I SAY SO
Nov 07, 2004
<b>Why Ugandans are goal-shy</b><br>WHEN a top scorer of a 16-team national soccer league nets a paltry 11 goals, then, there is a serious need for concern<br>That’s the situation in Uganda’s premier soccer competition. Our league is in a crisis of marksmen and trends signal even worse times.
WHEN a top scorer of a 16-team national soccer league nets a paltry 11 goals, then, there is a serious need for concern
That’s the situation in Uganda’s premier soccer competition. Our league is in a crisis of marksmen and trends signal even worse times.
So why the drought? Theories abound. Amongst these, is one that defenders are getting better.
You would therefore expect something close to the air-tight Catenaccio. But a review of the 2004 Top TV season shows nothing similar to the mean Italian defence.
The drought is a small component of Uganda’s vicious soccer cycle that has had standards steadily plunging. It’s a situation where almost everyone involved is to blame.
For instance, which striker would be psyched by an empty stadium? Crowds are supposed to trigger adrenaline, which if well put to use, can conjure incredible feats.
Improvement also has a lot to do with role models. The people Ugandans call strikers have no one to look up to.
I remember a teenaged Jackson Mayanja telling me that he was dying to play like Phillip Omondi just like Godfrey Kateregga wanted to emulate Denis Obua.
Mayanja and Kateregga might have failed to equal their idols, but their thirst certainly helped in placing them close to Uganda’s best.
Not even exposure via TV to the world’s best talents has helped our current players, who instead seem too mesmerised by the screen to draw any lessons.
Ambition is also lacking. I remember Kateregga and Magid Musisi hitting up to 100 balls after normal training to perfect shooting skills.
Today a footballer would rather brave a pay cut than surrender part of his extra curricular time- a bulk of which is for many a player covered by drinking sprees and womanising.
A state and soccer governing body that are not keen on putting in place talent development structures does not help matters.
Lack of specialized attack drills by a bulk of coaches, the majority of whom were defenders in their playing time, could also count.
This is all coated in bribery. The beauty of sports lies in surprise. No one wants to spend hard-earned cash to watch a match where results are pre-determined.
Similarly, which striker will give his best in a competition where other marksmen’s scores are aided by softening of defences?
Ends
That’s the situation in Uganda’s premier soccer competition. Our league is in a crisis of marksmen and trends signal even worse times.
So why the drought? Theories abound. Amongst these, is one that defenders are getting better.
You would therefore expect something close to the air-tight Catenaccio. But a review of the 2004 Top TV season shows nothing similar to the mean Italian defence.
The drought is a small component of Uganda’s vicious soccer cycle that has had standards steadily plunging. It’s a situation where almost everyone involved is to blame.
For instance, which striker would be psyched by an empty stadium? Crowds are supposed to trigger adrenaline, which if well put to use, can conjure incredible feats.
Improvement also has a lot to do with role models. The people Ugandans call strikers have no one to look up to.
I remember a teenaged Jackson Mayanja telling me that he was dying to play like Phillip Omondi just like Godfrey Kateregga wanted to emulate Denis Obua.
Mayanja and Kateregga might have failed to equal their idols, but their thirst certainly helped in placing them close to Uganda’s best.
Not even exposure via TV to the world’s best talents has helped our current players, who instead seem too mesmerised by the screen to draw any lessons.
Ambition is also lacking. I remember Kateregga and Magid Musisi hitting up to 100 balls after normal training to perfect shooting skills.
Today a footballer would rather brave a pay cut than surrender part of his extra curricular time- a bulk of which is for many a player covered by drinking sprees and womanising.
A state and soccer governing body that are not keen on putting in place talent development structures does not help matters.
Lack of specialized attack drills by a bulk of coaches, the majority of whom were defenders in their playing time, could also count.
This is all coated in bribery. The beauty of sports lies in surprise. No one wants to spend hard-earned cash to watch a match where results are pre-determined.
Similarly, which striker will give his best in a competition where other marksmen’s scores are aided by softening of defences?
Ends