Renowned American author and minister of the Oak Hills Church, Max Lucado teaches us that: “A man who wants to flawlessly lead the orchestra must be prepared to turn his back on the crowd”.
I’m particularly tapping from Lucado’s wise words to pay a befitting tribute to Namibia’s Brave Gladiators head coach Paulus Shipanga, who shepherded the women’s national senior side at the recent Cosafa Cup in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa.
In Nelson Mandela Bay, Shipanga and his charges lost their opening match of the competition to eventual winners Zambia, before dusting themselves off with back-to-back wins against Lesotho and Eswatini to reach their first Cosafa semi-finals in as many years.
Unfortunately, in the semi-finals, the Gladiators narrowly lost 0-1 to South Africa as they missed out on a golden opportunity to book their spot in the final.
Despite the outcome, there are many positive lessons that the Gladiators, coach Shipanga, and all football-loving Namibians took home and their gallant showing at this year’s competition gives us all hope for the future.
Mind you, leading up to their 2022 Cosafa Cup participation, coach Shipanga had to weather a few storms as the Gladiators were forced to protest outside the Namibia Football Association (NFA) Football House due to unpaid wages and also issues involving the travelling arraignments of some foreign-based players. Also, another factor is that the coach had little time to prepare for the tournament.
That basically means coach Shipanga was faced with the huge task of motivating and counselling a group of unsatisfied players, and also had to, at times, apply emotional intelligence in order to intervene and convince some of his senior foreign-based players to join the team amidst the row over unpaid wages.
Not only that but his appointment as the man to oversee the Gladiators at this year’s Cosafa Cup was met with wanton resistance as some felt that he was not the right man for the job and lacked coaching experience at a regional and continental level.
But to the surprise of all, Shipanga and his charges managed to punch above their weight as they reached the semi-finals, where they managed to give host South Africa a good run for their money.
The coach also proved his (wo)man-management skills and ability to learn and serve at the highest level if an opportunity is granted. I must applaud the NFA for looking and giving a chance to one of our very own. That’s how capacity is built; by empowering from within and not from outside.
From here going forward, let’s continue to support and rally behind our local coaches whenever they are entrusted with national duties, as that is the only way Namibian football can reach greater heights.
With Namibia being a land blessed with countless ‘self-anointed football experts’ and detractors, I leave coach Shipanga with the wise words of Lucado; “A man who wants to flawlessly lead the orchestra must be prepared to turn his back on the crowd”.
Until next time, sharp sharp!!