Ingidi (The Defensive Midfielder)

The defensive midfielder in football is arguably the busiest player in every team. These players are the heart of the team and allow others players to be creative and express themselves. Allow the Chistiano’s to take the shine. This role takes the trophy for being the most unglamorous position in the soccer pitch.

 Yet some of us are really taken to these type of players. I’d be closely watching Chelsea attacking play as a watching Nemamja Matic’s hard work, be captivated by Asernal’s delightful Cazorla, Wilshire and Ozil with equal attention to Mathieu Flamini. Willard Katsande at Amakhosi. Micheal Morton at Maritzburg United. Former Pirate Andile Jali’s exceptional workrate in the team’s double treble success and recently, Bucs’ continental second finish before the player left for Belsh side Oostende. Synonymous with names like ‘the destroyer,’ ‘the engine,’ and ‘ingidi’ are carried by these players. Always found lurking behind the attacking midfielders and in front the defense. Legendary model defensive midfielder, world cup winner and Frenchman Patrick Vieira articulates the core requirements; “you need to communicate strongly and use your intelligence, because quite often you have to be at the right place at the right time. The first tackle on the opposing player needs to transfer a strong message—“I am here and I am going to make it hard for you.”

 Always the ones found to be the receiving verbal warnings from referees, yellow cards and at worst – red cards. After all, you only see a defensive midfielder making a tackle then scoring a goal. It is not hard to find strikers, goalies and attacking midfielders spotting a flamboyant hairstyle, cracking jokes and flashing smiles at opponents—not these soldiers. The committing of fouls is often only for the team’s sake. Despite receiving limited media and fans admiration, these players earn significant reverence from coaches and fellow players instead. Sergio Busquets—the destroyer for the best teams in the world—Spain and Barcelona is revered by captain and midfield general Xavi Henandez- “without Busquets, Barcelona and Spain could never had achieved what we had achieved.”[The La Liga, the Spanish super cup, two EUFA champions league trophies and the club world cup.] With Barcelona. The 2008 European Championship and the 2010 FIFA world cup with the Spanish national team.

What we may also favour about “Ingidi’s” is that above their basic duties of putting pressure on the opponents into causing errors, regaining the ball and quickly laying it off to a teammate to keep possession—these players often pack the most powerful shots at goal. They bullet a ball, klap it. Electrify it. Think Micheal Essein shots. Esrom Nyandoro’s and legend Paul Scholes’ bullets. Always knowing where they should be in order to create space for their teammates, to intercept passes or adjusting the shape of their teams. What we love to see in football, second to goals, might be the ‘first-time’ pass. We delight in seeing these players—not needing more than two touches—intercept, drop a shoulder and quickly move the football on. ‘Receive and Release in an instant’. ‘The Destroyer’s contribution to the game merits a place in football stardorm.

By Siseko Manca-Gwegwe

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