South African national U23 head coach and Bafana Bafana assistant coach, Owen da Gama, better be careful with how he handles the much-talked about Itumeleng Khune-Jody February situation.
The Amakhosi goal-minder, together with his defensive partner-in-crime, Erick Mathoho, have been called up as two over-age players to help our U23 team at the Rio Olympics starting next week. With the Olympics rules allowing for three over-age players to be roped in to the football teams, Da Gama opted for just two after failed attempts to get Andile Jali from his Belgian side, K.V Oostende, on time.
While Mathoho's selection came as no surprise, following Da Gama's team's recent defensive blunders, it is Khune's selection that has raised eyebrows. Why would anyone be questioning Da Gama's wisdom in selecting arguably the best goalkeeper in the country? Well, the answer is simple: Khune didn't have the best of seasons, by his standards, in 2015/16 due to a long-term injury that kept him out of the game for half of the season, as he only featured 15 times in the league games for coach Steve Komphela's side. To sum up Khune and Kaizer Chiefs' 2015/16, look no further than the eight goals he conceded in the last five games of the season, which was the longest uninterrupted run he enjoyed this past season. This is a contrasting statistic compared to Khune's first four league games, of the same season, in goals for Amakhosi, where he only picked up the ball twice from behind the net. He obviously didn't even make the shortlist for the PSL Goalkeeper of the Season award, which was ultimately won by Mamelodi Sundowns' Denis Onyango, who beat Bidvest Wits' Moeneeb Josephs and Mpumalanga Black Aces' Shu-Aib Walters to the podium. Khune has been in off-season break while the rest of the U23 team has been in camp and even went on to play the COSAFA Cup in Namibia together with an international friendly in Japan a few days after lifting the Southern Africa trophy for the fourth time. His confidence is certainly not on an all-time high and to expect him to produce miracles, having not even been called up to the recent COSAFA Cup, is a bit unrealistic.
The level of understanding between him and his defensive wall can't be compared to what February has established with his teammates over a long time of playing together. They have been at it together in good and bad times, so verbal or non-verbal communication won't be an issue as everyone knows what to expect from the next teammate.
You also throw in the much-talked about SAFA's Vision 2022 and then you start getting confused. Khune will be 35 years old when that vision talk finally expires. February, on the other hand, will be 26 – at the peak of his career. February and his teammates know exactly what it takes to get to the Olympics, having sweated blood for the country in ensuring their qualification.
February has been the darling of the U23s and the confidence his teammates have in him is beyond anything Khune can build in the short time he's been with the boys. After all, you will be hard-pressed to talk about South Africa securing their place in this year's Olympics without attributing part of their achievement to the Ajax Cape Town youth development product. In fact, the humble Strandfontein-born goalkeeper single-handedly ensured the team's qualification with some sublime performances in the CAF U23 Afcon in Senegal. The third-fourth place play-off against the host surely rates as the best performance for the U23 goalkeeper as he didn't only keep South Africa in the game by producing breath-taking saves, especially the 73rd Mousa Keita penalty in open play, but he also went on to steal the show in the penalty-shootout after both teams failed to find the back of the net in regulation time. His outstanding performances in the recent NextGen series against Tottenham Hotspur and the four penalties he saved to help Ajax Cape Town U19 lift the ESAD Memorial trophy is further proof that his Olympic-securing heroics were by no means a fluke!
Da Gama's man-management skills will be put to a big test and if the coach makes Khune his first-choice goalkeeper, the damage that might have in his team could prove too costly! One thing no one can argue about is Khune's experience, although he has little to nothing to show for it at international level, and February can learn a lot from the Chiefs goalkeeper. So Da Gama has got to be careful how he handles the Khune issue as the last thing he wants is to destroy February's confidence and cost the team should things not work out with Khune. Should Khune, God forbid, not live up to expectations, calls for Da Gama's head will start growing even before they touch down at the OR Tambo international. It is very important for the coach to be honest with February and ensure that the two goalkeepers are on the same page.
This situation could either present February with an opportunity to learn as much as possible from one of the best goalkeepers in the country or destroy his confidence when he's made to feel as the second-choice goalkeeper, something he has had to put up with at club level despite his brilliant performances at junior international level. Whatever side the pendulum swings, it is how Da Gama handles the situation he puts himself in that will determine and influence the outcomes.
Congratulations to our National U20s for making the 2017 African Youth Championships in Zambia. We need more of these achievements in order to expose our young gems to international football at a young age.
All the best to Banyana Banyana and U23s at the Olympics, go out there and fly the South African flag high. To Mamelodi Sundowns, who are hosting Egyptian giants, Zamalek FC at Lucas Moripe stadium tonight, let the mission of putting that star above your badge continue. There's also the Soweto derby to look forward to this weekend.
Cheers,
VeeJay
