Chronicle Editor
Dingilizwe Ntuli, Sports Editor
ALTHOUGH football is aptly called the Beautiful Game due to the entertainment and joy it brings to billions around the world, it’s also very much unforgiving.
A footballer can possess the greatest dribbles, score breath-taking goals and make the most sublime passes, but if off-field issues overwhelm that player, he becomes a goner.
Some of the most talented players in the world have ruined their careers and lives after being taken captive by the dark side of the Beautiful Game where alcohol, drugs, gambling and women inhibit their ability, and drain them financially.
There are so many players that got themselves entangled in these vices and as a result never really lived up to their potential.
The biggest such example is Ronaldinho. The Brazilian is certainly one of the most naturally gifted players the game has ever seen and had the world at his feet at the height of his career, but his off the field problems weakened his legacy. Some of the skills Ronaldinho displayed had never been seen before and even supporters of his team’s opponents always found themselves involuntarily applauding the Brazilian’s ball wizardry.
However, off the field, Ronaldinho was fond of things that would eventually halt his career from reaching the next level.
He loved partying and drinking, and although his immense talent carried him for a while, his intemperance finally shafted him from Europe’s big clubs to his native country and finally into retirement.
Ronaldinho won every accolade in world football, but his name is almost always absent from the debate of who is football’s greatest of all time (GOAT) between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Once in a while, Argentine Diego Maradona and Brazilian Ronaldo’s names are thrown in, yet Ronaldinho was probably the most gifted among all players being punted for the GOAT.
The difference is that Messi and Ronaldo devoted all their focus on the field, while Ronaldinho placed his focus both on and off the field with equal measure, which eventually had a detrimental effect on his career and personal life.
Lots of players mirror Ronaldinho’s path to self-destruction. The two most notable examples are former Highlanders’ midfielder Mthulisi Maphosa and nomadic Ngezi Platinum Stars midfielder Denver Mukamba.
Although their careers shone with all controversies following them, their bad behaviour curtailed their own potential.
Maphosa’s anger issues made him unsuitable for any team and he eventually found himself in the cold.
He was arrested for assault and this and several other misdemeanour’s effectively forced Highlanders to let the player go at a time he should have been at the climax of his career.
Although Mukamba is still playing, he has not reached the heights he’d been projected to when he first burst onto the domestic football scene.
Even South African great Jomo Sono lamented Mukamba as a shame who allowed indiscipline to destroy his talent.
Mukamba has virtually been let go by just about every team he has played for due to his off-field antics. Alcohol seems to be the single most destructive element for local footballers and former Bosso great Alexander Maseko has warned that a lot more talent will go to waste due to indiscipline.
Maseko believes that if local players embraced discipline to the levels of Messi and Ronaldo, their careers would last longer and be more fruitful than now whereby they struggle to go just for five straight years at the top of their game.
“Bad behaviour ruins a player’s career and I think players must know that at all times. They must cherish discipline because without it, there is nothing you can achieve in life. I am where I am today largely because of discipline.
Young players must stop this system of womanising and just concentrate on their game because if their careers end prematurely, these women they chase after will desert them,” said Maseko.
“Partying, drug and alcohol usage and laziness tarnishes your reputation and limits a player from focusing on carrying his career to the next level despite the exceptional talent he might have. Talent alone is not enough in football; it can only be nurtured by good off the field behaviour.
Without good behaviour, your talent won’t take you anywhere, and I hope our young players can understand that.”
He said the first thing young professional players should learn is that drugs and alcohol are bad, as they always lead one to make bad decisions that can do a lot of damage.
Maseko said they make players lose the hunger to compete at the highest level and become more interested in partying, which is clearly a problem.
“Players must rather settle down instead of chasing after every woman that they see. Settling down helps you to focus and gives you more purpose and determination to do well.
You become more responsible because you know that whatever decision you make doesn’t only affect you. That is the discipline we want in Zimbabwean football,” Maseko said.
Online Reporter