Never mind his diminutive size, Mwinyi Kazimoto is arguably
the best midfielder in Tanzania. His precise and accurate ball distribution
separates him from the rest of the pack, simply
puts him at the top of the pyramid. The
small built Tanzanian rarely
misplaces a pass, you will definitely have to be very patient to witness his misplaced pass. Having
seen him battling with the best midfielders, going toe to toe, matching them
skill to skill, many have not shied away
from declaring his supreme ball control and distribution being up there
with the best.
In spite of his size,
Kazimoto likes the ball at his feet. He
is very comfortable with the ball at his
feet. Not only does he knows when to pass it, he knows how to pass it, rarely
over-hitting or under-hitting a pass. In a domestic league where so many players are limited in their passing range, where
only a handful can accurately pull off
an accurate long range pass, Kazimoto stands out head and shoulder high.
His is
a delightful combination of both long and short range accurate passes. He
excels in holding up play to enable his team mates to breathe and absorb the
pressure from opponents. He is tenacious with the ball excellently shielding
and screening it before picking out a
well-placed team mate.
Playing for Simba and Taifa Stars, Kazimoto exudes
confidence, calmness and intelligence. His composure with the ball has rightly
earned him a nickname, Ball Dancer. In a period where we have seen our local
players so much devoid of calmness to the extent of often picking needless
cards, Kazimoto offers a ray of hope and restores our fading faith in local
talents. His calmness, confidence and intelligence is a reflection of
professional discipline that has made him a darling to many fans. In a country
equally divided between Simba and Yanga, a healthy but very extreme rivalry,
where it is an abomination to admire
and covet your rival
player even when playing for the
national team, Kazimoto is among the very few Tanzanian player whose inclusion
in the national team set up is always praised by both set of fans from Simba
and Yanga. His absence in Taifa Stars is always missed by even the most ardent
of all Yanga fans. A very rare feat achieved
by very few players in Tanzania.
What he lacks in size is fully compensated with his
calmness. Many still remember the Cecafa
semi-final match against Uganda’s
Cranes. Most of our players lost their heads in the end resorting to some
shameful and embarrassing thuggish tackles. Despite the bitter humiliation calmness and
composure never deserted Kazimoto. He just kept playing the game as he knows,
spraying and spreading the ball neatly to his team mates who had nothing to
play for, all pride gone, humbly humiliated in front of the mammoth patriotic
home crowd. He kept moving on, chasing all the loose balls, covering all the necessary
ground. Indeed a consistent professional, doing the right thing even when there
is nothing left to play for.
In the history of the beautiful game that is football, there
has been a tendency for short player to
go for hard needless tackles to compensate for their size and to prove that
they can play it rough with the heavily built players. Perhaps, the Manchester
United midfielder maestro, Paul Scholes illustrates this observed tendency
clearly. Throughout his illustrious and trophy laden career Scholes has been accussed of committing needless tackles that
have seen him accumulate an unnecessary large number of yellow cards. Scholes
admitted to trying to stick up his boots to show he can match the big size
player. On the contrary in spite of his small size Kazimoto, though never
afraid the hard tackle, never goes for the needless tackles. On most occasion he wins the ball with a clean
touch.
To Cap it all, he has a tendency of scoring crucial goals.
His goals always scream of quality. He packs his shot with enough power to beat
any top goalkeeper. Unsurprisingly he was Tanzania’s top scorer in the Cecafa
tournament held in Dar two years ago. Most of his goals are not the simple
tap-in, his are screaming shot or magical dribbling culminating with a goal.
The last year December friendly match against Zambia saw him floating magically
with the ball to the awe of many fans. He was just not lucky to cap his brilliant
performance against Africa’s best with a goal.
Sadly he is still playing in a very uncompetitive domestic
league, a league so much devoid of competition that only two teams have won the
league in the past decade. With his ability he should be somewhere in a
competitive league exhibiting his talent among the best and well paid. He can
seamless fit in most South African League clubs, Egyptian and Sudanese
clubs. He perfectly fits in any African club that aims for possession
football. Hopefully we will one day see him donning a shirt from one of the big
boys of African club soccer or somewhere in Europe. The football world is yours
to conquer, hear me Kazimoto.
