We are an unambitious nation

Sport
Have you ever wondered why there was so much noise about the interest of South African clubs in Warriors players at the African Nations Championship (Chan)?

Have you ever wondered why there was so much noise about the interest of South African clubs in Warriors players at the African Nations Championship (Chan)?

Final Whistle with Michael Madyira

Was it because Zimbabwe were the exceptionally playing team there? Definitely not. Nigeria, Ghana and other teams did well and had brilliant players too.

So what is all the fuss about Zimbabwean players? Because our players are haplessly cheap!

South African clubs – including those plying their trade in the mediocre Division One – have been tussling against each other for the signature of Zimbabwean players.

Our not-so-connected local player agents have become so busy, sweating while running around and bragging that they are “engineering moves” as if they were dealing with Real Madrid or Barcelona.

And we seem flattered by that. In fact we are happy! While our boys have limited their eyes to the South African league, Nigerian, Gabonese and Ghanaian players at the Chan were eyeing European moves. South African clubs attempt little on these West Africans because they know it is hard to get them.

These West Africans want to play at the Fifa World Cup and in Europe and know that signing for a South African PSL club is guarantee of losing a national team spot.

But in Zimbabwe we look to South African-based players as our core players. This is a national disease fuelled by local player agents and the ultimate result is that we remain minnows in African football. They take pride in having connections at Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and Moroka Swallows.

That is their ultimate football acquaintances.

The affliction has also now caught up with players. I remember interviewing Tendai Ndoro and Kuda Mahachi on seperate occassions last year. I asked them where they saw themselves in two years’ time. What did they tell me?

They wanted to play in South Africa. And now there is so much happiness that Mahachi is going to Mamelodi Sundowns when a French player agent with links to Monaco once made inquiries about the player. GOD help us!

When you have players’ mentality restricted to South Africa then your football is destined for hell. It baffles the mind when one asks themselves what a rare gem like Khama Billiat is doing in South Africa, or why a goal-scoring machine like Knowledge Musona returned to that side.

Khama can march straight into that Ivorian team but because he remains in South Africa, he will never develop to the level of Yaya Toure.Zimbabwean players should dream big.

They should look up to Europe as the ultimate destination for our national team to look like those of Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria or Ghana.

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