daniel chigunwe
Robson Sharuko
H-Metro Editor
WE know it’s a CONTROVERSIAL move but we believe that our DNA as a tabloid newspaper gives us the freedom to do some of this crazy stuff and provoke the controversy that will come with it.
We know we are going to be sharply criticised, including by those who will say that it’s probably unethical and an attempt to influence voting patterns in the country’s biggest football awards.
Well, that’s all fine with us because we feel that newspapers have to evolve, especially in this challenging environment, for them to retain their relevance.
That means we cannot continue the business as usual way of doing things and continue doing it like this is 2004 when in reality this is now 2024.
And, in all fairness, we have even seen major newspapers around the world making bold calls on who they even want to be President in their countries on the eve or on the day of the elections.
We want to make it clear that the discussions for us to come up with our choice for the Soccer Star of the Year did not include any of our sports reporters, who are part of the selection panel for the award.
Our sports reporters now fall under the Zimpapers Sports Hub, which is headed by Lawrence Moyo, who are now a service provider for our sports content.
So, our team of selectors was made up of journalists who cover other things like crime, the Harare City Council, courts, entertainment and stuff like that.
These journalists also love football but will not be part of the selection process of the Soccer Stars of the Year today.
So, as H-Metro, we have decided to do something differently today ahead of the selection of the Soccer Stars of the Year this morning.
After all, this isn’t an ordinary Soccer Stars of the Year season but a very special one.
It is the 55th anniversary of the year the first Soccer Star of the Year gong was handed out in ’69 with George Shaya being crowned the best footballer in the domestic Premiership.
So, as a newspaper, we are making a BOLD declaration that our 2024 Soccer Star of the Year is KHAMA BILLIAT.
We acknowledge that there are others who deserve the crown and have done well this season – Golden Boot winner Lynoth Chikuhwa of Bosso and Walter Musona and Tymone Machope from champions Simba Bhora.
We understand that by helping Simba Bhora win their maiden championship, Musona and Machope have thrust themselves into a very good position to be crowned the 2004 Soccer Star of the Year.
If they win, we feel they both deserve the award.
Machope scored 11 goals and Musona added 10 but we know their contribution was more than just scoring goals and they also provided assists and played key roles in defensive areas.
But, we also feel that the Soccer Star of the Year cannot just be a preserve for those who win the championship.
There are some clubs for whom just surviving relegation is a huge success story and Yadah are one of those clubs.
This year, the Miracle Boys survived relegation with a game to spare and that was largely due to Billiat’s impressive contribution of 13 goals, the second best individual tally in the league, and 11 assists, in his 26 appearances.
For a Yadah player to finish second in the Golden Boot race is itself a miracle and highlights the point we are trying to make that Billiat was the best player in the domestic Premiership.
IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT GOALS AND ASSISTS
For us, it’s not just about the goals and assists, including an outrageous assist to open the Highlanders defence at Barbourfields on Sunday and feed Blessed Ndereki for the equaliser.
It’s also about the massive impact that his presence had in terms of boosting the value of the domestic Premiership.
Billiat single-handedly transformed it into a league which was now attracting interest, and being reported about, in other countries, especially in the South African media.
He single-handedly breathed life into the domestic Premiership in a way no other player, or collection of players, have done since the turn of the millennium.
Until Billiat’s return, the domestic Premiership was a forgotten top-flight league which did not provoke interest, outside our borders, for anyone who was not a Zimbabwean.
Even some local Zimbabweans had also turned their backs on the domestic Premiership.
It was a forgotten league which no longer provided the continent with giant-killers like Dynamos who, twice in a decade, reached the semi-final and final of the CAF Champions League.
It was a league for foreigners who were virtually unknown in their countries back home as professional footballers.
But, Billiat changed all that and, in the year that he turned 34, he proved that he still has that Midas Touch and he became the story of the domestic Premiership and the domestic Premiership became him.
THE MAN WHO ROSE FROM
THE DEAD
At times, when he was in full flow, it was hard to believe that this was the same man who had hardly kicked a ball for about a year as he was pounded by injuries, and loss of confidence, which almost forced him to walk away from football.
To say that he was a broken man when he returned home would be an understatement.
After a nightmarish year in which he was bombarded by messages of hate, from those who somehow believed that he was the author of the failures of Kaizer Chiefs, Billiat arrived home battered and bruised – both physically and psychologically.
That he managed to rise from all that to write one of the most beautiful tales of the just-ended season in the domestic Premiership is a credit to his mental strength.
For the first time in a very long time, we had some fans who were coming to the stadium just to watch Billiat in action.
This used to happen during the golden years of the domestic Premiership in the ‘80s and ‘90s when some non-aligned fans would come just to watch some special players in action.
This year we saw it happening again.
We saw a visiting team bus being besieged by home fans who just wanted a moment with Billiat – either for selfies or just talking to him.
It happened in Hwange on the very first day of the season and we saw it play out at various venues throughout the country over the course of the campaign.
BILLIAT’S RESPONSE WAS ON
THE PITCH
We understand that such star quality would be meaningless, in terms of his credentials to be crowned the Soccer Star of the Year, if he did not replicate all this goodwill with superb performances on the field of play.
But, Billiat justified all that hype with fine performances throughout the season, which charmed new Warriors coach Michael Nees and convinced him to persuade the forward to come out of retirement.
He also added real value to the Warriors on his return.
His performance against Cameroon in an AFCON qualifier in Kampala in September was a throwback to a time when such magicians, like Vitalis Takawira, could destroy the Indomitable Lions with a hat-trick in a four-goal destruction.
But, we know that a performance for the national team isn’t the main factor in the determination of who wins the Soccer Star of the Year award.
It can help win suitors but what really matters in these awards is performance in the domestic Premiership.
For us, at H-Metro, Khama Billiat ticks all the boxes and he is our Soccer Star of the Year.
It doesn’t mean we will not respect the winner of the award who comes from the official selection panel.
Online Reporter