The Renaissance Of African Keepers
#FromTheArchives — The following piece was written in March 2013 just after the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.
Since time immemorial goalkeepers have been the ultimate guardians of a football team.
From Italy’s Dino Zoff to Spain’s Iker Casillas, goalies have always been revered as the last line of defence and, occasionally, the difference between glory and despair.
Sadly, this has not always been the case when it comes to Africa.
In 1974 when Zaire were beaten 9-0 by Yugoslavia at the FIFA World Cup, Mwamba Kazadi instantly became the role model of the idea Africa only had poor goalkeepers. That was Africa’s first appearance at a World Cup and despite rare exceptions such as Cameroon’s Thomas Nkono and Joseph Antoine Bell, African keepers did little to disprove that negative notion over following the years.
From Peter Rufai’s uncertainty for Nigeria at the 1998 World Cup to the misfortune of South Africa’s Andre Arendse against Spain in 2002, the narrative that Africa only possessed sub-standard keepers only strengthened.
The consequence was a low opinion of African keepers from outside the continent and little respect for the profession within Africa itself which perpetuated a cycle whereby the focus was on breeding outfield players rather than goalkeepers.
Thankfully, and thanks partly to some inspired performances by African keepers at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, there seems to be a gradual change in the air and 2013 the mood in 2013 is a little different – there appears to be renaissance of African goalkeepers.
Goalkeeper coaching in Africa is improving.
More and more countries now employ qualified goalkeepers whereas in the past these coaches were at times volunteers while other times keepers just trained themselves.
Greater attention is now paid to the art across the continent and the outcome is that things are slowly moving from a time when a good African keeper was the exception to a future where hopefully that will be the norm.
The recent Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa was a showcase of the continent’s growing goalkeeping talent and it was in evidence again during last weekend’s 2014 World Cup qualifiers (in March 2013).
Of course there is still the bizarre, Ethiopia’s Jamel Tassew’s kung-fu kick on Zambia’s Chisamba Lungu at the AFCON being a prime example. However, there’s been more than enough evidence to suggest it is time to end the notion that Africa is the land of bad goalkeepers.
The consistently brilliant performances of South Africa’s Itumeleng Khune, Zambia’s Kennedy Mweene and Nigeria’s Vincent Enyeama in particular present strong counter-arguments to the old clichés about Africa’s goalkeepers.
On Saturday against the Central African Republic, Khune was again exemplary with his marvellous distribution and his positioning. For his part, Zambia’s Mweene — who saves penalties as efficiently as he scores them — has been a model of consistency for club and country over the last four years with the highlight being his prominent role in Zambia’s fairytale 2012 AFCON title win.
Enyeama, arguably Africa’s top keeper, first made global headlines during the 2010 World Cup for a stunning display against Argentina and he was at it again last month when he led Nigeria to its first Nations Cup title in 19 years.
There are still challenges facing Africa’s keepers. Despite progress, many countries remain behind when it comes to goalkeeping training techniques while sometimes keepers are outfield players who were pushed into the posts.
Keepers are also generally exposed to a different type of game locally in comparison to leagues abroad. A local match, for example, may be filled with more flair but see far fewer crosses and high balls pumped into the penalty area.
Such disparities have contributed to a tendency of European clubs to underrate African goalkeepers. At the recent Nations Cup only Togo’s Kosi Agassa, of Reims in France’s Ligue 1, was a regular starter at a club in one of Europe’s so-called top five leagues.
On the other hand, outfield players such as Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o continue to form the backbone of top European club sides.
Cameroon goalkeeping legend N’Kono, who was a two-time Africa Footballer of the Year, says views of African keepers are improving but some preconceived misconceptions remain.
“I am not sure if people any longer have a generally low opinion of African goalkeepers,” says N’Kono. “But I think there was time when maybe people abroad thought in terms of Mwamba Kazadi and one bad World Cup match.”
It is a battle Africa keepers such as Khune and Mweene face when it comes to breaking through into European football.
Since N’Kono and Bell had success in the eighties for Spain’s Espanyol and France’s Marseille respectively, African keepers having long successful spells for a top European team has been rare.
Goalkeeper does remain a problem position for several African nations, but there are enough good keepers to end the stereotype of the naive African goalkeeper.
It is OK to know Africa’s stoppers for their uniqueness.
DRC keeper Robert Kidiaba delighted the world with his unique donkey dance celebration during the recent AFCON, but it should also be known that Africa has quality goalkeepers that can hold their own against the best in the world.
