In recent weeks, Egypt's Pyramid FC striker Fiston Mayele went into a shouting match between him and Yanga fans.
Yanga fans do not want to let go of their side’s former talisman and the same could be said of Mayele, both sides still feel affiliated while the reality is that they are not.
If Mayele fails to score in several games he plays for Pyramid FC, reports state he blames Yanga and, once Yanga fails to get good results, Mayele will clash with his former side via social media platforms.
The bad side of it is that Mayele seems to be entertaining witchcraft beliefs, he reportedly claimed Yanga supporters have bewitched him so that he does not perform well and score goals for Pyramids FC.
If a person asks me, is Mayele a good player? my answer is yes, did he deserve the praise he received from Yanga fans? my answer is no.
In this saga, the only problem is Yanga fans' tendency to overhype some of the club's players to the extent that such players feel they are worthy.
Mayele is a top-class player in the continent, Yanga's supporters embraced him so much to the extent the two sides are now engaged in wrangles.
All top players in the world are indeed fan favourites in their respective outfits, but Yanga fans exaggerate the matter.
Yanga fans praise players to the extent such players feel they are bigger than the club, Mayele was an important player but he was praised in a manner he did not deserve.
In for instance five chances created by teammates when Mayele played for Yanga, he scored. He was therefore glorified by the club's fans.
Some footballers might think they are bigger due to what they do on the pitch but the truth is they are good because of the clubs they are playing for.
Yanga helped Mayele improve and the club was built around him and prioritised him.
The Congolese goal-getter arrived during the rebuilding phase of the club, they forgot that, back in the day, talented footballers like Mohamed Hussein, alias 'Mmachinga', successfully played for the club.
Yanga fans should try to avoid overhyping players, this is the reason Mayele and Yanga fans are now engaged in verbal spats.
When comparing Mayele's two seasons at Yanga and the goals he scored with the statistics registered by former Simba SC striker Meddie Kagere, a soccer lover would realize the latter had greater numbers than the former, but Simba SC fanatics did not overhype his value.
Yanga fans have to understand that life has to go on, their club should seek success without Mayele and the DR Congo striker has to do the same.
The Jangwani Street outfit has had many good strikers but they all arrived at the club, played extremely well, and later left it. If Mayele realizes this, he will focus on his current club.
Former Yanga head coach, Nasreddine Nabi was a good coach; he led Yanga to the 2022/23 CAF Confederation Cup final but Yanga fans exaggerated his prowess.
The supporters went as far as giving the coach the professor status. Yanga fans like to heap too much praise on either players or coaches.
After the Belgo-Tunisian tactician's departure, many thought Yanga would not replicate what the outfit did last season.
Despite all the praises he received, Nabi failed to guide the club to the CAF Champions League Group Stage.
Yanga's fanatics should do away with overhyping players because entertaining such a habit would not augur well for the club's future, it is not a sin for club's enthusiasts to like either a player or coach but there should be limits.
Mayele's agency and public relations team should know how to control their player and focus on his club, he should focus on scoring goals for his outfit.
Again, if a soccer enthusiast asks me I will tell him/her that Yanga fans have brought these problems.
The Jangwani Street squad currently has Maxi Nzengeli, popularly known as ‘Mbappe’, giving the Congolese midfielder such a nickname amount to exaggeration, such a habit hardly helps a player.
Yanga's Ivorian midfielder Pacome Zouzoua is popularly known as ‘Zidane’ by the squad's fans.
Likening some players to former football greats might make the players feel they are much better and such a tendency may bring controversy in the future.
For Yanga to forget Mayele, the squad should win titles and prove him wrong and, for the forward to get over the club, he has to win titles with Pyramids FC.
The bottom line is fans should learn how to praise players and coaches whilst having limits.