Clubs losing football culture
Domestic football clubs are slowly forgetting their trademark style of play and philosophy, some soccer experts have observed.
Local giants, Silver Strikers, Be Forward Wanderers and Nyasa Big Bullets, are among the notable teams losing their traditional style of play.
Only Wizards FC have football identify, whereas the rest of TNM Super League clubs are rarely identified with their style of play.
Wizards have mastered the art of short-passing possession football.
Out of all Malawi Defence Force teams, only Mafco have a distinct style of play, whereas the rest usually play a physical game.
Some clubs have adopted a system of packing the Proverbial Bus.
Some experts say local football is no longer sweet to the eye as it offers little entertainment compared to football played decades ago.
Most local coaches have failed to maintain the traditional style of play for their respective teams.
For instance, Silver and Wanderers were famous for their short passes.
Former Flames and Bullets skipper, Peter Mponda, agrees that local clubs have lost their football culture because of lack continuity.
“Most of the teams are result-oriented and do not play to entertain the fans. As Wizards, we believe that football should be exciting and entertaining to the crowd,” the former Black Leopards and Santos FC defender explained.
“I remember when I was playing for Bullets; we used to dominate possession while at the same time attacking as a unit.”
Mponda said most local players even struggle to master basics on the pitch.
One of Malawi’s highly-respected coaches, Benjamin Kumwenda, also shared similar sentiments.
“It’s difficult to identify the style of play for most local teams, but I know Silver, Wanderers and Wizards play similar type of football. On a good pitch, Silver, Wanderers and Wizards play entertaining football,” observed the National Coaches Association general secretary Kumwenda.
He, however, said under-qualified coaches have also contributed to the lost style of play.
Former Silver coach, Stan Chirwa, believes that employing coaches without roots for a particular club also works to the disadvantage of Malawi football.
“Each team is identified by its style of play, but now the teams are just playing for a win, “Chirwa said.
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