JOHANNESBURG – Despite the majority of the football fraternity raving about it being part of the culture of South African football, Arthur Zwane remains adamant showboating shouldn’t be encouraged.
In football, there’s no coach that would lose it when his trickster plays mesmeric football in order to dispatch opponents and help the team, particularly in attack.
There has, however, been a thread of players who dance over or with the ball, to show off, bring the crowd to their feet or slow down the pace of the game.
In the past few seasons in the reserves, Zwane’s troops were known to be orchestrators of the latter, especially when they believed they had done enough to secure a win. But Chiefs’ reserves yesterday showed a disciplined tactical acumen despite trouncing Golden Arrows by 4-1 in opening round of the newly expanded MultiChoice Diski Challenge season.
However, Orlando Pirates’ left wing-back Lehlohonolo Sepeng stole the show with his showboating, that was meant to show off at most, instead of neutralising the opponent against Bloemfontein Celtic on Saturday.
“I’ll never change what I said in the past, even though people didn’t understand what I said,” Zwane said. “As the nation, we still believe the game should be played for people. Yes, we want people to support the game but if I may ask - the very same people that promote showboating like (Lionel) Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo who are direct players and in the business of football - why can’t we encourage our players to be in the business of football?
Football is a very short career but now if the boys come and do monkey tricks that we don’t understand and not related to the game, and next time when he’s not promoted, we complain about the coach and of which it’s not the case.”
It may not be the first time that Zwane bemoaned “showboating without influence”, but his recent comments follow after he recently completed a two-week coaching course in Ireland, pursuing his Uefa B License with the Irish FA.
The 45-year-old former Chiefs winger admits that he was offered an opportunity to go straight for his UEFA A badges, that would make him the second South African after Benni McCarthy to achieve that feat, but his interest and passion to groom youngsters forced him to decline the offer.
“Since I’ve played at the highest level, they said I should go straight to my A license, but I told them that I am not in a hurry to be a first team coach,” Zwane stated. “I still want to help the young.”