Young Africans and Burkinabe football star Stephane Aziz Ki has expressed disappointment at Kaizer Chiefs youngster Mfundo Vilakazi's showboating, labelling it “nonsense.”
The two players at different junctures of their football careers have topped the trends since a pre-season friendly match between their sides at the weekend.
Aziz Ki helped Yanga of Tanzania thrash Amakhosi by 4-0 in the Toyota Cup in Bloemfontein on Sunday.
On the other side, the 18-year-old Vilakazi grabbed the headlines for his showboating or Kasi flair, if you like, which Aziz Ki has found to be overboard.
“First of all, I respect my job because I can say football is my job and I love it,” Aziz Ki said in a video footage shared by FarPost.
“I like to learn from everything and the football I saw you will never see at a high level.
“You will never see Ronaldo or any other top player doing this when you lose 2-0. It’s nonsense,” an appalled Aziz Ki said.
“I felt sad when I saw even a young player doing this. It’s not very nice for me because football is always about control and passing. Not to joke with the ball.”
The big turn-off for the 28-year-old forward was that Chiefs were already trailing when Vilakazi began to play to the gallery.
“Because when you lose it (the ball), you are also killing your team. In football, every second is important. When you stop the ball from moving you give about five seconds to the opponent to come back.
“If I can ask you who won the game, what are you going to tell me? You danced with the ball. I can’t appreciate this kind of football.”
The matter of showboating is a never-ending topic in South African football, with some for it while others lean towards the side of Aziz Ki.
South Africa has produced some of the most skilful players such as Scara Ngobese, Mark Mayambela, Jabu Mahlangu (formerly known as Pule), Khethokwakhe Masuku, Thabo Rakhale, Thabo Qalinge, Thembinkosi Lorch, Patrick Maswanganyi, Ntsako Makhubela and others.
Some coaches have said they don’t have a problem with the phenomenon if it is part of the build-up and not just do it while going backwards.
𝗔𝘇𝗶𝘇 𝗞𝗶 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗼 𝗩𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗸𝗮𝘇𝗶’𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗯𝗼𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ‘𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲’
— FARPost_ZA (@FARPostZA) July 30, 2024
“When you’re losing 2-0 and you come and do this, it’s nonsense. I was feeling sad when I saw even the young players doing this. It’s not something nice.”#FARPost pic.twitter.com/p8M1UmAo3t
