FOR starters, it is important that we make a distinction between being the best and being the most successful.
Liverpool just nicked it as the best side of this year, though they were not the most successful side of this campaign. That honour without a shadow of doubt belongs to Real Madrid who end the season as the most successful side in Europe, while clearly not being the best side in Europe.
While Chelsea, PSG, Manchester City and Liverpool felt hard done by their losses to Real Madrid, a number of teams in La Liga will be surprised that a Real Madrid side they often found to be distinctly average, are now champions of Europe.
At the end of the day, however, what matters most is the final outcome.
In the final analysis, no one will care that Liverpool played the prettier soccer, no one will remember that they pummelled the Real Madrid goal line or that they were unlucky
And yet the history books will have Real Madrid’s name as winners, the trophy too will have Real Madrid’s name inscribed on it as champions of Europe 2022, while Liverpool fans will sadly only have the memories of an outstanding side bristling with energy and talent who contrived to fall apart at the last hurdle against a mentally superior and battle hardened Real outfit.
We can now all lavish deserved unrestricted praise on a superb Liverpool season, marvel at Jurgen Klopp’s front three, jealously admire his unbreachable defensive lines and try to imagine their standing in the footballing world if indeed they had pulled it off against Real Madrid and won the treble.
But the reality is that Liverpool did not win.
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Sadly though, the world remembers winners and losers differently. We fondly remember the magical, but ultimately unsuccessful Hungarian side of 1954 or the dynamic Dutch losing final sides in double World Cups of 1974 and 1978.
We applauded and lapped up the footballing samba fiesta of Brazil’s 1982 World Cup side until they were ruined by Rossi of Italy. The above sides of Hungary, Holland and Brazil served up a footballing feast, but for all their magnificence, they were ultimately unsuccessful.
On another scale, the Lionel Messi-led Barcelona side of 2009 up to 2018 is without question the best and definitely the most exciting and exhilarating club football side ever.
They often failed (like Liverpool have done this season), at the business end of the Champions League when it truly mattered.Zak Hawa
Brave youths can bring change
AFRICA has the youngest population in the world and this could be a huge asset, an opportunity to mobilise reservoirs of human capacity towards the economic revival of the continent. African leaders should, therefore, listen to concerns of the young people and not impose policies on them.
They are the largest voting population, but when it comes to participation in the day-to-day running of economics, they are told that it is not yet their time because they are still very young and that their turn to be leaders will be tomorrow, not today.
I disagree with such kind of thinking. When are our young people going to take charge of the country when grandfathers in their 70s are still called youths?
Young people are finding it difficult to secure jobs and access funds to start income-generating projects. Young people are leaving the country in droves in search of greener pastures.
The problem lies in our African leaders who are very corrupt and always plundering resources to benefit themselves, forgetting that there are young people who deserve a decent life.
Through unity and bravery, the youths can surely change this country. Zimbabwe needs a vibrant and energetic youth, ready to build a strong country and powerful institutions.Chief Chiduku
Rural people want ED, Zanu PF out
I WAS on leave in the past few weeks in rural Masvingo taking a rest and at the same time trying to find out if Zanu PF still has a political following.
As a civil servant who earns peanuts and who is about to retire, I thought I should go on leave and come up with projects that can sustain me in my post retirement life.
Following what I saw in Masvingo, I am convinced that it is only a few who still believe in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s leadership.
Many cannot wait to see him go even before his term of office is over. Zanu PF stands no chance of winning anything in the rural areas in the 2023 election.
The level of poverty and suffering is unbelievable and unbearable. Food is now a luxury, with many now hardly affording a meal a day. While basic commodities are available, cash is hard to come by for most people.
As long as issues of poverty remain unresolved, Zanu PF will never be voted back into office. People now want change. They cannot continue to give power to a regime that continues to prove itself as greedy, corrupt, violent and clueless.
Rural people are prepared to die for their right to freedom. They are now ready to give Mnangagwa one major defeat. The future of this country is in limbo.
The ball is now in the Citizens Coalition for Change leader Nelson Chamisa’s court. Chamisa must touch base with rural areas. He must penetrate these areas fast and on time. There is no more such thing as “opposition no-go area”. Even those in Zanu PF now want Mnangagwa and his party out of power.
Zimbabwe is not short of credible people who can send Mnangagwa packing and put in place a democratic national leadership. Zanu PF counts for nothing having been in power for more than four decades and doing more harm than good.
Zimbabweans count on Chamisa to politically punch and chuck Mnangagwa and Zanu PF out of power.Mukunda Chitova
