Editors Blog
Think Before Pointing Fingers At Pitso…
On the back of one of the most convincing performances any Bafana team has given in the last five years, national team coach Pitso Mosimane has come under fire about the chances missed against Niger rather than the three points won. Instead of being commended for the lung-busting work rate he has the players giving out there, being praised for getting the best out of Steven Pienaar or being complimented on the fact that he has found a system that allows the team to keep all its midfield creativity and at the same time get two natural strikers into the starting line-up, Mosimane is having to come up with reasons as to why Bafana didn’t win by a landslide.
Maybe it’s time to clear up a big myth about the Bafana coaching job – it’s not about coaching. The Bafana coach’s job is to recognise and then select the best talent he has available to him and then MANAGE it. It’s not his job to teach players to trap a ball, to pass a ball or to shoot. It’s not his job to get players to see a ‘third man running’ situation, to know when to switch the point of attack, or to hold one’s shape.
It’s for the head coaches at PSL clubs to know exactly which programmes are being run in their youth structures, to identify weaknesses and to implement measures to correct the shortcomings of their development systems. I’m willing to bet that if Soccer-Laduma called the head of youth development at each PSL club and asked them when last the head coach of the senior team of that PSL club had any real significant input into the development programme, very few would be able to say that it happened recently.
Wenger, Ferguson, Mourinho, Guardiola - all of them have their finger on the pulse of their development programmes. They know they inherit the products from these multimillion rand production lines, so it is imperative they get them working properly. Can the same be said for PSL coaches? If our national U17s and U20s are anything to go by, teams that should be fed by PSL clubs, it doesn’t seem like there is a lot of good happening to address problems in our senior team. Furthermore, in most countries the national team’s style of play is usually synonymous with the biggest teams in that country.
Holland plays a very similar brand of football to Ajax Amsterdam. Spain plays a very similar style of football to Barcelona. And Bafana Bafana’s attractive passing game, where there is a lot of passing and movement but very little thrust and a distinct lack of goals is exactly what is happening at Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs. In contrast, look at the English Premier League and already we have seen a couple of 6-0 results. Barcelona every now and then has blow-out scores. When was the last time Chiefs, Pirates or Sundowns absolutely destroyed another team with a landslide of goals? So before pointing fingers at Pitso, perhaps first take aim at the PSL clubs and ask their coaches and youth coaches and team management what they are doing to turn South African players into goal scorers.
by Soccer-Laduma Editor
Clint Roper
If Only We Could Wind Zuma’s Clock Back…
The opening games of the ABSA PSL Season were magnificent by any standards! Cape Town Stadium, a perfect pitch, a perfect night, 45 000 cheering fans, a Mexican wave - it doesn’t get much better than that. Well done to Cape Town and well done to the PSL for a night of goose bumps and goals. Vasco da Gama look like they are here to make up more than just the numbers. Orlando Pirates seem to have the squad to really give it a go this season. Ajax Cape Town play a brand of football that the purists can watch for days, and Bloemfontein Celtic are finding their feet under a new coach but, what a group of supporters!
A big hoo-hah was made about the fact that many of the supporters didn’t stick to the seat allocated on their tickets. Sure, it’s not acceptable, especially for first-time PSL soccer fans that may have been a bit more used to the seamless efficiency involved with watching a Fifa World Cup game. But when you put into perspective that in the past, many of the stadiums that were allocated for PSL games were not of world-class standard compared to say the rugby and cricket stadiums provided in this country, and simply didn’t have seat numbers, or even when there were seat numbers, there has traditionally been a culture of a ticket gets you in rather than onto a specific seat, this is merely an educational programme that clubs and the PSL have to embark on. In the same way that supporters were encouraged to buy tickets well before games as they are not on sale at the gates, so too this seating issue can be resolved.
Looking at some of the other games, Chiefs and Sundowns are off to flyers and sleeping giants AmaZulu could be awakening. Platinum Stars gave the supporters from the North West something to shout about, but what a start for our defending champions SuperSport United. The defending champions of England, Chelsea, set their stall out with a 6-0 opening game win and in stark contrast our three-time defending champions get a 3-0 roasting. But that’s football, and know that there will be a few SuperSport United eardrums still ringing after a bout of ‘vuvuzela’ treatment from Gavin Hunt!
This week, all eyes shift from club football to international football and Pitso Mosimane’s first game that counts, so to speak. It would seem that a win is a formality for Bafana but that’s the beauty of football. Until that final whistle blows, nothing is guaranteed. It’s great to see Pitso bringing in a fresh injection of youth and dare I say we now have a national team coach who actually watches PSL football, and the South African national team will be stronger for it. Every player is thoroughly deserving of his call-up.
If there is one player who may have a case for a spot in the squad it must be Sundowns’ Matthew Pattison. What more can this young midfielder do to get noticed? Our sources in the national camp tell us that there is a feeling among the selectors that the position he plays is already well taken care of, and that’s a good argument. There is also the feeling that he needs to do more going forward. Matty, if you’re reading this, now you know.
Sibusiso Zuma, if only we could wind the clock back on you. What a first performance for Vasco and welcome to your first Soccer-Laduma Team of the Week selection. While on the Soccer-Laduma Team of the Week, a big thank you to all the readers who are giving us their own team of the week selections on our website and mobi site platforms. We obviously have a good look at the players you are selecting and we take it all into consideration when making our final selection. As always, there will be selections that you might want to debate, but we are glad you like the concept and to the guys and girls on Express Yourself on the website like ‘Sly23’, ‘Wandile32’, ‘Nkosia’ and ‘Philane’, it’s always fascinating to drop in on some of your conversations and to read your thoughts on the game. To Bafana and Pitso, all the best from the Soccer-Laduma team. Do us proud, guys.
Money, Money, Money!
Money… most South African PSL clubs will tell you that it has nothing to do with the footballing public, and that the media, and publications like Soccer-Laduma should steer away from trying to find out what players cost a club, what price tag a club has placed on a player or what salary a player is earning. But it seems to me money has everything to do with football in South Africa.
With each passing week, and as we move closer to the transfer window slamming shut, players’ dreams of moves abroad are starting to shatter. An almost defiant Siboniso Gaxa was adamant after the World Cup that he would move to Europe. It is sad to read in his interview with Soccer-Laduma this week that he has now resigned himself to the fact that he will be at Sundowns. Katlego Mphela needs to move and needs to move now and offers are on the table. Big money offers! But they aren’t good enough for Sundowns. It doesn’t make sense that money would be an issue at a club owned by a billionaire and when one looks at the business they have done over the last few seasons it seems that money is no object, so why should it be the stumbling block to a life-changing move for a player that has served you faithfully?
Siphiwe Tshabalala, what a World Cup, what a goal! And on the back of that he is not allowed to make a move to Turkey because the money is not right? Because it’s not good business? At 26, Tshabalala may just miss the boat if he is not allowed to go. Right now we are all feeling so
As the spectator who comes to the stadium each week, some barely scraping together the R20 (and that may double) to watch the game, the figures that are being thrown about must be quite mindboggling. But in all of this there must also be a sense of, ‘Surely my club is just doing what is best for my club, which means they are doing what is best for me.’ And that is hard to argue against. I mean, isn’t Patrice Motsepe well within his rights to keep his best players and make foreign clubs pay top dollar if they want our stars? Is it really better for our soccer to have players playing in Israel, Russia, Greece, Qatar, Belgium and Turkey?
The one argument may be that while clubs here in South Africa are asking for transfer fees equivalent to what European clubs are paying each other for similar talent, that players in South Africa should also then be able to demand salaries that they could be earning if their moves were not blocked. This is where agents come in. Before contracts are signed, agents are able to put in a buyout clause where if a certain amount is offered for a player the club agrees to release that player. It also makes sense then that the player’s salary should in some way be linked to the club’s valuation of that buyout clause.
The way it stands, it seems PSL clubs are simply making decisions that are enforceable because they are backed up by the contracts that have been signed by the players as advised by their agents. Take it one step further and it seems that when it suits players they will sign contracts without consulting their agents or simply mandate any number of people to bring them the best deal. Often deals fall apart simply because mandated sellers mess them up.
Yes, more than ever, it seems football is about money and more than ever it is clear that it is every man for himself. Clubs will do what is best for them. Players will do what is best for them, and in most cases, agents will do what is best for them. So before making up your mind about a seemingly ‘greedy club’, an allegedly ‘hard done by player’ and ‘an agent who just wants what’s best for his client’, make sure you have the full story.
And that’s why it’s important you always have your Soccer-Laduma nearby.
By Soccer-Laduma Editor
Clint Roper
Time For Pitso To Demand More...
If the Telkom Charity Cup is anything to go by, we could be in for a cracker of a season. 87 001 supporters in Soccer City, passion, pride, and some top notch football – what a spectacle! I don’t think that there is any country in the world, where three of your biggest traditional rivals can play on the same day, where the fans of the big three can sit together and there be no incident.
Try putting Barcelona and Real Madrid fans into a stadium and make them feel the love. It just won’t happen. Try putting Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea fans in a stadium together and keep it under control. No chance! Make the River Plate and Boca Juniors fans in Argentina start the season off with a nice friendly game – Impossible!
We have this unique love affair with football in this country where we are just as fanatical as supporters of other countries but with none of the malice, anger and vitriol. If anything, we live out the words Pele spoke in his final game as a professional footballer for New York Cosmos when he said, and he got the 75 000 in the stands to say after him, “Love! Love! Love!”
Perhaps it is fitting then that the slogan of the winning team of the Telkom Charity Cup this year is Love and Peace. Well done, Kaizer Chiefs, and well done, Vladimir Vermezovic, for throwing in the youngsters. We need young South African players playing in these kinds of games for us to move forward as a soccer nation.
Which brings me to Amajita… How on earth is it that with all our resources, all our money and with the PSL clubs in this country investing millions in youth development, a team like Lesotho, with a population of a little more than two million, can knock us out of the African Youth Championship?
I mean Pitso Mosimane has a mandate, what is the mandate for our junior teams? Is this not the same U20 team that recently did us so proud at the Youth World Cup? It’s disturbing to say the least and hopefully Safa come forward with a report and reasons, which seems unlikely since they haven’t even reported the loss on their official website yet. It’s almost like they think that if they don’t put it on their website, nobody will ask questions. Well, we are asking questions! What went wrong and how are you fixing it?
Which brings us to a very big test for Pitso Mosimane against Ghana tonight (Wednesday). How important is it for Pitso to win this game? To me it looks like a no-win situation. Already Gavin Hunt, who was the only real contender with Pitso in the race for the Bafana job, stated on TV that you have to wonder if Ghana will be as motivated to win a friendly game like this as they were to say win a game in the World Cup. He has a good point. The game will have a very different atmosphere, and the players will have different motivations for being there. This means if Bafana win, the likelihood is that the media will point out that it was just a friendly after all. If we lose, however, expect many ‘experts’ to start questioning if Pitso is the best man for the job.
Our message to Pitso from Soccer-Laduma is to enjoy the occasion. The nation is behind you and we hope you do us proud. If things do go wrong though, there is a fallback argument, it’s the same one that so many South African coaches use for underperforming in African competitions and goes something like this, “I didn’t have my best players, it’s preseason so the players’ legs are not there yet, the African football calendar doesn’t favour South African teams, we didn’t have enough time to prepare.”
Pitso, in victory or defeat, hopefully your tenure as national team coach sees us move away from excuses, and demand strides forward. Hey, and if things don’t go right, maybe Safa just won’t put the results on their website and all will be forgotten...
Editor
Clint Roper
Ngcobo’s Bafana Call-Up Questioned
When new Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane named striker Sthembiso Ngcobo as part of his squad of player to face Ghana at Soccer City Stadium, many eyebrows were raised at the selection!
Ngcobo recently signed for Kaizer Chiefs from Free State Stars, where he had been training with the club’s development team after angering team management.
The striker made just 12 starts for Free State Stars last season and came on as a substitute five times.
He was first selected in the Bafana Bafana squad during the 2008/09 season, when he was playing regularly and was one of the league’s top scorers. The second time he was called up, the player controversially refused to report to camp, claiming his fitness levels were not at its best, that he has a recurring knee injury, that his confidence levels were not high and that he felt he was not at the top of his game!
In the second half of last season Ngcobo played just three games and the most bizarre issue of all is that the striker failed to score a single goal during the 2009/10 league campaign!
Many have suggested that Ncgobo’s selection is based purely on the fact that he has just signed for Kaizer Chiefs, a signing that was done behind the back of coach Vladimir Vermezovic, who has publicly distanced himself from the deal saying Ngcobo was not on his list of wanted players.
It would be interesting to see how Mosimane justifies Ngcobo’s selection ahead of Calvin Kadi, the Wits forward who was the second highest goal scorer in the league last season, who helped Wits win the Nedbank Cup title and secured a move to Portuguese Super Liga team Portimonense.
What’s more is that Ngcobo turns 27 next month, which means he will be 31 in 2014, the year of the next FIFA World Cup in Brazil. His age clearly counts against him, as opposed to young SuperSport United striker Kermit Erasmus, who has been touted as the next “player for the future”.
The selection puts quite a lot of pressure on Ngcobo to perform and the entire football fraternity will be looking at the player to produce the goods.
Having said that, former Bafana Bafana coach Joel Santana was questioned for his selection of Mamelodi Sundowns striker Katlego Mphela.
Santana, more in desperation than anything else, threw Mphela into the deep end during the Confederations Cup, the striker grabbed the opportunity with both hands and is now South Africa’s number one striker.
Mphela’s selection turned out to be a masterstroke from Santana, one of the few seen during his tenure. The question then begs to be asked, will Ngcobo’s selection be Mosimane’s first masterstroke?
Gail Swartz
Soccer-Laduma
Content Manager
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