Stars selection puzzle

By The NewsDay | Nov. 28, 2017 | 3 Min read

WHILE there is a tendency by selectors of the Soccer Stars of the Year to choose the outstanding player and coach from a team that has won the championship, there is a good chance that they may break away from that tradition after an exciting season. The selection criteria is modelled along other international awards including the Fifa Balon D’or, where a player is judged mainly on the achievement of his club.

BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA

But in England, for example, they have broken tradition in the presentation of awards to managers with those that have not won the league title having also been recognised for their overall contribution, thus reflecting the weight of their achievements.

Four managers have won the award without winning the Premier League trophy in the same season, George Burley in the 2000-01 season, having guided Ipswich Town to fifth place in the league, after only securing the club’s promotion from the First Division the previous season.

Harry Redknapp also won it in the 2009-10 season for steering Tottenham Hotspur to a top-four finish for the first time in 20 years with Alan Pardew also laying his hands on it in the 2011-12 season, having guided Newcastle United to their highest position in nine years while Tony Pulis was presented with the manager of the season award in 2013-14, after steering Crystal Palace from bottom of the league in November to an 11th-place finish.

Here in Zimbabwe, FC Platinum won their maiden championship on Saturday, the first time since 1966 for a team from outside Harare or Bulawayo to manage that feat. Is there any player from FC Platinum who went beyond the call of duty and deserves to walk away with the coveted Soccer Star of the Year award?

Can the exploits of a player like Dominic Chungwa of Caps United who scored an incredible 17 goals, considering he only nailed down a place in the team after the departure of Abbas Amidu, this season on the grounds that his team finished a distant fifth position and reward, for instance, Rodwell Chinyengetere or Kelvin Moyo simply because FC Platinum won the league title?

The selectors face a tough decision in choosing the coach of the year.

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Dynamos’ Lloyd Mutasa fell short of winning the championship after finishing second in a very close race, but he built a team from scratch with meagre resources where he had to conduct trials, yet he still came out with a force that was only pipped on the last day.

DeMbare were a laughing stock at the beginning of the season, but ended as a fearsome force.

But then again can a championship-winning coach who made history by becoming the first coach to win the title with a team from outside Harare or Bulawayo since 1966, when Father Anthony Edward Davies won it with St Paul’s FC of Musami, Murewa, be ignored?

If Norman Mapeza cannot win it after winning the championship, what more does he have to do to gain recognition? It is not his problem that his team has got a strong financial resource base and they are not the only ones who have the money.

What is important is that he still got the job done.

Last season, Caps United won their first championship since 2005 and Lloyd Chitembwe was presented with the coach of the season award while team captain Hardlife Zvirekwi was crowned the Soccer Star of the Year.

In 2015, Chicken Inn won their maiden championship and Joey Antipas was chosen the coach of the year while team captain Danny “Deco” Phiri won the Soccer Star of the Year award.

And as a panel of selected football writers, coaches from all the 18 Premier Soccer League clubs and their respective team captains converge in Harare today to choose the most outstanding players and coach of the year, these are the vexing questions they will confront in their bid to bring credibility to this noble exercise.