THE really league has finally started with what befell the reigning champions, Simba Sports Club a few days ago when they were stopped in their tracks by Mtwara's Ndanda FC.
And if you talk of title defence, that's what it means, in really terms, that the Dar es Salaam Street Msimbazi club has finally started its defence. What they now need to know is that when you start drawing or losing matches against small teams like Ndanda FC, that is what is finally going to determine your fate over whether or not you're going to successfully defend your crown.
To retain the crown, you need to win against all small teams, giving yourself a breathing space for bigger clubs like Mtibwa Sugar, Kagera Sugar, Young Africans, Azam and others. But when you allow to be held to draws or lose against small teams, then there is no way you're going to win against bigger boys in the league.
Indeed, look around the world in any soccer league and you will discover that teams that win against all small teams which are usually in majority in many league, are the teams that eventually win the league.
Actually that is what Simba and Young Africans did in the last two seasons; they all started their campaigns winning against all small teams before they either drew, won or lost against big teams.
For instance, you would recall that when Young Africans were dominating the league, they had problems beating big teams, including their own arch rivals, Simba.
But they went on to win the league not once, but more than three times and in a row. The point is, Simba need to take their failure to beat Ndanda FC very seriously, that's, if they want to retain the league.
In fact, if they really want to continue to remain relevant in the league, they need to win against all teams, both small and big; otherwise they are going to be a seven day wonder. If they think losing or drawing against small teams is simple, then they need to look around and gauge the mood around them when they drew against Ndanda FC.
Almost every Tom, Dick and Harry was happy that they had shown all and sundry that they were no longer the force they were, meaning that they were now beatable. Indeed, if they could be held by Ndanda FC there is no way they could win against the big boys who are a force to reckon with.
What Simba now need to do is to back to the proverbial drawing board and think hard why they could not beat their opponents. It is important for Simba to seriously review their performance now before it's too late.
If they cannot click in the league, how do they expect to do well in the continental club tournament? Simba need to know that, their participation in the continental soccer tournament this year is going to be their second, having first participated in the lesser tournament, namely, CAF Cup last season.
They need also to know that the Champions league is tougher than the tournament they had participated in last season, hence they need to work extremely hard in preparation for the tournament.
In the lesser tournament, Simba were knocked out in the second round against an Egyptian side through a Fifa rule that counts an away goal as two.
The goal that eventually knocked out Simba out of the CAF CUP tournament was the one all draw they allowed against their opponents in Dar es Salaam. The return leg match in Egypt ended in a barren draw.
Mathematically, if Simba failed to go beyond the second round in the lesser tournament, then they are unlikely to go beyond the first round in the Champions League which pits national club champions.
But Simba can prove Tanzanians wrong if they worked hard on their game now. Getting things right now, before the start of the Champions League would enable them to do well not only in the local league, but also in the Champions League.
Many Tanzanians have massive hopes that they can do well in Champions League on account of their past performance when they became the first Tanzanian soccer club to reach the semifinal of the Champions League and the final of the CAF Cup tournament in 1974 and 1993 respectively.
Simba is the only club in the region which is second to Kenya's Gor Mahia that is the only club to have won the CAF Cup in East and Central Africa. This is why they need to correct that led them to the hiccup against Ndanda FC.
On the other side, Ndanda FC's success story against Simba means that the club has finally come of age. What Tanzanians now expect from them is to do better than what they did against Simba, meaning, they now need to start winning their matches against both small and big boys.
If they fail to do well, it would mean that their success against Simba a few days ago was nothing but a fluke.
