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Sharuko On Saturday
KHAMA Billiat has always had a fascination with Cristiano Ronaldo and nowhere is this more pronounced than on the occasions when he scores a goal.
His celebrations are borrowed from the style book of the great Portuguese forward – the sprint powered by ecstasy, the leap into the air, the twist of that body frame and the completion of what is now known as the Swoosh.
At some point in their careers, both Khama and Cristiano played with or against Rio Ferdinand and both made a huge impression on the former Manchester United defender.
Khama came into Rio’s world one afternoon in Cape Town in 2012 where, after making a mockery of the Manchester United defence in a friendly match, the ex-England centre back gave a glowing tribute to the talent of the diminutive forward.
“Their number 11 is their most exciting player for me,” said Rio in his acknowledgement of the forward’s talent.
“He is good when in possession, good ball control and can use his speed really well, overall, an exciting player.”
Five years later, at the 2017 AFCON finals in Gabon, Billiat needed just one game, against Riyad Mahrez’s Algeria, to make a huge impression on another Champions League winning centre back.
Samuel Kuffour is an African legendary footballer who caught the attention of the world when his tears, after Bayern Munich’s cruel defeat to Manchester United in the ’99 Champions League final, revealed the torture he suffered in that meltdown.
He would go on to win the tournament with the Bavarian giants and, in the early years of the new millennium, was one of the best central defenders in the world.
That means he knew a good striker whenever he saw one because he had made it his job to always find a way to nullify the threat they posed to the teams he played for during his illustrious career.
Working as a commentator for SuperSport TV in Gabon, in 2017, his attention was caught by the brilliance of Khama after the Warriors’ 2-2 draw against the Desert Foxes of Nigeria.
“I think Billiat is one the best African talents I have seen in a long time,” Kuffour said.
“This guy can be on another level because he has everything. I think you have to move him to Europe.
“It would be very disappointing for Africa not to see him playing here. But, in terms of his career, and what he can do at 26 years, you have to move him to Europe.
“He is amazing to watch, for me, being a defender, it would be very difficult to play against this boy. He is small and you don’t know what he is going to do.
“He is so quick with the ball, he has everything, for me, I would love to see him go outside (overseas) for his future.”
Of course, Khama did not eventually move to Europe, which would have been a perfect stage for his talents.
Some analysts blame the machinations of some powerful and selfish figures at Mamelodi Sundowns for either blocking or frustrating such a possible move for Khama.
Others blame Khama’s management for failing to seize the initiative, while others blame the player himself for choosing to enjoy the comforts of South Africa, and so close to home, rather than taking on the challenges of Europe.
Whatever the case might be, the reality remains that Khama missed a golden opportunity to take his talent to another level by not moving to Europe where there is a possibility he would have flourished.
It’s also true that the Khama of seven years ago in Gabon, whose skills were dazzling Kuffour, and the Khama of a dozen years ago in Cape Town, whose skills were dazzling Rio Ferdinand and company, is not the Khama we have today. Inevitably, age catches up with us and it’s quite brutal on sportspersons whose athletic powers fade as the years pile up.
ROGER MILLA SHOWED IT CAN WORK
This week Khama, as if he was once again borrowing from the Ronaldo style book, announced he was ending his retirement from international football.
His announcement came just days after turning 34.
A few days earlier, Ronaldo, who will be 40 when his next birthday comes around in six months’ time, announced he will play for another two or three more years.
He did not rule himself out of international football, which means he did not follow his long-time teammate in the Portugal national team, Pepe, in ending his adventures representing his country.
Pepe called it quits at the age of 40.
Khama’s decision to avail himself for selection for the Warriors has been met with mixed reactions with many welcoming their golden boy back into the fold while others have criticised the move. The critics have said that this shows everything wrong about our football that we celebrate the return of a 34-year-old player to the national team, instead of the emergence of a fresh-faced teenager being picked up for the Warriors.
I don’t share their views because I feel that players like Khama and his long-time colleague, Knowledge Musona, come once in a generation and cannot be replaced just like that.
It’s like saying the decision by authorities in Cameroon to persuade Roger Milla to end his retirement from international football, ahead of the ’90 World Cup in Italy, was wrong and a reflection of the challenges which this country had in producing fresh talent.
For the record, Milla had retired from international football in ’88, at the age of 36, but authorities in Cameroon felt he was needed to add the X-Factor for the Indomitable Lions at the ’90 World Cup in Italy.
Then, just like now when it comes to the Khama case, there were some voices in Cameroon who questioned the wisdom of bringing back a 36-year-old, who would be 38 at the time of the ’90 World Cup finals, back into the Indomitable Lions’ fold.
But Milla showed that age was nothing but just a number and was one of the standout players of that World Cup as he produced arguably the greatest performance by an African footballer at the global showcase.
His goals were a huge factor in propelling Cameroon to the quarter-finals where their adventure was eventually ended by an England team whose ‘keeper was 40-year-old Peter Shilton, the oldest player at the tournament.
Milla even played at the ’94 World Cup, the tournament where Cameroon qualified by beating us in that winner-take-all final qualifier in Yaounde which effectively marked the beginning of the end of Fabisch’s Dream Team.
Milla was 42 back then.
Khama will be 42 in eight years’ time.
I still believe that with Khama in our squad, we would probably not have lost to Lesotho, we would probably have beaten both Nigeria and Rwanda and forced a point against Bafana Bafana in our World Cup qualifiers.
Players like Khama do not just add value to the clubs they play for, they instil fear into their opponents and, for me, that alone would have changed the dynamics of our battle against Bafana Bafana. All those Bafana Bafana defenders, knowing fully well the damage which Khama can inflict, it would have been an interesting battle, especially with Tawanda Chirewa providing the other threat, and damage, in our attack during that contest.
Sadly, Chirewa was alone on a night when, with the support of the likes of Khama, the outcome of the battle could have been different.
How can we genuinely say that recalling Khama is a journey backwards when the other available players in that forward line-up, like Tino Kadewere, are still struggling to shake off the doubts that creep into him every time he wears his national team jersey?
Statistics show that Tino has scored just once for the Warriors in the last eight years and the goal came in a 1-3 defeat to Algeria in an AFCON qualifier in 2020.
During the 2019 AFCON qualifiers, Khama scored three times, which means that in just one qualifying campaign, he scored three times the goals Tino has scored in eight years.
The pick for me will always be the one he scored at the National Sports Stadium when, with all of us facing the ignominy of being eliminated by Somalia in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, he produced a spectacular last-gasp winner which gave us a ticket into the group stages.
Khama has been the standout player in the domestic Premiership this season.
And, that alone says a lot because everyone will probably agree that no one ever imagined that a Yadah player would be in contention for the Soccer Star of the Year award this season.
He has found his peace again, after years of challenges, including injuries, and he appears to be in the right frame of mind to play the game he loves without any of the outside pressures which were frustrating him.
By his own admission, it has been one of his best seasons and playing at home, where he is genuinely loved unlike in South Africa where the romance was conditional, he has been able to express himself.
Some will say the quality of the opposition defenders at home has helped him but I don’t believe that the quality of the defenders he used to face weekly in South Africa is of an incredibly higher quality either.
In Bafana Bafana’s last World Cup qualifier, three of their four defenders were from Mamelodi Sundowns, but that also tells us that the quality of the defenders, from the other clubs, which Khama would have been facing in the majority of other matches, is not very high.
If there is a concern for me, then it’s the Warriors defence and, just like the goalkeeping department, it has been our weakest link.
It’s hard to imagine that Donovan Bernard is still being called into the Warriors at the expense of Martin Mapisa who is keeping clean sheets in the CAF Confederation Cup.
To God Be The Glory!
Peace to the GEPA Chief, the Big Fish, George Norton, Daily Service, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and all the Chakariboys still in the struggle. Come on Chegutu Pirates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Zaireeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
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