Zimpapers Logo

SHARUKO ON SATURDAY
AFRICANS dominated the news this week, for both the good and the bad, in Manchester — a Libyan suicide bomber claiming the lives of 22 people and a footballer of Guinean descent giving this grieving city a reason to smile, amid all this destruction, with a starring Europa Cup final show.

Salman Abedi was just a 22-year-old when he blew himself up outside a pop concert on Monday night and, in the process, slaughtering 22 other people in a horrific terrorist attack to hit outside the home of iconic football club Manchester United.

And, two days later Paul Pogba, a 24-year-old whose parents came from Guinea to settle in France and who, in August, became the most expensive footballer in the history of the game to return and play for United from Juventus, was the star of the show as the Red Devils triumphed in the Europa Cup final to give grieving Mancunians a reason to smile in these troubled times.

Football has always had a unique way of providing a comforting blanket for Manchester in the city’s battles with tragedy and isn’t it ironic that in the year preceding the 50th anniversary of the Busby Babes’ ’68 European Cup success — which wiped off some of the tears triggered by the Munich plane crash — United should provide this city with something to cheer its spirits, this week, with their Europa Cup triumph?

And, just like in 1968, Portugal featured prominently in the tale. While United’s success in 1968 was against Portuguese giants Benfica, their success this week was masterminded by a Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho.

But, away from Manchester and its tale of tragedy and triumph this week, another African boy dominated headlines with Gabonese international forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang becoming the first footballer from the continent, after the legendary Ghanaian Tony Yeboah in the ‘90s, to win the Golden Boot in the Bundesliga.

Aubameyang, who has a frightening pace that makes you believe he would have made a success as a sprinter, and an eye for goal to rival the best forwards in the world, scored twice in his team’s final game last weekend to beat Polish striker Robert Lewandowski to the Golden Boot.

The Gabonese forward’s 31 goals ensured that he ended the Bundesliga’s 24-year wait for an African footballer to win the Golden Boot and he became only the third player from Borussia Dortmund to win that award.

The last Dortmund player to win the Golden Boot, Lewandowski, scored 20 goals during that season three years ago.

There is something special about Aubameyang that has made him hot property for a number of leading clubs from Europe and reports suggest he could even be traded to Real Madrid this European summer and, even if he doesn’t go there, the list of suitors is very long with Arsenal also part of the mix.

Interestingly, Aubameyang wasn’t born in Gabon, the national team that he plays for, but was born in France and, for some time, spent his childhood in Italy and this meant he was eligible to play for either the French or the Spaniards.

Given his talent, there is no questioning he would have made it into either the French or Italian national teams where his chances of winning the World Cup were better, but somehow, he chose to play for his fatherland.

On this year’s Nations Cup finals, the Gabonese national coach, Jose Antonio Camacho, even compared him to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

“He’s one of the best in the world,” the Spaniard said. “It’s not just in Africa, it’s in all the confederations. It’s normal when you have such a player in your team, to rely on him. It’s the same with Messi at Barcelona or Ronaldo at Real Madrid. He is playing the same role for Dortmund.

“Gabon is very lucky to have such a great player in our squad, so it’s normal for us to rely on him.’’

The Gabonese team, which he captained, were knocked out in the group stages in a tournament held in their backyard, but given his talent which would have seen him win bigger titles playing for either France or Italy, Aubameyang doesn’t regret it all.

“Gabon has been a choice of heart,” the star, who represented France and Italy at youth level said. “Playing AFCON, it’s beautiful and playing at home is even more beautiful. “I could have chosen Spain because my mother is from Spain, (but) I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps. My father had 80 caps for Gabon, many of them as the country’s captain.

“It was a decision made from my heart and for my family. It has always been my dream to make the people of Gabon happy. I made that dream come true by becoming Gabon’s first ever African Footballer of the Year.

“It’s my culture. I lived all the time in France, but it’s like I was born in Gabon. For me, this choice was easy because my father was my first favourite player. I was in the stadium watching him for the first time when I was maybe three years old, and straight away I knew I wanted to do it like him. That’s it.”

AND HE ISN’T THE ONLY ONE

Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi left Nigeria when he was about four and has lived all his life in London, but after impressing for the England youth teams, when it came to the senior national team, he chose his fatherland Nigeria.

“I understand why some England fans are surprised with my decision. It was a difficult one to make, one I thought very carefully about. I have no regrets,” he said.

“I have no regrets. When I was first invited by the Nigeria FA, my dad told me to follow my heart and that is what I have done. “I’m very proud to represent Nigeria, but I would like to say thank you to England for the chance they gave me, it was a difficult decision.

“The love Nigeria showed me, when I played for them in a friendly, the fans were just crazy. The fans almost eat you up because they love you so much. I’m enjoying playing for them.

“When you are getting out of the airport there are fans already there screaming ‘Arsenal, Arsenal. Gunners for life!’ and it’s just mad. “Some of them have Arsenal shirts and then others will ask me for Arsenal shirts. It’s a bit mad and the fans are crazy.”

AND WHAT ABOUT OUR BOYS?

Aubameyang and Iwobi play for the top clubs in Europe and earn huge sums of money and one would have expected them to be tempted by the comfort of the lives they have spent in that part of the world to try their luck to play for England, France or Germany.

But these guys were guided by their hearts that their motherlands needed them more and chose to come back home to represent the countries that meant so much for them and their family trees.

However, while these stars have chosen this path, it appears our boys — those who have links to this country through their parents who came from here — consider it an abomination to come back to Zimbabwe and represent the Warriors.

If we have to accept what the Warriors team manager Wellington Mpandare told the media this week, some of them have been saying they can’t come here because they aren’t so sure that we have the right kind of hotels to accommodate them.

My God!

Suddenly, some of these guys now believe that they are even bigger superstars than Michael Jackson, probably the greatest pop singer of all-time, who came down here and spent time at the Meikles Hotel which, now and again, is hailed as one of the best hotels in Africa it even brags that “there is only one Meikles.’’

If Andy Cole, who was a bigger star than some of our stars could come here and stay for days, lauding our comfort, surely how can these boys suddenly start believing that they are superstars who can’t be accommodated at any of our five-star hotels because they are sub-standard?

Why should these guys suddenly believe that we live in the Stone Age that all their good lives in England will be compromised should they come here for a week-long national duty while, interestingly, they have no issues about going to other places in West Africa, like Guinea, should we qualify for the Nations Cup finals, where the standards of hotels are pathetic?

Mpandare even suggested that one of the players said he was even glad to fly and play for the Warriors at the COSAFA tournament in South Africa and return to his base in England as long as he didn’t get into this country.

What utter rubbish!

Of course, this is a very emotive issue, but what I can’t understand is why suddenly we believe that we have to go down on our knees to beg these so-called First World stars for them to come and play for the Warriors when we have done decently, in recent years, in their absence?

Why are we in such a rush to try and rope them into the Warriors when their hearts are clearly not with this country and when they seemingly don’t want to be identified with us because they believe we are people still trapped in medieval times?

In any case, Mpandare should be telling us what the Warriors can really benefit from these players because, from my recollection, a number of them are not as good as Billiat or Musona and their only advantage is that they were born in England and it was easy for them to get a chance to play for the lower league sides in that country.

Aubameyang showed us that it’s about the heart, the passion to play for your fatherland, which matters and this is a real superstar, someone who can walk into the French team today and probably walk into the Spanish team today.

But he chose the place that his people call home.

No one begged him to come to play for Gabon, he did it on his own, and that’s what is wanted and not the way we are doing things where we go around the world trying to get anyone with links to this country and hoping they will say I will come and play for you even when they don’t associate themselves with this country.

It’s better to fail with people who have pride in calling themselves Zimbabweans, in good and bad times, than to succeed with a group that doesn’t believe they belong here and can’t wait, after a match, to fly back to the country they consider to be their home.

It’s better to be beaten, fielding players who believe this country is the be-all-and-end-all for them, because you can be rest assured they will give it their best shot, rather than bring in scores of players who don’t identify themselves with this country.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Come on United!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rashfoooord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Text Feedback — 07192545199 (I migrated to OneFusion)

WhatsApp Messenger — 07192545199

Email — [email protected]

Skype — sharuko58

• Chat with me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @Chakariboy, interact with me on Viber or read my material in The Southern Times or on www.sportszone.co.zw. The authoritative ZBC weekly television football magazine programme, Game Plan, is back on air and you can interact with me and the legendary Charles “CNN” Mabika and producer Tich “Chief” Mushangwe every Monday night at 21:45pm.