Grab a tip from 2014 world cup

The marvel of vanishing free-kick spray. The sophistication of goal-line technology. Tears, sweat and not stone throwing on and off the pitch. The rise and rise of counter-attacking football. The slow agonising death of tiki-taka football.

The above phrases capture some of the highlights, and with it, lessons from the 2014 Fifa World Cup which fetched 171 goals to match a long time record. Such goals left fans across the globe hugely satisfied that Brazil indeed hosted the Hollywood of world football.

Brutal, mean, clinical and efficient define irresistible Germany’s march to the World Cup winners’ podium when trampling on Argentina with a 1-0 Mario Gotze extra-time blitz.

It was not only about stone-faced Germay coach Joachim Loew’s tactics triumphing, but collective scheming and long-term planning spanning 10 years coming to fruition. It is all about long-term athletes’ development which Malawi lacks.

Malawi football was watching, but whether those entrusted with administration which is instrumental for planning, and coaches whose domain is tactics, learnt a thing or two from the World Cup is another thing all together.

For National Referees Committee (NRC) general secretary Chris Kalichero and Southern Region Referees Committee Alfred Chasowa, their eyes were on that spray that vanished in seconds after being sprayed to demarcate a free-kick spot.

“We do not have that technology, but we learnt quite a lot on the importance of referees being professional and making their presence felt and stamping authority on the pitch,” Kalichero explained recently.

As an administrator with a sharp eye for talent, for Kondie Msungama, Big Bullets chairperson, watching the World Cup helped to admire how the top football nations plan meticulously on and off the pitch.

“The lesson is that football is played from the first to the last whistle. Malawians play flowery football. When we score, we sit back and relax. Off the pitch, it is clear that football is serious business. When a team represents a nation the whole country benefits including from exposure,” Msungama noted.

Even those who supported losing Argentina such as FAM transfer matching system manager Casper Jangale picked a lesson or two.

“My World Cup experience has been amazing. It was a good tournament, very unpredictable. I like the way the technical aspect of the game has changed. It seems good planning coupled with better tactics and right ingredients pays,” Jangale explained.

Former Mighty Wanderers defender Idrissa Walesi followed the World Cup action with an eye on tactics, noting that he now realises that names do not play, but hard work can overcome any obstacle.

If there is a club coach who should be better placed to share his World Cup experience on tactics, then it is Atletico Madrid’s Argentine mentor Diego Simeone.

“Tactically, I did not see too much that was new. We saw teams working on closing spaces, getting a lot of men forward and above all sides using quick players like Mario Gotze, Toni Kroos, Angel di Maria, Perez, Oscar, Thomas Muller – players that give you the opportunity as a coach to have guys who can attack and also defend,” Simeone wrote in his column on www.goal.com last week.

“The team that had the most of those players was Germany – and they were the ones who ended up winning it. The location also made it special. Football in South America has a unique flavour, with plenty of passion in the stands and a great atmosphere. That also helped make for an exciting competition.”

Closer to home, Zimbabwe Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Andrew Langa also wants Africa and his countrymen to take a leaf from the Germans who spent more than a decade preparing for their conquest of world football.

“Let us support our national associations rather than give criticism that is not constructive as together we can build sport and at the same time the associations should foster investor confidence in sport.

It is encouraging to see a number of stakeholders involved as sport has a huge influence on our lives,” Langa told www.herald.co.zw last Thursday.