The White Tree of Gondar [5m1w: Dawit Lebbe Kristos]

[Makonnen]

The last of the new storylines in 5m1w (and there was much rejoicing) follows someone at what must be the bottom rung of organized football: a small town in northern Ethiopia struggling to field a team at all, let alone one worth rooting for.

Dawit Lebbe Kristos cursed to himself, not for the first time this week and, he feared, not for the last. He rested the shovel against the wheelbarrow and wiped the sweat momentarily from his forehead, took a deep breath and began striding across the uneven and dusty field where Gondar practiced, composing his face into what he hoped passed for an approachable-yet-stern mask of authority.

He could hear the voices of the children surrounding the car before he was halfway there.

“Oumed! Oumed!” they called. Some gave the same percussive chant they used during games in high-pitched and out of tune voices, “O! O! Oukuri!” Dawit saw the door open and a tall form in a dark blue tracksuit steppes out to an increase of volume in the cheers as the children received a series of high-fives.

Oumed Oukuri moved with an almost liquid grace and his smile was surprisingly shy when he turned to face his new coach, but his handshake–offered, Dawit noticed, with the politeness of his left hand resting lightly on his right forearm as they shook, his head inclined downwards–was strong.

It took some time to move through the courtesies that were required. Dawit knew a distant cousin on his father’s side, and he had to mention that, and then Oumed had to ask about her well-being in a way that didn’t reveal too obviously that he was unaware of her name–or perhaps even of her existence. Eventually, it was all done, and the two stood in silence a moment, contemplating the red dust that blew in the light wind.

“This is it, eh?” asked Oumed.

Dawit shrugged. “Same as it was. New coach. Same field.”

“But you’re trying to change it.”

Dawit looked over towards the shadow of the wheelbarrow. “That I am.”

Oumed stood silent for a while and Dawit surreptitiously glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Oukuri was by far the best player at Gondar. By far. As in the rest of the team were bumbling idiots, and he had a chance of being called up to the national team. He belonged at a different level. Certainly not here, not here where the head coach was out with a shovel trying to smooth out the potholes on the practice field; not here where less than a handful of the players could call themselves professional; not here, where the starting eleven would be a mixture of teenagers too full of themselves to be scared and veterans desperately clinging to a dream that was never coming true.

Oukuri was something else: he was power and grace and creativity and a little bit of that magic that allowed him to know just when to dip his shoulder and force the defender to shift his weight, just when to roll over the ball instead of touch it to the side, just when to chip it delicately over the goalkeeper and when to blast it into the roof of the net.

Oumed clapped suddenly and Dawit tried not to startle. “OK, then.” He turned and whistled to the crowd of young boys who still stood to the side, staring equally at him and the car. “Boys, all of you! Come! We have a field to fix!”

# # #

Gondar City–known locally as Gondar Kenema–occupied a rung at the very bottom of Ethiopian football. That meant the average age of the club was barely twenty, and the average wage was, well, nothing: a semi-professional club, most of the players were there just to pass time in service of a dream unlikely to manifest into reality.

Dawit Lebbe Kristos had two things to build on: the first was Oumed Oukuri; the second was his belief in himself and his total dedication to his work.

It wasn’t clear either would be enough.

[Makonnen]

January 1, 2013

Gondar @ Meta Abo Brewery, The City Cup Group Stage

Meta Abo 3 (Yosef Bahereshum 24, 60; Etehun Atref 49) – Gondar 1 (Oumed Oukuri 20)

Gondar’s Best: Oukuri

This loss knocked Gondar out of The City Cup, which was completely expected.

January 8, 2013

Gondar @ Army, ECC

Army 3 (Fasika Asfaw 1; Makonnen Abraham 8; Absalom Girma 83) – Gondar 2 (Addis Tegabu 27; Gabriel Meuar 31)

Gondar’s Best: Meuar

Gabriel Meuar had one of those rough days. His brilliant shot on the half-hour drew Gondar level again after they had fallen behind by two goals inside of ten minutes. A half-hour later, he was back in the clubhouse, having received a second yellow card for an overly aggressive tackle.

While Gondar tried valiantly to hold on to the points, seven minutes from time they were doomed to the loss.

January 15, 2013

Cotton FC @ Gondar, ECC

Gondar 1 (Oumed Oukuri 62) – Cotton FC 1 (Alemayehu Mengestu 52)

Gondar’s Best: Oukuri

Better. Oumed Oukuri’s goal is nothing short of what is expected: what was more encouraging was the performance of the back line, led by the efforts ofAlemayehu Wasihun, who was beginning to make a substantial argument for more playing time.

January 29, 2013

Mekele @ Gondar, ECC

Gondar 4 (Muse Tamitu 3, Leuel Wedket 26, Addis Tegabu 28, Dawit Chefchefe 83) – Mekele 0

Gondar’s Best: Alemayehu Wasihun

Dawit sat at his desk long after the press and players and staff had gone home.

His anxiety was tying his stomach in knots and he could not force it to relax. Four goals, and another dominant defensive performance, and all he could think of was watching Oukuri start to sprint down the right sideline, yell, grab the back of his right leg, and immediately start hopping towards the bench on his left.

Early indications were that his hamstring was … well, damaged. They wouldn’t know if it was torn for a day or two, maybe more, but he was clearly out of commission for weeks, if not months. The season had four months left in it, and while there was a chance of his returning before its end, there was also a chance of never seeing him again: given his talent, Oukuri’s continuing his career with Gondar was always up in the air.

Dawit rubbed his temples, trying to focus on the positives. Four goals! And each by a different player, and none by Oukuri. But the voice in his head would not be quieted: Oukuri had scored seven times in eight games, a rate of return that nobody else on the team could hope to accomplish.

But maybe … maybe if Tamitu and Gabriel Meuer worked well up top, maybe if one of the strikers they were looking at was brought in, maybe if the back line continued to play well. Maybe they would be okay.

Still, that was pretty unsatisfactory. Being okay meant staying in the bottom rung of Ethiopian football, staying an amateur club, and staying … well … meaningless.

And that was not acceptable, and until he felt like they had changed the trajectory of the club out of that less-than-mediocrity, his stomach would not cease its roiling.

[Makonnen]

February 5, 2013

Gondar Kenema @ Air Force Football Club, ECC

Gondar 2 (Gabriel Meuar 51; Muse Tamitu 74) – Air Force 2 (Bineyam Birhanu 47; Ejigu Tesfa Yesus 73)

Gondar’s Best: Fik Afela, Georgis Ibrahim & Gabriel Meuar

February 19, 2013

Marathon Motors @ Gondar Kenema, ECC

Marathon 4 (Kifelie Endihnew 27; Tesfaw Ermias 45+1; Kidus Kemal 63; Getu Abdel Gawri 79p) – Gondar 2 (Gabriel Meuar 35; Ahmed Abera 76)

Gondar’s Best: Dawit Chechefe

February 26, 2013

Army Football Club @ Gondar Kenema, ECC

Army 2 (Efrem Kemal 13; Absalom Girma 69) – Gondar 0

Gondar’s Best: Samson Worku & Alemayehu Wasihun

# # #

Just another month. Disappointing, to be sure: with Oukuri’s injury (which is bad, probably precluding his return this year) we had assumed scoring goals would be the issue. Instead, the back line turned into a sieve, and it didn’t seem to matter who was back there. Sure, Afela and Wasihun had more experience, but they weren’t showing a significant gap in skill between themselves and the teenagers. A pair of seventeen year olds–Aga Alemu and Tegesse Zeremuse–had shown more than either of them.

But the errors just had to stop: the miscommunication, the poorly timed challenges, all of it.

Nothing had been expected of Gondar this year, and at this rate that was the outlook.

There were only two matches scheduled for March. That gave us lots of time on the practice field, lots of time to get it all sorted. But you can’t make gold out of copper, no matter how much you pound it.

# # #

League Position: 5th of 6, tied with Cotton FC for final playoff spot (-4 goal differential); 9 points behind Marathon.

League Goals: Oumed Oukuri (7); Assists: Muse Tamitu (3); Rating: Oukuri (7.22)

Overall Goals: Oukuri (11); Assists: Tamitu & Abraham Nuru (3); Rating:Oukuri (7.07)

[Makonnen]

March 12, 2013

Gondar Kenema @ Cotton Football Club, ECC

Gondar 1 (Muse Tamitu 8) – Cotton FC 1 (Fitsum Mahmed 39)

Gondar’s Best: Muse Tamitu

March 19, 2013

Gondar Kenema @ Mekele Kenema, ECC

Gondar 4 (Samson Worku 27p; Gabriel Meuar 65, 71; Dejen Wasihun 83) –Mekele 2 (Alene Tegabu 23, 56)

Gondar’s Best: Gabriel Meuar

# # #

League Position: 4th of 6, 3 points ahead of Cotton FC for the final playoff spot; 9 points behind Army FC.

League Goals: Oumed Oukuri (7); Assists: Muse Tamitu (3); Rating: Oukuri (7.22)

Overall Goals: Oukuri (11); Assists: Tamitu, Gabriel Meuar & Abraham Nuru (3); Rating: Oukuri (7.07)

# # #

There were seven games left in the season, and nothing was even close to decided: Gondar could make a surprise push into the playoffs (and possibly even promotion), or they could finish dead last.

Promotion is a double-edged sword–there is no way Gondar is ready for the Ethiopian National League, but promotion would mean a little more income, and at the threadbare level of the ECC, a little more could make a big difference.

The squad continues not to really give Lebbe Kristos much to work with: the talent drop after the (still injured) Oukuri is precipitous, and the youngsters continue to struggle to develop. The exceptions are up top where both Gabriel Meuar and Muse Tamitu have prospered in Oukuri’s absence.