Yanga’s tainted euphoria: Yannick Bangala and pain of bungled penalty 

-CAF Confederation Cup Group Stage match vs Mali's Real Bamako at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, nicknamed ‘Estadio Lupaso', in Dar es Salaam.

It is hard to say who was the more pained between the two of them, viz. the player who took the penalty and the hundreds of thousands of fans watching the game, and, indeed, what is the reason for such error, as it often occurs not with the club but in any tournament.

Bungling a penalty is something of a spectacular misfortune on the part of any player as it has what it takes to bring someone unending nightmares.

The most spectacular penalty misses remembered across generations are those relating to World Cup final matches, as they remained imprinted on the mind of the country’s fans for decades.

These other penalty-missing events are quickly forgotten as they have no impact on fate, that is, supremely important expectations on the part of the club or country, as Yanga obtained its three points.

Those taking a liking to horoscopes know that there is at times surprising precision of what one may expect on that day, apart from a generally accurate picture of the day’s atmosphere, a sort of bird’s eye view.

While a match isn’t a subject for horoscopic consultation, there are spheres in which some soothsayers may attempt a prediction, by using the number of letters of the teams involved, and at times even their starting letters.

The trouble with this sort of prediction is that it raises subjective rules of what causes an event, thus simply false.

There is another way of making a prediction, or more accurately interpreting an event after it has happened, for no one can say when it will occur, save by palm reading or another method of clairvoyance.

It is by looking at someone’s name, as it is old wisdom that naming is consecration, in the sense that every name has an owner or a meaning in ordinary language, thus the spirit involved causes or brings about events to highlight his presence in the vicinity.

That explains so many such events, where top players fail to take a penalty kick, overshooting.

In the case of Yannick Bangala, that dimension isn’t far to seek, as it doubles down to his surname, Bangala, and his first name is passive in that event.

There are moments when it is the first name that shines but it needs the effort to see through the veneer of an accidental failure to shoot properly, to realize that there are other forces at work.

In that case, the whole crowd and the fan base would be aghast at the star midfielder bungling the penalty, unaware that the holder of the name is thrilled at the massive outcry and prolonged soul-searching on the cause.

It isn’t just in this case that the name is seen to have a bearing on erring in taking a penalty but another dimension comes up, also noticed in other instances.

While the Yannick penalty wasn’t crucial to the outcome of the match, how he dented the happiness of thousands of often rowdy fans and spectators may have instructed a certain level is causing that event.

It was to put it on the shoulders of an especially important player whose contribution is above board, as then he can carry the burden while a less important player would face venom. 

Another instance where the name emerges as a factor, and often in a contradictory manner depending on the instance, is Lionel Messi.

There Mbappé and Messi took their teams' first penalties at the last World Cup final and scored, while Kingsley Coman had an attempt saved by Argentina goalkeeper Emilio Martinez. 

One reason that Coman was the one to miss the penalty for France was that he plays for Bayern Munich, and would not face massive jeers upon returning to the Premier League. It would be so if he was playing in Ligue 1, say at PSG too.

Messi wasted a crucial penalty shot in the World Cup final against Germany in 2014, where his name can be read in two ways, first as ‘messing’ up as in ‘bungling’ the shot, as related to Yannick.

It isn’t outrageous to add another dimension, a Canaanite aspect to what is otherwise a reference to the lion, in Lionel as ‘leo’ or lion has to do with horoscopes.

But ‘lione’ in Swahili is a different matter, booing the one ‘messing’ up the penalty.

The name worked perfectly for that event and then at the end of the last finals, Lionel Messi’s name had a different aspect altogether as then it stood for a lion leading his country nearly as a messiah.

He lost the penalty as an important player whom it is hard to blame for any misfortune as, finally, he is the one who took the team to the final, in that case, Yannick has put in a lot for Yanga to have arrived there, or withstand pressure.