AfricaPress-Tanzania: WHAT could easily have passed for a fable and daydreaming, surprisingly, comes to reality as former Simba Sports Club colourful mobilizer Haji Manara is back in town – in the opposite camp.
That could scarcely have been imagined even at the height of the squabble with his former employers, as pundits were ruling out that he can be roped in by the rivals he was always at pains to demean and whittle their spirits.
They were all wrong, or better say we were all wrong, as it is hard to pick who was the wiser in these developments.
One particular dimension of this impression was that he had personally attacked Simba SC’s chief sponsor and Mohamed Enterprise’s mogul, Mo Dewji, and Chief Executive Officer, Barbara Gonzalez, sort of pitting the MeTL with the Bakhresa Group, now backing Young Africans SC in a business deal.
The link is quite short of being sponsorship of the club as it is patterned on the GSM Group model, that they pick an aspect of club goodwill- the latter have jerseys to trade upon, and Bakhresa has events to cover.
That is how the maverick extrovert hit the town with a bang, starting a speaking career with the Jangwani Street club rank and file.
What we thus learn from the new developments is that the problem wasn’t exactly with Manara, as to which employer he had his loyalties, if it is MeTL-cum-Simba SC or it was Bakhresa, whose products were featured on his social media page, sparking a conflict of interests issue.
The staunch majordomo appeared unrealistic to see the management as excessively concerned on his commercial links with the Bakhresa group and by implication, while at that time the commercial deal with Yanga was just getting in shape
It however did not appear that this would make a difference, that is, endear him to their archrivals.
That is precisely what happened, and pundits and other watchers were at a loss to find the magnitudes of the sea change in sympathies for Haji Manara.
The move from being a sort of outcast not just in Simba ranks but in the soccer environment as a whole for disloyalty and sour ending of his Simba links instead of quiet departure and seeking greener pastures, to succeed finding new pastures just next door, was astonishing, to say the least.
It all looks a bit irrational that someone who broke all the rules of civility in employment via dual loyalties, inviting disciplinary measures against him before the whole city crowd and well beyond, would in a month or so be the toast of the day as a morale-boosting machine for Yanga.
What wasn’t lacking in the wake of these developments were appealed for precautions and observation if indeed the media pundit and showman is the right fellow to take Yanga to another stage in club cohesion and spirit for the team.
It however appeared to fit into a pattern, if one recalls how people were surprised to hear that “Mainland Tanzania Premier League giants Young Africans SC (Yanga SC) have confirmed Senzo Mbatha Mazingiza as their new Chief Executive Officer,” moments after he broke with the Msimbazi Street clubhouse.
Each of the parameters is guarded, what is the difference with picking up Haji Manara?
To focus on the game pattern in the psychological warfare between the two clubs, it was only the previous day – or rather an early morning on Tuesday, the day of the Manara news hit – that pundits were discussing the score of sorts by Yanga at the international sports tribunal on the fabled case of Bernard Morrison.
The tribunal said in a ruling that the player has a case to answer concerning the club’s complaints of breach of contract, lack of trust, and dishonesty in what he – and the archrivals – said about his contract with Jangwani Street club officials.
Even without a formal settlement as to what Yanga gets from the issue, this was already a healthy bit of news for the beleaguered rank and file – and now this astonishing shift.
In his remarks at the welcoming ceremony as ‘son of the soil,’ whose father is a Yanga legend and thus a stalwart despite the wayward sentiments of his son – whose loyalties are with his grandfather Haji, a club leader at Msimbazi Street club – the maverick extrovert struck a professional tone.
He compared his case with how professional players often change clubs and cited the case of a deceased professional coach, Syllersaid Mziray, that at one period he coached Simba SC and at another period he worked for Young Africans SC, thus there was nothing strange about his switching sides.
He had a point but most observers will take it with a pinch of salt, as mobilization includes a passion for a club while coaching is strictly technical.
Haji is simply saying that such assertions are naïve, as in both spheres one uses skills to earn a living, ok?
