ONCE again are we are being manoeuvred to celebrate mediocrity. Brazil taught our outfit of misfits and over-the-hill players how to play soccer.
How could the Warriors caretaker coach Norman Mapeza say he was “proud of his boys”? In the second half Mapeza’s players were more like onlookers dazzled by their opponents’ accurate passing. What a crying shame that civil servants took the afternoon off to witness just how far off the mark our football is.
The fact that most of the local fans ended up cheering for Brazil speaks volumes about who we are. We love winners and we want to be winners. Those who want to celebrate being losers are surely in the minority.
Now that the Samba Boys have come and gone, we have the opportunity to examine what all the fuss was about.Was the 3-0 drubbing value for money? The Herald spoke of a soccer showdown. It was more like a mow down.
Brazil did not come cheap. While the Tourism minister Walter Mzembi claimed the cost of bringing the Samba Boys to Zimbabwe was “substantially” less than the reported £1,3 million, it still hurt.
The appearance of the Brazilians was said to have been bankrolled by CBZ Bank, NetOne and Zimplats. Our “out of pocket” government somehow chipped in with 40% of the amount.
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We have been told the government cannot find money to raise the paltry salaries of civil servants yet it could afford to donate money to multi-millionaires.
Real Madrid star Kaka could probably afford to pay all the civil servants from his pocket money.Our players must have been gutted when the Samba Boys refused to swop jerseys with them. The Brazil players didn’t mind giving away their blue shirts, but they were not about to accept our players unfashionable Legea kit. The few Samba Boys that were polite enough to take our yellow shirts threw them into the crowd.
Only last week Zifa boss Henrietta Rushwaya proudly revealed: “We made endless efforts to have one big participant to play in Zimbabwe and met with the Brazilian president about our request. Many Portuguese-speaking nations wanted to host the team but we won. The world’s most renowned players will make an appearance.”
Was it worth it? Will our extravagant use of the little money we have endear our leaders to the suffering local masses? This was first and foremost a propaganda exercise so what was the actual benefit of being humiliated?
Some top bigwigs claimed the game was good preparation for the weekend Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against the Seychelles.
I doubt if the ageing Benjamin Mwaruwaru made any new friends with his lethargic display. It remains puzzling how the English Premiership reject continues to make it into the Warrior’s team.
When someone has become too old to perform we — the people — have the right to retire them.Long after every one left the giant National Sports Stadium our Warriors became Worriers. Their bus left without them. The lesson was blunt — no one loves a loser.
By Moses Mudzwiti
