Kalisto Pasuwa and Pieter de Jongh came up against each other in the Castel Challenge Cup final at Bingu National Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
De Jongh, who, soon after arriving in the country to start his job as Silver Strikers’ coach, had vowed to end FCB Nyasa Big Bullets’ dominance, was outclassed by his opposite number in all the departments in what can be described as a terrible afternoon for the Central Bankers.
Let’s analyze how Pasuwa got the better of De Jongh.
Pasuwa was forced to make two significant changes to the squad that defeated Mighty Mukuru Wanderers in the semis last week. Chawanangwa Gumbo came into the midfield while Patrick Mwaungulu was used as a right winger.
Defender Nickson Nyasulu was dropped as Pasuwa opted to partner Gomezgani Chirwa with Clyde Senaji in defence while Blessings Mpokera played as a right-back, with Precious Phiri maintaining his position as a left-back.
As for De Jhong, he made a single change in his first eleven that lost to Mafco FC in the Airtel Top 8 Cup semifinal. He replaced Uchizi Vunga with defender Nickson Nyasulu.
Tactics
In the first ten minutes, De Jongh sent his side out to press Bullets and give them little time on the ball. This seemed to have worked as Atusaye Nyondo gave them an early lead through a well-taken corner kick from Duncan Nyoni.
But this goal ignited a fire in Bullets, who were now very offensive, and for those who know football, it was just a matter of time before Pasuwa’s charges to level.
When they equalized in the 24th minute, many expected Bullets to score more goals as they kept on pressing and dominated play using their usual dangerous players in Mwaungulu, Lanjesi Nkhoma, Maxwell Phodo, Ernest Petro, and Gumbo.
Unlike several of Pasuwa’s recent opponents, who adopted a defensive approach, it was a tactic that Silver failed as Bullets quickly worked out a way to bypass them.
The People’s Team, playing their usual high-energy attacking game, consequently dominated the match, and it was just very unfortunate for them that the game had to be decided on penalties. In all fairness, Bullets deserved to win it in the normal time.
Pasuwa knew exactly what he was dealing with: a side that prioritises playing into the midfield where they have ball players in Chimwemwe Idana, Chikondi Kamanga, and sometimes, Patrick Macheso, depending on the formation they use on a particular day.
Bullets’ line of Nkhoma, Phodo, and Mwaungulu performed dual roles of both pressing their opponents’ defense and curving their runs to block passing lanes to Idana who was silent in the entire match.
Altering their setup depending on whether their opponents dropped Macheso or Kamanga deeper or built up with three in their first line, they did so coherently while maintaining Pasuwa’s principles.
They were doing so by having a center-back who was stepping into the midfield to drag a marker away, and this movement then helped to create a passing lane into the middle of the field.
The idea was to stop Idana from moving forward with pace and precision and combine with either Macheso or Tatenda M’balaka, who always make dangerous runs into the wide areas of the opposition’s penalty box.
By doing so, the Bankers were unable to unlock the opposition’ defensive wall, hence neutralizing their attacking threats.
Pasuwa overloaded his midfield with players, namely Yankho Singo, Gumbo, and Petro, who are good at man-marking.
True to his tactical experience, Idana, Macheso, and Kamanga did not show up.
Idana, who has been Silver’s playmaker, failed to make any meaningful impact and only managed to complete less than three passes in the entire match.
This just shows how good Pasuwa can read an opponent and execute his plans to his advantage.
Clean Build-Up
Fundamental to this is the notion of clean build-up where the ball progresses smoothly from the back third into more advanced areas of the pitch.
Pasuwa sees build-up as crucial to the clean progression of possession, arguing that in starting the play from the deep positions, you provoke pressure from the opposition by inviting them forward, thus creating more space for midfielders and creative players when the ball arrives in the zone.
On Saturday, Precious Phiri and Blessings Mpokera progressed to more orthodox roles, positioning themselves in high and wide positions to give the team full width in the first build-up phase.
Senaji and Chirwa also made some dangerous moves into the opposition’s territory. They were split to the edge of the penalty box in the half-spaces, and Singo was the first to press behind the opposition, they constantly adjusted this shape according to the movement of the player in possession.
The equalizer in the 23rd minute was evidence of how Pasuwa’s tactics worked. Senaji’s through-ball to Gumbo, who was unmarked and comfortable in the midfield, found Nkhoma, who made no mistake to level the scoreline.
It was clear that Silver’s midfield was outnumbered and there was nothing Idana, Kamanga, and Maxwell Paipi, who was moved into the defensive midfield, could have done to prevent Bullets from dominating.
Petro was also the architect of Bullets’s offensive plan throughout the match. The pint-sized midfielder had the desired effect of drawing Silver’s midfield up the pitch, creating space for either Nkhoma or Mwaungulu to dart into to receive immediate forward passes.
Petro clearly understands Pasuwa’s policy to provoke pressure, create space, and enable clean ball movement.
This clearly shows that every player understands not just their positions but also the roles of their teammates, and overall, the principles that govern Pasuwa’s vision of football.
Player Rotation
Unlike the majority of the coaches, Pasuwa has used every registered player to play a role in a treble-winning season.
Hit with injuries and fixture congestion, the tactician refused to be predictable as he kept on changing his lineup in every game.
He defended this on Saturday during post-match interviews, in which he made it clear that it’s impossible to win trophies in Malawi by using the same starting eleven.
“As Bullets, we try our level best to manage our players. We need every player to be ready to play. If I can go back, I think most of the people were not giving us any chance in terms of the quality of the players that I am having. But it’s how we were managing our squad.
“Had it been, we didn’t prepare every player to play, by now, we could have achieved nothing, but we kept on rotating them to the extent that people started questioning as to whether I had a first eleven or not.
“If a coach trusts to use only the very same players, it’s a problem because we have bad surfaces and we are limited to play good football at Kamuzu Stadium or Bingu, but the rest of the pitches don’t allow us to play our usual games. So you need to adjust according to the facilities and players you have. Hence, you saw me using players who can play at home and some who can play away,” he told reporters.
True to his words, all his 34 registered players have had a role to play, with others playing more games at home, and having other players who were good at playing on rough surfaces away from home.
On the other hand, De Jongh, in almost each of his press conferences, blamed the absence of Idana as the main reason why he failed to win anything this season. For a coach who knows his job well, you cannot rely on a single player.
Idana was right there when Bullets made them chase the game. He was also there when Mafco eliminated them from the Airtel Cup. Much as we appreciate how good he is, it was wrong for De Jhong to say Silver’s success depended on Idana’s availability.
Singo, unknown to many, pocketed him throughout the match. Had it been Pasuwa trusted only a single player to deliver for the team, Bullets wouldn’t have won anything.
He allowed Idana to go so that he could show Malawians that winning was a collective effort and not an individual effort.
Even though the match was decided on penalties, Bullets were all over their opponents who had no solution for the better part of the match.
Bullets’ performance was reminiscent of their big wins of the autumn. Their dominance continues as they target a quadruple ahead of Saturday’s Airtel Top 8 Cup final against Mafco FC at a venue yet to be announced by the Football Association of Malawi (FAM).
