We're Losing the Flair

There was a time where football was a game for the boys on the street, where football was an inherent art and not a science taught in class rooms with whiteboards and analytical softwares.

The time where scouting was carried out on the streets, in public parks and local community fields. A time where rare gems were birthed through their grit and never-say-never attitudes.

There used to be a time where watching football was about mesmerizing techniques and sublime skills, and not just rigid tactical battles. A time where greatness was more than just the ability to score goals, but also the ability to deliver mind boggling abilities on the round leather piece.

There was a time where journalists and football analysts were not starved of flicks and tricks for highlight purposes and fans went home mouths agape, hands on their head, in awe of the exquisite exhibition of class they had just witnessed.

There was a time where we had Ronaldinho strolling past opponents like they weren't even there. Mesmerizing the opposition and evoking applause and appreciation from both set of fans in the stadium.

There was a time where we had Zidane delivering masterclasses over and over again with the ease and grace of a ballerina waltzing through the dance floor (even including a headbutt).

We used to have a Jay Jay Okocha who made mean meat of football, having fun and inventing seemingly impossible flicks and tricks, and making us fall heads over hills for the beautiful game.

Let's not forget Johan Cruyf with the Johan Cruyf turn, twisting and turning fellow players' waist and leaving them frozen and looking lost while he rolls on to the next victim.

Or should we talk about the Maradona and the hand of God (definitely not the kind of skill English fans would want to remember), or his mazy runs and burst of speed, while leaving trails of bodies in his wake?

Mentioning Maradona and Pele comes to mind, a tormentor of fellow players from the tender age of 17. A player regarded as arguably the greatest there ever was, packed with skills tricks beyond his peers' comprehension.

Honorary mentions to Robinho, Kaka, Ronaldo de Lima, George Best etc. These were players that defined the art of football and brought out the true beauty of the game.

Some of them might have been tactically inept but their technique and elegance were irreplaceable and priceless. They made football fun for us back then and kept on supplying us with the latest and newest tricks to try out in our trainings.

This sometimes keeps me wondering, when the like of Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar retire, what will become of the flair in football?

Are we only going to be saddled with tactically astute, but technically inept and robotic players who would now make football more of a science than art?

I think it's time football went back to the streets and the players given the liberty to explore the realms of their technical abilities, if not we'll lose the flair that makes football fun for us.

Image from unsplash.com

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