Will da Rosa deliver the French toast?

Mqondisi Dube | Tuesday November 7, 2023 09:14

Da Rosa checks in at a time when the Botswana Football Association (BFA) attempts to arrest a slide that has taken the Zebras from an all time best of 53 in the world rankings, to the current 148. It is now 13 years since the Zebras attained their highest ranking but it has all been looking bleak in recent years. The Zebras should be football’s biggest brand but the team is now barely recognizable. The man from France, da Rosa, the first from the European nation to handle a Zebras job, has now been tasked with reversing the team’s fortunes.

In 2012, the nation was toasting to its first ever appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations finals, thanks to the works of Stanley Tshosane and a class whose leader was one gangly Mompati Thuma. Those memories are fast fading and the new generation needs to create its own collection of glorious moment. The BFA believes da Rosa could perform the Houdini Act. But can he provide the Midas touch in an environment that has proved inhabitable for successive coaches? The coach’s arrival has been more under the radar due to the nation’s growing disinterest in a Zebras team that has been underwhelming. Only a handful care about what the current Zebras present. Now the burden of proof lies solely on da Rosa’s shoulders to prove a doubting nation wrong. I honestly don’t expect much from da Rosa. I tip the status quo to remain as the evolving door at BFA works faster than clockwork. Adel Amrouche came with a more or less similar impressive resume, but did not succeed. He went to Tanzania and he was an instant success. Tanzania are on their way to the AFCON finals next year, while the Zebras remain home. Most coaches who have come and gone usually sing from the same hymn book and the common theme is the lack of general support from the association. Although da Rosa is expected to pull a rabbit out of a hat, it will not happen until there is a mindset shift at the BFA.

Manchester United has huffed and puffed since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson more than a decade ago. They have changed coaches like underwear, but the situation has stubbornly refused to change. The same will go on and on at the BFA. In football it's called the ‘kick-and-hope’ tactic or typically a stab in the dark. Everything should be systematic, that is, follow a certain pattern with clearly laid down deliverables. Football is not feja feja, a street game involving guess work with the hope of making a quick buck. But against all odds, the nation will hope da Rosa provides the nation with the French toast (the moment and not the meal that does not necessarily have its roots in France).