Times Of Swaziland: FINALLY, IT RAINED

FINALLY, IT RAINED
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BY Lwazi's Pandora's Boxs on 14/05/2019 00:19:00


My dearest readers ...
Three weeks ago, an avid reader and fastidious critic of this
State-of-the-Nation-Sports-Address (SONSA) was at pains warning me not to
‘over-praise’ new Sihlangu coach, Kostadin Papic for the goalless draw with
Malawi because “Sihlangu had not won the game” and would be booted out of
the CHAN qualifiers as “they would not win away in Malawi”.
She (oh yes, she is drop-dead gorgeous if her WhatsApp profile picture is
anything to go by) reminded me of how every Manchester United fan praised
current Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when he took over from Jose Mourinho and
went on an eight-game winning streak yet the recent slump in form, which has
seen United finish 32 points behind champions, Manchester City, indicates he
shouldn’t be on the wheel. She rightly pointed out that it was a giant leap of
faith by Ed Woodward to hand Solskjaer the reins when he had no experience. I
reluctantly agreed with her on that point because her argument, for all it is
worth, disturbed my brain’s hard drive and wiped out about 800 terabytes of
memory. I still fired back though.
difference
“Papic has only been in charge for two games and the difference he has already
made in the confidence of the team and tactical approach to the game is evident.
I believe he will qualify for the first round whatever it takes,” She assured
me that should Sihlangu qualify for the next round, she would rush to my humble
place of abode to give me a French kiss of a lifetime with Robert Kelly’s 2003
Step in the name of love hit playing in the background. I hope the future Mrs
Dlamini doesn’t read this but I am still waiting impatiently for you darling
in my birthday suit, nogal.
I digress.
The point I am trying to make here is that this avid reader and many others
might have shared the same sentiments that the article I penned three weeks ago,
heaping praises on Papic for finally showing us direction; in his own words –
taking us from nowhere to somewhere – I had jumped the gun but nothing could
be further from the truth. Finally, it rained in the Kalahari Desert! Finally it
rained in the Sihlangu desert!
Unless you have been living under a rock over the past weekend, you would not
have noticed that Sihlangu finally overcame the hurdle of always losing on the
preliminary stage of the CHAN tournament when they managed a 1-all draw away in
Malawi to qualify for the first round on the away goal rule. Sihlangu has
managed to douse the ‘Flames’ of Malawi away from home and will be taking on
the Palancas Negras of Angola in the next round.
Lynchpin Sandile ‘Saviola’ Gamedze scored the all-important goal which has
ensured Papic succeeded where many of his predecessors have failed – taking
Sihlangu beyond the preliminary round in the CHAN tournament. Never mind the
fact that the so-called CHAN is a poor man’s Africa Cup of Nations.
While serious football nations will converge in the Land of Pharaoh’s to
participate in the biennial continental showpiece from June 21 to July 19, we
will be watching on television. But in our small wacky world of football,
qualifying for the next round of the CHAN competition is a big deal. It is a big
deal because it gives Kostadin Papic a starting block to also build a team for
the future. It gives him a chance to also use the COSAFA Cup scheduled for May
25 to June 8 at South Africa’s playground, Durban, in having a clear
indication of how to get us to shed our minnows tag which hangs around our necks
like an albatross.
There is no doubt; Chef Papic is cooking a scrumptious stew behind the veil of
Sigwaca House. He is giving hope that finally we can play to our true potential.
This is certainly not this grandson of Mlonyeni accentuating the positives or a
stream of unbridled optimism based on the most slender of foundations. The
positive results away in Malawi are full testimony. Of course, these are early
days. The onus is still on Papic to change the dynamic of the team, create a
dawning sense that at some point in future, the national team will display the
unity and purpose that has been elusive for far too long.
He cannot achieve all this by himself. There are still some areas which need
immediate attention like our striking force, which has no force. Papic cannot go
to COSAFA Cup, for instance, without a proven striker because it could backfire
terribly. But as things stand, clearly Papic knows what he is doing. Let him
enjoy puffing his cigarette like something out of a 1940’s film noir. Let him
quench his thirst with his favourite Windhoek Lager, for all I care, as long as
he gets Sihlangu back on the winning trail, he has my outmost support. Good
gracious me, it finally rained in the Kalahari Desert!
To the avid lady reader, as Que deep matured soundz, featuring Edgar Thee Mc &
Lindiwe would sing, ‘baby are you coming..........’ Heek, heek, heek, heek,
heek ...