Zimbabwe's Future Football Philosophy and Style

Since independence Zimbabwe football have evolved from foreign coach to foreign coach with little success in Afcon.
 
Our football became of age in the late 90s when Reinhard Fabisch was appointed as Head Coach of the Dream Team. The Warriors were successfull in the World Cup group stages only to be denied by Egypt at the last hurdle.

By then that was our philosophy build on strong defence, patience and good attacking prowess.
Amongst our local coaches no one managed to learn and shadow Fabisch who at that time was like our Mourinho as Zimbabwe played good fluid passing football which was a joy to watch.

Currently we don't seem to have our own style and we have borrowed from abroad without deciding our own football identity. Midlands outfit Chapungu FC under Lovemore Nyabeza had the renowned Waka-Waka style, which was played one or two passes in their half before lumping it forward to the strikers.

At one point Ashton "Papa" Nyazika is claimed to have said, "I just tell Stix, Joe and Stan to pass to Shackie and we will win." This was during his coaching era at Caps United before he moved to Black Rhinos.

We at Zimbabwe Football Development Academy have identified our own football brand and identity called "iTouch" which was adopted from the Spanish Tiki Taka mixed with German efficiency football played by Fabisch with the Warriors.

When you think of football styles or philosophies as most football coaches are prone to say, a number of formations cross the mind. They range from the "Samba" of Brazil popularly known as the "Beautiful Game",  .
This style's  emphasis was on individual skills and attacking flair.

The legendary Brazil team which captured the hearts and minds of football fans at the 1982 world cup tournament in Spain, with Zico, Socrates and Careca all producing astronomical individual performances. When we look at the  German style with its emphasis on a well choreographed technical team which is efficient in achieving results in all conditions as a team. The German philosophy is patience, passion and efficiency.

A lot has been talked about the "Tiki-Taka"; this is the buzz-word in football world these days. This style emphasises on more possession and insists on winning matches by denying the opposition of the space and ball possession. Its like running a country with no Water or Electricity. The emergence and success of Spain and Barcelona in the recent years has led to modern teams attempting to adapt this style.

The Italian style, the "Catennacio"  well known as the door bolt, places strong emphasis on defence and denying the opposition opportunities. This will probably describe Atletico Madrid or Chelsea who are difficult to breakdown and penetrate.

As highlighted by Wikipedia(2015) this style is premised on the idea that if the opponents cannot score a goal, they cannot win.

This system was developed by Karl Rappan, an Australian coach but made more popular by Argentinian coach Helenio Herrera who used it successfully with Inter in the 60s. Italian teams have adopted it and it became the Italian national team philosophy but of late modern thinkers regard it as outdated; no team uses the extra defender any more known as the libero or sweeper.
 
 
"Total Football" is another philosophy which many teams, especially the Dutch, have invented. Innovated by Rinis Michels the Dutch coach, it had in Johan Cruyf one its strongest adherents who had this to say about the system, "Attackers can play as defenders and defenders as attackers, everyone can play everywhere. Rotation of positions is the key to this philosophy and it served as the template for the development of "Tiki-Taka".

In Africa, South Africa had their "Shoe-Shine Piano", a system described as township soccer whose template is short sequential passes with individual player intelligence. It was mainly used by former national team coach Tshabalala.

All these playing styles were met with varying degrees of success and, needless to say, Zimbabwe has jumped from one unknown style to another thereby confusing the players and gifting the opponents. Having noticed this deficiency our academy took the responsibility of identifying and developing a vision and philosophy which will be of national interest as it impacts on all young players development.

To achieve this, our Galaxy coaches identify the strengths of the players which if properly harnessed can lead to the development of a unique football identity for the nation.

It is also paramount to have the football association adopting and supporting the vision and philosophy of iTouch football.

We've basics right
We currently only have the basic football which is not enough to compete at national level ie. kicking, heading and shooting without good control and passing.

Defenders can also learn to control and pass the ball. This is acquired by years of playing on the streets or bumpy pitches. All over the country, young boys can be observed expressing their skills on the dusty streets or football pitches. This means that their dribbling and ball control develops from an early age under difficult conditions.

It should therefore follow that coaches have players whose ball control and passing is nous. To succeed at the top, ball control is paramount.

While I appreciate this praise, let me say that this is nothing new for any Zimbabwean football fan. Masters of the ball control who come to mind are Stix Mtizwa, Moses Chunga, Willard Khumalo, Ronald Sibanda and Archford Chimutanda. Ball control allows a player more time during possession to make a decisive pass and Zimbabwe is blessed in this area and hence our football philosophy should incorporate this attributes in football education.
Zimbabwe has always produced top defenders, the likes of Enerst Mutano, Francis Shonhayi, Misheck Marimo and Ephraim Chawanda. The added bonus of Zimbabwe football is that it has produced attacking wing backs, players like Oliver Kateya, Mercedes Sibanda, and Garnet Muchongwe. It can be argued that for Zimbabwe it is possible to play from the back with the use of wingbacks, a concept which is not new considering that we have always had overlapping defenders. The argument therefore is not about reinventing the wheel, but simply identifying the strength and harnessing them to develop a football style for the nation.

Zimbabwe has never had a shortage of midfielders; this is one of the strongest areas of the modern game. Great midfielders have graced the national game, the likes of Memory Mucherahowa, Stix Mtizwa, George Shaya, Willard Khumalo just to mention a few. These players had all the attributes - ball control, vision and passing ability. The nation has always produced midfield magicians and geniuses and hence creativity should not be a problem in any system suitable.

In addition, the country has always produced wingers who could create goals through dribbling, pace and crossing ability. I 'm reminded of players like Stanley Ndunduma, Edward Katsvere, Madinda Ndlovu, Moses Chunga and Peter Ndlovu, just to mention a few. These players had an assortment of skills which reflect a common trend, pace and dribbling skills. Masters of the dribble include Vitalis Takavira and Boy Ndlovu, and the system must take cognisance of these strengths in the national game.

As we analyse about football style we have to accept that the game is about scoring goals and in this department Zimbabwe has a history of producing top strikers. The likes of Shacky Tauro, Gift Mpariwa, Peter Ndlovu and Agent Sawu come to mind. The football philosophy should incorporate this trend in the national game and remind the current players of their responsibility and national ability.

As we reflect on our football history we  examine past teams e.g.  Zimbabwe Saints perfected the pass and move style, almost like Tiki Taka; Highlanders have always played at a high tempo with width, trickery and pace while Dynamos are renowned for their passing and attacking prowess and the same can be said of Caps United. From these examples one can identify a pattern, close ball control, pace, trickery, width and attack and hence a national philosophy should capture these attributes.

Junior football development is key to our nation, academy and beyond as we are the beacon of hope for children in Zimbabwe

To develop a football style, it is important to involve teachers in junior football development. Teachers who spend the early years with the young players must be empowered with coaching skills up to, at least, a level two certificate. This will encourage a more robust and holistic approach to coaching at schools level  as they catch them young. I witnessed players only being taught to launch a long ball in the opponent half hoping for a miracle to happen. This is negative football education from an early age and this must be eradicated.

We need more parents,teachers and coaches employed and trained, and the national philosophy will begin to take shape which will be a success at national level. The Germans are on record with their success at the World Cup after adopting the youth system.

A grassroots youth league must be implemented to give exposure to young players with tournaments.
It is a good thing that coaches now have to be qualified to work in the Premier League, and must follow a given national curriculum. Some academies are there but they do not have a sense of purpose  However they should be monitored at national level and follow a set football curriculum. Our academy must be treated as a school, their curriculum should be monitored and adopted. This allows the development of the type of player and playing style that Zimbabwe needs.

If Zimbabwe appoints former Dynamos coach Callisto Pasuwa as national coach,  this will be a brave  as a local coach he knows the strengths of the national game and will develop a style to suit our players. In Zimbabwe's short history, we have been through coaches from all over the world.. We have a corktail of Polish,  Ghananian, German, Dutch , British, Brazilian coaches and, further confusion to that, local coaches and one can begin to envisage the lack of clarity on style.

It is our hope at Zimbabwe Football Development Academy of developing our own football philosophy ; i will be a proud  when one day we can pronounce of a Zimbabwe style just as we speak of the much exported "Tiki-Taka" or "Samba soccer". Ideas can be borrowed and football is a universal language but the end product should be our own iTouch football.

Lord Morris Kakunguwo, Zimbabwe Football Philosopher, iTouch Guru,CEO and founder of Zimbabwe Football Development Academy-Centre of Football Excellence 2014.