Allan Muchibwa in CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand
I AM writing in response to Robson Sharuko’s latest Sharuko On Saturday column in which he singled out Peter Ndlovu, Moses Chunga, Bruce Grobelaar and George Shaya as the only ones who qualify to be called Zimbabwean football legends.
Needless to say I disagree.
For any endeavour to be worthwhile, it is important to firstly establish the premise upon which the claim is being made – in this case, that we only have four football profiles that qualify to considered as legends.
Establishing whether or not that is accurate entails developing a framework that allows for transparency and fairness.
In order to be on the same page, it is also important to begin by defining what a legend means, as well as what we mean by Zimbabwean football. Subsequently, we can then speak about the development of some criteria upon which all football contributions can be measured.
WHAT IS A LEGEND?
A legend, by simple definition, is someone who is renowned and deeply admired usually because of their ability in a particular area.
According to this definition, the indication is that we may have a considerable number of legends just on the basis of some of the things we have seen in the Zimbabwean game.
What does Zimbabwean Football Cover?
Another question to ponder is – what does Zimbabwean football mean?
Is it just the national team? What of our Premier Soccer League – how is it divorced from the collective consideration of Zimbabwean football?
In my opinion, Zimbabwean football includes the entire football landscape – that is, the Zimbabwean players across the entire pyramid, locally but also abroad. That means encompassing the feats of Zimbabwean football players for the Zimbabwean national team, the local Zimbabwean football leagues, but also abroad.
Whilst the national team is the pinnacle and key part of our football landscape, it cannot be used as a yardstick in isolation especially in the Zimbabwean context.
From injustices suffered from players pre-independence to international bans more recently, many players have not played as much as their talents deserved.
In order to add structure to the discussion, it is important to further add some criteria to guide the discussion on any names that may then be naturally proffered.
Without setting parameters, or developing a criteria to evaluate past, present and future player contributions, there is the obvious danger of succumbing to the natural traps of nostalgia, bias and inconsistency in our assessment. Plucking out names and singling them out for legendary status without any science to it, is almost tantamount to shifting deckchairs on the titanic.
An example of some criterion could include length of career at the top – minimum 10 years? Achievements and accolades?
It could also include intangibles such as memories and generations inspired. In the absence of some criteria, or framework to provide balanced evaluation, the whole discussion is reduced to opinions riddled with bias, nostalgia and subjective notions.
It is also equally important to make the distinction between what we consider our Greatest ever players, and legends in general.
The ‘Greatest Ever’, or ‘GOAT’ club is a highly exclusive club, but the ‘Legends’ club – though still considerably exclusive, includes players who have accomplished exceptional feats within the Zimbabwean context for an extended period of time.
Just because a player falls short of one category does not mean they should be disregarded for the other.
It is also perfectly normal for some legends to be bigger than others.
For instance, it takes nothing away from Peter Ndlovu, for Ronald Sibanda to be considered a legend of Zimbabwean football – although also quite obvious that Peter is the bigger legend.
In the same vein, Gabriel Batistuta is a legend of Argentine football, though it is obvious Lionel Messi – the greatest ever – is a bigger legend.
Both are true, and both can coexist.
WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF ZIM FOOTBALL LEGENDS
Should Memory Mucherahohwa not be considered a legend of Zimbabwean football for all his efforts – leading a remarkable Dynamos that reached the CAF Champions League finals, despite having modest returns for the national team?
Why should Edward Sadomba not be regarded as a Zimbabwean legend for all his exploits in Africa leading teams in elite African competitions?
And Khama Billiat – runner up Footballer of the Year in Africa and Champions League winner?
All of these stories are part of Zimbabwean football folklore – and by extension, Zimbabwean football.
For example, Moses Chunga made the initial list of four on the basis of being our first export after independence – but what of Freddy Mkwesha who misses out on your list – but was the first black African to go abroad and play in Europe for Braga in Portugal?
Such inconsistencies naturally happen in the absence of an objective methodology, and highlights the need for a criteria and framework through which everyone is evaluated.
Whilst I broadly agree with Sharuko’s general assessment around how loosely the term legend has been used in the local football context, the thought process and lack of methodology means that the conclusion that there are only four genuine legends in Zimbabwean football history is somewhat flawed and unfair.
For context, Zimbabwe has had thousands of footballers to have played professionally – it is unfair to single out four as only legends without employing any guiding framework and criteria to justify how one has reached that conclusion.
It could be that we have a group of 5-10 greats from which we can pick our Greatest Ever but in my opinion we have legends running in the hundreds.
Whilst other players – current and former – may have been cult heroes and generational talents, it is understandable that they fall short of legendary status.
And by the same token, many other naturally qualify as legends based on the level of their contribution, how long their contribution spans, where they occupy in Zimbabwean football folklore, as well as the generation of players they have inspired.
With this in mind, in my opinion, the list of Zimbabwean football legends includes names such as Mercedes Sibanda, Willard Khumalo, Adam Ndlovu, Shacky Tauro, Oliver Kateya, David Mandigora, Edward Katsvere, Tendai Chieza, Ernest Kamba, Peter Nyama, Norman Mapeza, Memory Mucherahohwa, Ronald Sibanda, Tinashe Nengomasha, Esrom Nyandoro, Stanford Mtizwa, James Takavada, Joel Shambo, Ephraim Chawanda, Francis Shonhayi, Japhet Mparutsa, Knowledge Musona, Khama Billiat, Kaitano Tembo etc.
And this list is not exhaustive.
The list of Zimbabwean football legends probably runs in the hundreds as we have had thousands of professional footballers grace our football scene.
