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Cosmas Zulu Talking Football
TEAMS which are successful are those with excellent technique and passing. They also work hard to gain possession after losing the ball, showing high levels of aggression.
Highlanders and Dynamos did this during the 2013 season in which they conceded fewer goals.
Excellent passers
For a team to be successful it has to have two excellent passers in its ranks. Their role is to provide their attackers or team mates with perfectly timed passes. Outstanding players such as Willard Khumalo, Moses Chunga, Stanford M’tizwa, the late Joel Shambo, Tito Paketh and late David Phiri were all capable of this but they were also capable of playing balls behind opposition defences.
Ability to create space
Modern football is about finding space and gaps and then playing successfully balls into these areas where top class attackers such as the late Adam Ndlovu, late Shackman Tauro, Gibson Homela, Peter Ndlovu, late Peter Nyama and Maronga Nyangela all possessed this skill.
Passing while on the move
This ensures that teammates are faced with one-on-one situations instead of being out numbered three to one. One such example is diagonal ball that reaches a teammate at the perfect time so as to give him a one-on-one situations. If this diagonal pass is not played at precisely the right moment the teammate will be put under pressure and outnumbered by opponents.
Successful teams have excellent strikers who are capable of converting goal scoring opportunities that come their way such players are Villa (Spain), Klose and Muller (Germany), Van Persie and Robben (Netherlands), Gyan (Ghana) and Forlan and Suarez of Uruguay. They are all outstanding goal scorers.
Clear attacking strategy is being able to launch a quick, explosive and controlled counter attack.
Strong bench substitutes
Previously in the 1980s teams like Highlanders had in their ranks players like the late Nhamo Shambira who could change the face of the game. Amin Soma-Phiri was one of them, Hwange had the diminutive and skillful Leonard Tembo while Zimbabwe Saints had the late Francis Ngara.
The best and most successful teams must have excellent substitutes who are equal to their teammates on the pitch. This means that coaches now have a new tactical weapon as they can bring on fresh legs depending on the state of play and the scoreline to try and surprise the opposition. Examples of such players include Torres, Fabregas and David Silva of Spain, Aguero and Veron of Argentina.
Good technical team
The team needs assistant coaches who are capable of reading the game well and able to see things the head coach does not see and advise correctly not to just sit on that bench and agree on things because you want to be judged as an understanding assistant or “A Blue Eyed Boy” a “Yes Nkosi Man.”
Debate nicely and come up with a good decision
Until next week.
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