‘The game has deteriorated’

MASERU – When comparing the football of today and yesteryear, Lesotho legend Teele Ntšonyana says the country’s standards have deteriorated.

Ntšonyana, a former Likuena striker who plied his trade at the highest level in South Africa, says the quality of players in Lesotho keeps declining because of a lack of succession strategies in local football.

Ntšonyana, a coach and instructor who has worked for several Vodacom Premier League teams, says much-needed support from the government and funders has plummeted dramatically as well.

“In our days, football was bolstered in many different ways,” the Lijabatho head coach says.

“Teams had sound development structures which were meant to nurture young talent,” he adds.

“Even schools had such structures; there was (an) A team, B team and C team which was always inspiring players to perform to the best of their abilities in any category (team).”

Ntšonyana says schools were enthusiastic about football and top-flight teams were affiliated to schools in their immediate environment.

He made an example with Lioli which had players from schools in Teya-Teyaneng such as ’Mamathe High School.

In Leribe, Linare had players from Hlotse High School and in Ntšonyana’s home village, Mazenod, Swallows had players from Masianokeng High School.

Many other clubs had similar relationships with school, he said.

“The competition level at schools rubbed off on the premier league,” he says.

In the past, according to Ntšonyana, physical strength and mental fortitude were central and instrumental to the selection of players and it yielded a crescendo of entertaining football at the highest level.

Ntšonyana complains that today’s football is dominated by players with small frames which results in an un-lively spectacle.

Ntšonyana is critical of the body size of the majority of players in the country because he says it has had a bearing on the poor performance of domestic teams on the international stage.

The former striker acknowledges there have been exceptional players with short or small body frames who have defied the odds such as Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona.

However, Ntšonyana says those players can be fielded owing to their special talent and the vast majority of the team must be made up of players with well-built bodies.

“We used to play with extremely talented and well-developed players who had a footballing brain coupled with a footballing body,” Ntšonyana explains.

He says FIFA has not been wrong by modelling the ideal football player by using a representation of France legend Zinedine Zidane, who himself had a tall and imposing physique. The FIFA model pays particular attention to a player’s height, muscle mass as well as thinking capacity.

These features, Ntšonyana says, are embedded together to make a complete player.

“The body size of the players actually matters,” he explains.

“Most of the players who are presently playing football (in the Vodacom Premier League) wouldn’t have played in the past due to their small body size.”

Due to the nature of our players, Ntšonyana feels the brand of football Lesotho should emulate as a country is that of Japan and South Korea which play a pressing game that is based on group cohesion and not individuality.

He says Lesotho as a country should be a team that is also collectively aggressive to make-up for our small bodies.

“Our first opponents are our fellow African teams. Their players tower at around two metres,” he says.

“They are very athletic and muscular. Even before we think about the world, we have to think of being a match for them and give them a run for their money.”

Ntšonyana says Lesotho does not have a football identity because there is no National Playing Philosophy (NPP).

“The NPP has to be in line itself with the nature of the players we have. This has to be manifested from the development level,” he says.

Ntšonyana’s own philosophy believes in smart players who play hard, are entertaining and quick, and score goals.

“This is an identity which I suppose could be suitable for our players,” he says.

Ntšonyana believes there is a need for players to play entertaining football as it is the only way to improve the game’s standard and draw more supporters to the stadium.

To his point, one would reminisce back to the Swallows team of 2003 and how they filled the north-western part of Setsoto Stadium during the inaugural year of the then-lucrative Buddie Challenge in 2003.

As an underdog team, Swallows went on to win the trophy from the hands of favourites Matlama.

“The standard of soccer has fallen drastically because the football played does not give spectators their money’s worth,” Ntšonyana says, adding: “In our days and even in the time before us, the players were very robust and played engaging and entertaining football.”

The reason why our stadiums remain empty, Ntšonyana says, “is the type of boring football we play.”

In the past players like Frisco Khomari, Mochini Matete, Thulo Leboela were worthy of being watched and you have to be entertaining in order to attract people to come to the stadiums, Ntšonyana says.

He says a football match is a ‘show’ meant to entertain the crowd.

“It’s a spectacle!” Ntšonyana exclaims.

Entertainment would give reason for people to flock to the stadiums like it used to be in the past, he insists.

Back then supporters would follow their teams even during training sessions and would go on to watch the execution of the sessions during match-day on weekends.

“We have to play entertaining football and our players need to be faster and score goals because that’s what people pay for,” the former Likuena star says.

For Ntšonyana, what is underpinning the lack of progress in local football is a lack of long-term player development structures in order to export players.

He is concerned that there has not been a breakthrough in Lesotho football.

“I don’t see drastic measures taken to turn tables around and improve on the standard of football in the country,” he says.

“Unfortunately, I don’t see any change going to happen any time in the near future as there are no structures in place to remedy the status quo. The only way to go is development.”

Ntšonyana says he wishes local football could have the kind of administration which truly has the interests of growing football by taking a leap that catches up with other countries.

He believes that when football was evolving and being industrialised, Lesotho lagged behind and interest in the sport lapsed among Basotho which caused parents to discourage their children from partaking in it.

“We failed by not professionalising football at an early stage,” he says.

Ntšonyana is often found at loggerheads with many in the football fraternity as he tries to propose feasible solutions to grow the sport using his experience in the game.
He started playing for the national team, Likuena, in 1992 and spent 12 years in the senior set-up.

Calvin Motekase