AfricaPress-Tanzania: SIMBA SC Information Officer, Haji Manara w as left livid after goalkeeper Aishi Manula gave an interview to a local radio on Monday, without prior consent from the club leadership.
He insisted that it was important for the players to understand their limits and they should not just go and divulge information that would otherwise require clearance from the club’s leadership.
“This is very bad… our players should be professionals enough. We pay them handsomely; they have responsibility with this team and not otherwise,” laments Manara.
In his interview, Manula admitted that there was no way he could have saved the set piece from Yanga’s Bernard Morrison, which led to the solitary goal during their traditional derby match on March 8th this year.
Morrison scored a spectacular first half goal on the day to silence defending champions Simba as they succumbed to a disappointing 1-0 loss at a packed 6 0,000 National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
Commenting on the goal for the first time through a local radio station, Manula said all his goalkeeping coaches told him that whenever a shot of that nature is taken from a set piece, there is nothing you can do between the posts other than lauding the scorer.
“In such circumstances, what you have to do as a goalkeeper is to collect the ball from the net and congratulate the scorer. There is no way you can prevent the ball from getting behind the net,” Manula said.
However, asked whether he congratulated Morrison afterwards, he replied that he did not but reiterated that much respect should be directed to him (Morrison) basing on the way he took his shot.
“The speed of the ball and its height made me fail to move quickly from where I stood as such, there was nothing I could have done,” said Manula.
In another development, Manula said he has never been worried to be dropped out of the national team Taifa Stars squad, saying what matters most is the victory and nothing else.
“When I was out of Stars’ squad, the goalkeepers who were selected were doing a recommendable job and that is what I like most to see our national team winning games and move forward,” he said.
He also pointed out that the other thing which makes him happy is the fact that many Tanzanians talk a lot when he is not playing, saying that it gives him energy to work hard in training sessions.
“If you are not playing and people are talking about you, it means they miss your services meaning that you are an important asset in your team. I had an injury that is why I missed some matches for both Taifa Stars and Simba,” he said.
Asked to comment on claims by people that he concedes easy goals, Manula revealed that sometimes it happens basing on the positioning.
“A goalkeeper watches all movement of the ball on the pitch but sometimes, it happens that you lose focus hence conceding a goal in the process and that does not mean you are incompetent. “Even reputable goalkeepers like David De Gea do concede simple goals and in the same line, they do make superb saves. We cannot be 100 per cent perfect in between the poles,” he said.
He also revealed that his relationship with Beno Kakolanya is always good to the extent that they advice each other after the games on where one needs improvement so as to do well in other matches.
About his decision to move from Azam to Simba, Manula said he did that because he wanted to play in international matches since he is a professional player.
“Whatever I used to get at Azam is also available at Simba but the main reason which compelled me to cross the boundaries was the issue of international games because it is clear that Simba are regularly involved in CAF level matches,” he said.
