ALTHOUGH patience is a virtue that makes people and whatever we do better, at times most people don’t see it that way, as they seek instant success. Tolerance, or patience as I’m going to refer to throughout this column, is almost non-existent in the vocabulary of most football fans throughout the world, Rwandans inclusive, and talking of patience or the lack of it, Amavubi Stars’ fans come on my mind instantly.
ALTHOUGH patience is a virtue that makes people and whatever we do better, at times most people don’t see it that way, as they seek instant success.
Tolerance, or patience as I’m going to refer to throughout this column, is almost non-existent in the vocabulary of most football fans throughout the world, Rwandans inclusive, and talking of patience or the lack of it, Amavubi Stars’ fans come on my mind instantly.
Football fans in this country, and in this particular case, for the national team seem to wanting what they want when they want it, and this has had a very big impact on the development of the beautiful game here. Fans are kings in football and or any other sport. They’re the clients in any business.
With a patient set them on your side, stones can turn into gold but with them against you or your business, expect the worst no matter how hard you try. So Sellas Tetteh, the Rwanda national football head coach seem to well aware of this fact, at least going by his words while he as addressing the local sports media on Friday.
"Tell the people (fans) to be patient. It’s a steady process,” he appealed to the crowed room filled local sports journalists from both print and electronic.
Before that, he had stated that "coaches are not magicians,” so they can’t produce instantly, to me he implied. And I totally agree with him, particularly him as he, again to me, is the best Rwandan football can get among the lot out there looking for a coaching job.
"People call Rwanda minors, but we must work hard to change it.” Again, that was something inspirational from the Fifa U-20 World Cup winner not only to the listening member of the press and his bosses, who were in attendance but most importantly to the fans.
By the way all good things come to those who wait, which I guess was the message he was trying to pass onto whoever cares to take not only his word but his philosophy on football seriously. He said that the Ghana team with which he won the Africa and World junior titles took two years to build before achieving that success.
"Now how do people (in Rwanda) expect success after just five, six matches,” he wondered. Again, I couldn’t stop agreeing with whatever he said; given that he had just revealed an open secret that the team had what he called, "average” preparations for the game against Ivory Coast.
This is something we all knew and talked about regarding the kind of preparation the team had in the build up to one of the biggest games it was going to get involved in its history. And the final result (3-0 loss) against one of Africa’s giants was flattering to say the least.
Average preparation is not what any team would need when preparing to take on the best team you can ever come across in a competitive game of football. And indeed the team’s ill-preparedness for such a big occasion showed, especially in the opening 45 minutes as the Elephants crushed the stingless Wasps into pieces.
Tetteh shows his side on Pros
The Ghanaian also made his mind very clear in regard to Rwanda’s professional players, particularly the two that he has worked with, Soddou and Aniwete. He said, "for them (Saddou and Aniwete), I say no.”
"I must be very clear here, I wasn’t impressed with them but I’m happy I saw them playing,” he noted sarcastically.
When I wrote last week that Tetteh is under no pressure to produce instant success, some people, as you expect in such pieces, had other ideas but at least the reaction wasn’t was as hostile as it was with the previous Sunday’s article about Olivier Karekezi.
I’m not going to sit here and say the coach drew inspiration from my article, especially my take on the so-called professional players, but I wasn’t surprised when he appeared to read from the same script as I on what happens to be a very sensitive subject among Amavubi fans.
In my article about Karekezi, although he as the main character in the script, but the general ideal was that, fine, much as most of these pros did a lot for the team, its time to move on, forget the past and look at the future. Exactly what Tetteh is preaching.
To quote him, "those professionals were given a chance at home (to reach were they’re), so why not do the same for these players, (meaning the home-based players in whom the coach seem to have so much faith).”
"We must not forget future progression.” Exactly what some of us have been advocating for, for a lot time. Whatever Karekezi, Katauti, Gatete, Saidi Abedi and many others did, the country is grateful to them and the fans alike but that was then, and this is now, but most importantly where is the future? Patience with the current team without the ‘elderly’ primadonas.