Billy Shankly, Liverpool Legend
First is first, second is nothing. Perhaps that is very
harsh but in football the number two tag sucks and is very hard to shake off.
When the legendary scot, Sir Alex Fergusson retired, his longtime assistant,
Mike Phelan was not even talked for a second of taking over his reign. In
football, the longer you stay as an assistant, the harder it is to get promoted
to the top job.
In Tanzania, there are two very loyal club lieutenants at
Msimbazi and Jangwani who have stayed far too long as assistants to ever make
the cut at the top. Fred Felix Minziro has served Yanga as a player and coach
for a long time without ever being fully trusted to take charge of the first
team for a full season. Having served as
a team manager and assistant coach for many years, Minziro is not considered a
legitimate number one; at best he is viewed as an able and loyal assistant at
Jangwani.
Like all loyal, able and reliable servants, Minziro has
stuck with Yanga through thick and thin, he has shed tears, sweated blood and
salt for the club colours but has always been overlooked when it comes to the
number one job. Whenever there is a managerial change at Jangwani, he often
serves as a caretaker coach, merely warming up the seat for someone better
qualified. Neither being questioned of his loyalty nor being deemed suitable for
the club top job. That’s his bitter-sweet cup to drink. Minziro case is not
helped by the fact that he was in charge when Yanga were humiliated 5-0 by
their arch-rivals Simba. That effectively sealed his fate for the top job,
completely silenced his backers in spite of the fact that the club was in total
chaos at that particular moment.
In Msimbazi, Jamhuri Kihwelo is a long time Simba assistant.
He has served the club under different managements but always as an assistant
or caretaker coach. It is his fate. He whines, goes away frustrated but like a
blind lover who cannot stay away for too long always comes back and serves the
club. The Simba blood flowing in him is too much for him to completely turn
away from the club.
No matter what he says when leaving Simba, one thing always
remains constant; Julio and Simba are lifetime partners. Time after time, Julio
and Simba relationship gets toxic but like the prodigal son, he always returns
to the streets that he has walked all his life. Last year he was overlooked
when Frenchman, Patrick Liewig was hired, again this year Kibadeni was
appointed to the number one post as the faithful Julio stuck with the assistant
position.
For Minziro and Julio, the more things change at Yanga and
Simba, the more they remain the same. They are destined to be number
two. Good assistants but not good enough to be entrusted to take full charge
at the top. As Kenny Rogers sings in ‘A soldier’s King’ some are born to serve,
some are born to be great…some are born to be forgotten...some are born to be number two?
