Moriri: Players should use flair to help their teams

Former Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder and coach Surprise Moriri says footballers should be encouraged to express themselves, provided their individual skills are used effectively for the team.

Moriri was speaking to the media at Giant Stadium in Soshanguve on Wednesday during the finals of the Kay Motsepe Schools Championship.

His comments come amid a growing debate in South African football over showboating and the use of individual skills. Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou is among those to have recently addressed the issue publicly.

Moriri believes the discussion should focus less on whether an action is showboating and more on its effect on the game. In his view, a player’s ability should be judged by whether it helps the team make progress.

‘Football is an art’

“Football is an art. When you are on the pitch, you have to show your art. And we show it differently,” Moriri said.

“Some (players) defend better, and some, when they have the ball, they dribble better, and we are not the same on the pitch.

“Those who can dribble, we must also make sure that we support them, empower them to do it better, but more effectively. I don’t want to go to a situation where I say it’s showboating.

“What do you do? How does it help the team? How effective are you in terms of making sure that you use the very same skill to eliminate and move one and two?

“But if you are going back, it becomes negative.”

Moriri said players who are able to take opponents on should not be prevented from using that quality. Instead, they should be supported and taught how to apply it in situations that benefit their side.

He also placed responsibility on coaches and those working with young footballers to provide that guidance.

“So, we just have to guide our young players. I don’t want to call it showboating,” he said.

“We have to make sure that we encourage those who are able to. Encourage them to play football, but going forward, eliminating and becoming more effective.”

The former Mamelodi Sundowns player’s view offers a different position in a debate that has focused on whether individual skills contribute to modern football or amount to unnecessary display.

For Moriri, the key distinction is not the skill itself but what follows it. A successful dribble should allow a player to eliminate one or two opponents, move the attack forward and contribute to the team’s objectives.

He believes that principle is particularly important at school level, where young players are still developing their understanding of the game and their identities as footballers.

Creativity, in his view, should be nurtured rather than discouraged, while players learn to make better decisions about when and how to use their abilities.