Category: Football

By Michael Kachitsa In the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin on July 9, 2006, with France and Italy locked at 1-1 in extra time, the great Zinedine Zidane — playing in his last-ever match as a player — wandered past Azzurri defender Marco Materazzi. Amid the din of a tense Olympiastadion, thousands in Berlin and millions worldwide watched on as the Frenchman exchanged words with the Italian. Time seemed to freeze as Zidane held his opponent’s gaze, locked, loaded, and unleashed an extraordinary headbutt straight into Materazzi’s sternum. It earned Zidane — one of the most decorated players of his time and a god among Les Bleus and Real Madrid fans alike — a red card as he marched furiously past the World Cup trophy, an ignomous end to his playing career. What was said between the two? Rumours and allegations of a slur against Zidane’s sister have long since done the rounds as football fans speculated what could prompt such an incredibly volatile reaction. As fate would have it, the incident involved both goal-scorers in the 1-1 draw. Zidane scored the opener with an audacious penalty kick that went in off the crossbar, before Materazzi equalised with a thumping header (ironic?) from a corner. Italy, which had beaten the Socceroos in the round of 16, went on to win the final 5-3 on penalties to clinch a fourth World Cup title. Materazzi told French daily L’Equipe he used “stupid words” to rile Zidane. “If you go to a football pitch in the suburbs of Rome, Naples, Turin, Milan or Paris, you’ll realise that what I said was quite soft compared to what you hear there,” he said.

By Michael Kachitsa Abedi Pele, is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder and who served as captain of the Ghana national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time. He played for several European clubs and found his fame in the French Ligue 1 with Lille and Marseille, the latter where he won the UEFA Champions League in 1993, among other titles. Three of his sons, Ibrahim, André and Jordan, have also become internationals for Ghana; Ibrahim and André were selected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, while André and Jordan played at the 2014 World Cup. Abedi Pele was one of the pioneers of African football in Europe. He was one of the first great African players to make an impact on European club football. He played for teams in Switzerland, Germany, Italy and most famously France, where he was instrumental in Marseille’s prominence in the UEFA Champions League during the early 1990s. Amongst his international accolades, he was often included in FIFA “All-Star” selections and captained the African All-Stars in their victory over their European counterparts in the 1997 Meridian Cup. He left Ghana after the 1982 African Cup of Nations to join Al Sadd in Qatar for a $1,000 transfer fee. After a short spell with FC Zürich, he returned to Ghana but, after both Kotoko and Hearts of Oak failed to sign him, joined AS Dragons FC de l’Ouémé in Benin. He would later return to Ghana and play for Real Tamale United for one season. He began his career in Europe with French side Chamois Niort, subsequently joining Montpellier and Lille before transferring to Marseille. He later joined Lyon. He also played for Torino of Italy and rounded out his European career with 1860 Munich. Source – Wikipedia

By Michael Kachitsa Back in April 1996, when Leeds United legend Lucas Radebe put in one of the best performances by an emergency goalkeeper that English football has even seen, when the South African was handed the gloves at Old Trafford against a title-chasing Manchester United side. Back to Old Trafford though and a Steve Bruce through ball in the 17th minute, which saw the onrushing Beeney collide with Andy Cole. The Leeds stopper handled the ball outside of his area and referee Keith Cooper had no option but to send him off. Radebe began the match on the bench (as a defender, naturally), meaning Wilkinson had to sacrifice Mark Ford in order to bring The Chief on as an emergency sub. With the Red Devils frontline of Cole and Eric Cantona no doubt licking their lips at getting more than 70 minutes up against a makeshift goalkeeper, Radebe got to work. Looking confident and assured, the South African pulled off excellent saves from Ryan Giggs, Brian McClair and Cole, as the travelling Leeds fans began to believe that their 10-man side could claim a famous point at their home of their most bitter rivals in the most trying of circumstances Alas, Radebe’s luck ran out in the 73rd minute. Former Leeds man Cantona found Roy Keane on the edge of Radebe’s area and fired a low shot past him to give the hosts a 1-0 lead which they were able to see out. Source – Leedslive

By Michael Kachitsa Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé, is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century. Pelé signed with Santos and immediately started practicing with the team’s regulars. He scored the first professional goal of his career before he turned 16, led the league in goals in his first full season and was recruited to play for the Brazilian national team. The world was officially introduced to Pelé in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Displaying remarkable speed, athleticism and field vision, the 17-year-old erupted to score three goals in a 5-2 semifinal win over France, then netted two more in the finals, a 5-2 win over the host country. The 1970 World Cup in Mexico marked a triumphant return to glory for Pelé and Brazil. Headlining a formidable squad, Pelé scored four goals in the tournament, including one in the final to give Brazil a 4-1 victory over Italy. Pelé announced his retirement from soccer in 1974, but he was lured back to the field the following year to play for the New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League, and temporarily helped make the NASL a big attraction. He played his final game in an exhibition between New York and Santos in October 1977, competing for both sides, and retired with a total of 1,281 goals in 1,363 games. He is the all time top goal scorer in the world.

By Michael Kachitsa The idea, chiefly, is to ensure the referee on the field is as distinguishable as possible from the rest of the players, to avoid confusion. Wearing either solid black or bright colours ensures that players of both teams are easily able to distinguish the referee from the other players on the pitch. Since an all black strip has usually been reserved for the officiating team, not many football teams use black jerseys. Of course, the trends are changing in recent years with more weight being given to marketing considerations, but no team in Europe’s top 5 leagues uses an all black home kit as of yet. However, few teams use it as an away or third kit. Of course, it’s not a rule set in stone that all referees wear black or yellow. For instance, in 2015-16, long term Serie A shirt supplier Diadora introduced a blue referee shirt for the season. It was a striking design, with the main colour blue complemented by fluorescent yellow applications on the sleeves and the shoulder area. (Diadora also released a yellow/black as well as a black/yellow Serie A 2015-16 referee kit to complete the collection). Nowadays, most referees wear yellow or black, yet there is a variation among the colours and styles opted by different football associations. FIFA regulations stipulate that referees wear black shorts, black socks and black shoes; while the jersey can be black, red, yellow, green or blue (on paper). Traditionally, football referees have always worn black uniforms, unless one of the teams involved don a very dark kit. In fact, in the early days, it was more common for a referee to wear a blazer than a jersey. These stipulations in outfit ensured the referee was clearly visible and distinguishable across the length of the pitch. In the 1990s, with the ever increasing viewership of football, referees started wearing colours like yellow and green, mainly motivated by television considerations. Source – SportsKeeda

By Michael Kachitsa Be Forward Wanderers Football Club is a Malawian football (soccer) club based in Blantyre. They currently play in Malawi’s TNM super league. The BE FORWARD Wanderers F.C is one of the more successful teams in the Malawi Premier Division, based in Blantyre. They have won 6 titles in the league, and they are the current defending Champions as of January, 2018. In 2005 and 2006 their leading striker, Aggrey Kanyenda was the top goal scorer in the 2005–06 season. They boast to have the second largest support base after their arch rivals and sworn enemies on the field Big Bullets. Even though there are no real stats on the number of fans the two teams have, it is estimated that Big Bullets have a slightly bigger fan base than Wanderers. The most popular striker to have played in this club is Yasin Osman the current head coach. The most serving player is Joseph Kamwendo who has played for the team from early 2000s up today. The rivalry between Big Bullets and BE FORWARD wanderers starts to kick off every time both clubs meet in 2006–07 both clubs met wanderers went ahead in the first half. Deep second half Bullets scored a goal but it was offside. The Bullets fans went angry started throwing things on to the pitch and the ref in charge abandoned the game, Wanderers had won that match 3–0 because of disqualification. The two teams have met domestic in cup finals few times since the early 1990s, most notably the 1999 Malawi Carlsberg Cup final. The match ended 1–1 after 90 minutes and went to extra time, Wanderers scored a dramatic golden goal to lift the cup. Few years later Bullets got their revenge when they beat Wanderers 1–0 in 2001 final of the same cup, to make matters worse it was Wanderers’ old boy Mc Donald Yobe who scored the only goal against his former employers. The infamous 2003 final, probably the most anticipated, the two teams clashed in final of the same competition, Wanderers took an early lead in the first half when their wonderkid Joseph Kamwendo scored, he was only 17 at the time. Bullets equalized through their veteran striker Ganizani M’bobo Malunga. Wanderers scored two more goals but were disallowed for offside. This caused the fans to clash in the terraces, the match was abandoned and has never been replayed. Due to crowd troubles Carlsberg ended their sponsorship and other companies have also terminated contracts most notably Bp Top 8, Malawis biggest football competition in terms of prize money to date. The pair clashed again in the semi final of this trophy, wanderers won 3–1 to reach the finals. This time it was Bullets fans against the riot police in the stands and went on to the streets of Blantyre. Wanderers went on to win the trophy after beating northern regions biggest club Moyale Barracks FC 1–0 in Lilongwe. In 2014, the club won a sponsorship of about 70 million Malawi Kwacha from BE FORWARD, a Japanese Car Exporter. Due to sponsorship reasons, the team was previously known as Limbe Leaf Wanderers, Telecom Wanderers, MTL Wanderers and currently BE FORWARD Wanderers

By Michael Kachitsa As one of the most successful and beloved clubs in England, Arsenal Football Club was always a magnet for the public. Tradition-wise, their results speak for themselves; in addition to winning 28 major domestic trophies, Arsenal hold the records for longest unbeaten streak and longest run in top flight of English football. Arsenal FC started life as a works team named Dial Square in 1886 – the workers were blacksmith’s that built cannons, which is the reason for the club being known as the Gunners. Shortly thereafter, the club turned professional and changed its name to Woolwich Arsenal, becoming a full-fledged member of the Football League in 1893 (the first club from the south parts of the country). The following period was fraught with difficulties for the club; besides not being able to form a team that could challenge for the title, Jim was geographically isolated from the rest of the league, which resulted in low attendances. After teetering dangerously close to bankruptcy, the club was bought out by businessman Henry Norris in 1910 and moved to North London in 1913 (Highbury became the new home ground). The following year, the club was renamed as Arsenal. The club’s first rise to prominence came with the hiring of Herbert Chapman as manager in 1925. In the process of modernizing many aspects of the club, Chapman improved the training regimen and made efficient changes to the club’s traditional 2-3-5 formation. After following this up by signing a couple of star players, Arsenal won their first major trophy in 1930, defeating Huddersfield Town 2-0 in the FA Cup final. This proved to be the beginning of a fruitful period for the club; during the 30s, they claimed five league titles and another FA Cup trophy. The post-WWII period saw the club continue on their path of prosperity with another two League titles (1948, 1953) and an FA Cup (1950). Those were the last trophies the club would see for the next seventeen years, however; with their best players retiring or leaving for more successful clubs, Arsenal fell into a slump of mediocrity. After winning their first Double in 1971, it seemed like the club’s fortunes had finally turned. Yet, this was followed up by a long string of second-place league finishes and losses in Cup finals, with the 1979 FA Cup victory being the only bright spot on their record during this time. They were a little more successful under George Graham, whose defense-oriented mindset proved a good fit with the club’s players. During Graham’s nine years in charge (1986–1995), Arsenal won two League titles, two League Cups, an FA Cup, as well as their first and only Cup Winners’ Cup by defeating Parma 1-0 in the final (they had been very close to win the 1980 Cup Winners’ Cup Final, losing against Valenca in the final after a penalty shootout). Arsenal would become far more watchable with the appointment of Arsène Wenger. The then-unknown French manager immediately transformed the club into a goal-scoring behemoth, partly by successful import of French players such as Robert Pirés, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry. Henry was incredibly effective as the lace of the team’s attack. Between 1996 and 2004, Arsenal claimed three League titles and three FA Cups, with the 2003–2004 season being particularly noteworthy due to the club not losing a single game in the Premier League. That squad, powered by Henry’s 30 goals in 37 matches, was later dubbed “The Invincibles”. Under Arsène Wenger’s management, Arsenal has been known as a club that doesn’t buy big names, but instead finds talents through excellent scouting. An exception, however, was the transfer of Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid in 2013. He did cost £42.5 million, a transfer record for the club. Being one of the top clubs in England, the 38,419 seats at Highbury was not sufficient (the rule from 1994 dictating all-seater stadiums in the league had considerably reduced the capacity). Arsenal wanted to expand the stadium, but wasn’t given permission since the stands were historically listed buildings. They had to build a new stadium and in 2006 Emirates Stadium was ready for first kick-off with potentially over 60,000 in the crowd.

By Michael Kachitsa A growing body of academic and popular literature considers the history of South African football. These and existing publications pay little or no attention to the emergence of white professional football in apartheid South Africa. The National Football League (NFL) challenged the amateur game and introduced professional football to the country. During its 17-year existence, the NFL grew each season with large attendances until its demise in 1977. In addition, the NFL imported a range of international players, invited foreign teams and actively engaged in the political debates in South African sport at the time. The NFL was instrumental in popularising the game across the country for all South Africans.  The NFL became the most popular sports entertainment of choice for South Africans during this period. Finally, the NFL actively engaged in a campaign of destroying rival non-racial anti-apartheid leagues while simultaneously co-opting less progressive organisations.

By Michael Kachitsa Former Argentinian Diego Maradona scored one of the most underhanded goals in World Cup history in 1986. It’s known as the “Hand of God.” Standing at 5-foot-5 (1.65 meters), Maradona had a low center of gravity allied with exceptional strength, a combination that allowed him to wiggle free from opponents in a flash. After his disappointment at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, where he was sent off in Argentina’s final match against Brazil, Maradona turned up in Mexico with a heap of pressure on his back. It was clear he was one of the most talented players in the history of the game, but to be bracketed alongside Pele as the best ever, he surely needed to win the World Cup. Maradona would have more highs — and lows — in his career, but his exploits in 1986 will forever seal his status as one of the greatest players of all time.