon wave of attacks was enough to make sure Ajax would never settle into the game, despite Ajax controlling ball possession by 52%. There again, overwhelming testimony to the fact that possession means nothing unless utilised.

I was impressed by the Arrows players’ tactical discipline, not only to keep prodding in attack, but to keep shape at the back and in the middle. That is something we seldom witness when PSL teams are in the driving seat. Often caution is thrown to the wind with all the players wanting to join the “mjike Joe” festivities.

Siyabonga Sangweni and Joseph Musonda continued to keep the backline organised while the midfielders covered for Musonda whenever he ventured forward. Now, if the display from Arrows, which had only three foreign players involved in Saturday’s match (substitute Francis Kombe included), is not sufficient to prove that we have the players to deliver then I am not sure what is.

The greatest praise should probably be accorded to Mngqithi. He annihilated a quality team. The defeat, in my view, was a tactical defeat. Mngqithi and his team managed to accurately identify Ajax’s weaknesses — chief among them their robotic central defence pairing — and exploit them successfully. Jan Pruijn failed to respond accordingly when the writing was on the wall in the first half already. Mngqithi (a greenhorn by coaching standards) has taken an unfancied team and turned them into a force. He has not only managed to get the players to gel but to apply our South African style of play without sacrificing tactical discipline and killer instinct. He has an insatiable appetite for goals, complaining in a post-match interview that there should have been at least 10 goals. That is the killer instinct that has been lacking in our game and clearly manifested in the perilous struggles of our national team.

Mngqithi’s success on Saturday was a much-needed loud message to the boys at Soccer City that we have the technical acumen in the country.

We might never quite appreciate what Golden Arrows did for football in this country at Orlando Stadium on Saturday. With confidence at an all-time low with our misfiring national team and a professional league that does not inspire much confidence, this might just be what the doctor ordered with less than 230 days to the 2010 World Cup.

Lesedi Dibakwane is an IT salesperson who works for one of SA’s top ICT companies. He is an avid sports lover and future club owner.