To the uninitiated, this is the day our very own Abbubaker Mobara marked then Barcelona and Brazil superstar Neymar completely out of the goalless draw in the opening match of the Rio 2016 Olympics, leading to Neymar and the rest of the team being booed off the field, by their own supporters, after the final whistle. This was achieved with South Africa playing more than 30 minutes with a man down, following Mothobi Mvala's red card. Neymar was, by far, the biggest name in the tournament – as one of the best three players in the world behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – but the defender-cum-midfielder from Cape Town managed to keep him in his pocket for the duration of the match, something a lot of big-name defenders have failed to do over the years! That was front page headline stuff and a big achievement by any standards!
Look at the two players' careers since then and you start wondering what the hell is going on? What are we doing wrong? The two have had seriously contrasting career paths in the last five years. We are talking about a player who was properly developed at Ajax Cape Town during his formative years and had the world at his feet. He's not the only one, his good friend and former teammate who has pretty much travelled the same road – Riyaad Norodien – is another example of a player whom so much was expected from but never lived up to expectations! Affectionately known as Schillo, Norodien was touted as the next best thing to South African football after Steven Pienaar and this was way before Percy Tau took the domestic football front by storm. To think Norodien was recently playing in the GladAfrica Championship and even went on to ply his trade at Daring Club Motema Pembe in DR Congo, Kinshasa, is something no one could have scripted or predicted for the 26-year-old attacking midfielder. To further add salt to the wound, since his return from DRC, Norodien hasn't been able to secure a move, undergoing trials. Can you believe it? This is definitely not how things were supposed to be for two of the best, well-developed, young players this country has ever produced. Something is just not right and one wonders what is it that we are not doing right?
These are two players who carried a lot of hopes and dreams of South Africans. Having started off so well and looked to be on the right track to become household names not just in the country but to become some of the best in world football, a lot was expected from them. Surely what has since happened with their careers is not what we all signed up for! To say the two players' careers have stagnated would be an understatement. These two aren't just isolated cases but a typical South African football story because there are so many of our players who have gone through the exact same route, some have had it even worse, after a promising start to their careers. Is there something we are not doing right or is there something wrong with our players? Mobara and Norodien could play anywhere in the world! That's just how talented they are and their versatility sets them head and shoulders above their peers, but, once again, they've not lived up to expectations at all. They both embrace modern technology and are fully versed in the modern game from a proper development background. You'd think they tick all the boxes to become great, but something is just amiss about how their careers have turned out.
The fact that Norodien is currently clubless, at such a young age, while Mobara is not even setting the DStv Premiership alight as he's working on rediscovering his form at AmaZulu FC under coach Benni McCarthy, is a serious concern. It is an indictment on South African football because these two were said to have attracted European interest at some stage in their careers. You look at Phakamani Mahlambi, who is another talent that may not live up to expectations, another sad story. In Mahlambi, we had someone who looked set to take on the world. He had coaches raving about him and created a huge interest and expectations, but if even Benni can't get him on a straight and narrow, who can? Coach Gavin Hunt predicted big things for this young talent affectionately known as Phaka, but instead of making headlines for his on-field exploits, he's been in the media for all the wrong reasons. More in the front pages than the back pages, where he belongs. It is safe to say we haven't seen even a quarter of what Phaka is all about because he's hardly played 100 games since turning professional in 2015. Mahlambi has hardly been a regular feature at any of the teams he's played for, notwithstanding his obvious talent.
There's Masibusane Zongo and his well-documented lifestyle choices. Another brilliant talent failing to live up to expectations. Remember Thamsanqa Sangweni, the younger brother to Siyabonga Sangweni, who emerged as one of the best defenders to ever grace our football fields? Despite a promising start to his career, the 32-year-old midfielder is just another talent that never lived up to expectations. He's recently joined Eastern Cape-based ABC Motsepe League outfit, BCM Stars FC, following a short stint with GladAfrica Championship side, TS Sporting. There is a litany of players who have failed to make the most of their talents in this country for a number of reasons and it is a serious concern.
Whatever the reasons may be, one thing is for sure, we can't continue to either lose or fail to maximize our young talent the way we've been doing and expect to make a mark at international level. Clearly there's something we are not doing right because our conveyer belt continues to produce quality players, but they somehow get lost in the system. Sadly, this has been going on for too long, yet it seems to continue unabated, which is a serious cause for concern. Time awaits no man and if our footballers fail to grab the opportunities that their talents present to them, the reality is that they will be forgotten soon because football is a short career. Out of sight, out of mind, they say!
On a positive note, congratulations to our social media team for hitting 1 million followers on our Twitter account. This is a massive achievement and milestone in the ever-growing social media space and I'd like to encourage more of our readers, especially those who are not following us, to please do so on all our social media platforms, i.e. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
