Shaya bemoans lack of talent

Shaya, the only player to be voted Soccer Star of the Year five times locally, told The Zimbabwean recently that the “game has gone down” compared to his time back in the 1970s.

“I can’t remember the last time I went to watch a local match. In the past, we used to have good football, but what we have now is terrible. You get a team failing to make four good passes. We have not had exciting players like Peter Ndlovu lately and it is worrying,” said the former Dynamos striker.

“Even the national team lacks the talent we had when I played. The current crop of players is just not good. Of course we may try to qualify for the World Cup, but do you think we can win it?”

Apparently, lack of junior football development initiative was destroying the game.

“We do not have a viable youth policy in Zimbabwe, which can groom players to the right standard. There should be sort of a law forcing every club to have a Youth Policy starting from the Under-16s, Under-18s and Under-20s,” added Shaya.

“When we played, we gave people good Sunday afternoons. It started with the Under-16, Under-18s, then the reserve sides before the main game. That no longer exists and that is the reason why our football has gone down.”

Shaya, won several medals, but because of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence, Zimbabwe was banned by FIFA from competing in international tournaments and he, together with other stars like Zimbabwe Saints’ Moses Moyo, Stanley Ndunduma of Caps United, team-mate Ernest Kamba and Tendai Chieza of Mhangula, never got much of international exposure.

He only tasted international exposure playing against neighbours, South Africa, then also banned due to Apartheid.

He ruled out the assertion that he could have relied on Juju to become a great.

“We had some of our leaders giving us some juju, but it didn’t always work. I remember one time when we played Tornados. We were all given some form of muti, but we lost that game 3-1. When we faced them in a league game, we refused all that and won 4-1,” he recalled.

“We were a bunch of youngsters who were exposed to football at a very early age. With the likes of Peter Nyama, David Madondo, James Gwatidzo, one could see pure talent.

“We have still have talent in the townships, but there are no facilities. City Councils need to upgrade their sporting facilities in the high density suburbs. There are so many youngsters roaming about drinking beer because there is lack of activity.”

Shaya, who grew up playing football in Mbare, still has great respect for former Tornados left back, Peter Manyara.

“I would only celebrate victory after the final whistle when playing against him,” he said.

Shaya was voted best local league player in 1969, 1972, 1975, 1976 and 1977.

“It was always due to teamwork. We didn’t have good coaches, but relied on each other for advice. So it was more of us as players planning our game at training and implementing it.

“It was not as tough as it sounds (working without a coach). In fact, it is one thing the players today need to learn – to rely more on each other on the field and not wait for the coaches’ instructions.”