Having players who have the ability to, in big matches rise to the occasion and consistently deliver when it matters most, is the corner stone of any successful team. In basketball terms we would refer to such individuals as being 'clutch' the players you can depend on to shoot the big shots. For me it's not always the most gifted players, who fall into this category but those with the big match temperament.
Seeing Kevin De Bruyne boss the midfield for Manchester City against their rivals Manchester United made me think about some of the special players I've had in my championship winning teams that could always put on a show, regardless of the opponent.
When I won the championship with unfancied Manning Rangers, I had a lot of special players in that team, when I say special I'm talking about players like Marcus Mpfudi, Clinton Larsen, Kearyn Jordan, Simon Makhubela, Innocent Chikoya and George Koumantarakis.
These players may not have been mentioned in the same breath as the Doctor Khumalo's or Roger Feutmba's but they had the ability to go out there and deliver consistently strong performances game after game which ultimately lead us to winning the title by eight points that season.
At Orlando Pirates, I had Thabo Mngomeni, William Okpara, Pollen Ndlanya, Jerry Sikhosana who all had the talent and charisma to thrive in the big matches
The following season at Santos, again I had those 'Mr Reliables' that I knew come rain or shine I could count on. Edries Burton was an absolute tank that year in marshalling the defence and demanding the best out of the players around him. There was also Jean Marc Ithier and Sebastian Bax.
The list goes on and on with players like Shakes Kungwane, Alfred Phiri, Siyabonga Nomvethe but there is one player in particular that stands out most – regardless of the circumstances he found himself in he just had the x-factor.
During my championship winning season at Sundowns, there were a host of stars, including Surprise Moriri, who is arguably the best player I have ever coached - he really was unbelievable. There was Godfrey Sapula who won Player of the Year and there was also goalscoring machine Jose Torrealba.
However, outside of those "clutch" players I also had another player. He was the most difficult player to manage because he had a weakness, something which was well documented and publicised - alcohol.
Because of his problem and to avoid him encountering any kind of temptation, I went to the extremes to help him stay on top of his demons. His wife would call me regulary to keep me up to date with his movements and I even went as far as hiring security to watch him and his house on days leading up to the game.
The player I'm referring to is Lerato 'All you need is Love' Chabangu.
The reason why I was so committed to helping him was because he had a problem, one that he acknowledged, never denied and had admitted that he needed guidance and help with.
The talent he possessed was undeniable. He was naturally gifted. He was left and right footed. Intelligent, he could go past players, score goals, create opportunities. I would never forgive myself if I allowed a talent like that to slip under my watch.
In the 2006/07 season, we were on a roll at Sundowns going on an 18-match unbeaten run where in 10 days we had to play the 'Big Three' in Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Moroka Swallows. We beat Chiefs, many people will remember the 64 passes we made with 10 men, we also beat Pirates and Swallows but with that string of fiercely competitive matches we picked up a host of injuries and suspensions.
The following week we had to play another tough fixture, Wits University.
On Monday morning at our training session in preparation for the upcoming match on Wednesday there was a player missing, Lerato Chabangu.
Fifteen minutes into the training session, Lerato comes onto the field, but it was evident that he had succumbed to his temptations and was clearly intoxicated.
I said, "Lerato, you are late" and he said, "no coach I was caught in traffic". I must admit it was funny at the time and all the guys had a laugh about it, because despite his state, he was convinced that he was okay. Because of his state, I walked him off the field and I took him to my office while the rest of the team continued the session with my assistants.
Being the disciplinarian that I am, I could never allow behaviour like this to impact on the team - but in the same breath we also had a massive injury crisis on our hands. I only had 15 players available for the Wits game, one of which was Lerato. So, I had a discussion with our doctor and asked him what the solution was. He told me, "Coach, there is not much we can do now because he is drunk. What I recommend is to take him to Pretoria and put him on a drip overnight and see how he is in the morning." I agreed, as it gave me a bit of time to apply my mind, as we needed him as an option, considering the squad depth.
I went back onto the training field and had a meeting with the players. I told them what the situation was, that Lerato despite being in a safe place for the last three months, somehow managed to slip and succumb to his temptations and was very unlikely to be involved in the next match.
After training I got a knock on my office door and three of the senior players walked in and said, "Coach, we know that we are not in a good situation, we know this is something you won't accept but we think you should consider giving Lerato a chance."
It was something I was hoping would happen, giving me the opportunity to compromise, considering the dilemma we were in without showing weakness. Seeing his teammates stand up for him like that, convinced me. It was an exceptional case and one that needed an unconventional solution.
Lerato was included in camp that night before the match.
I was now faced with another dilemma. Do I start with Lerato? Or do I have him start on the bench? I decided to start with him because the one thing I knew about Lerato besides he exceptional talent, was that he would run all day no matter whether he had drank or not – he had that kind of engine on him.
He played and he was outstanding on the day, he gave a man of the Match performance, and he scored an unbelievable goal in the 42nd minute to add to Jose Torrealba's opener. We won the game 2-0.
After the match the following day we had a light session, it was mostly just in the pool because we had to recover, while addressing the players and congratulating them on the game, I called out Lerato and said, "Son, I don't know how you managed to pull a performance like that out the bag, but can you do it again next Friday please just without the shenangigans," and the entire team started laughing at the joke.
We needed a few more points to win the league, which we did. We won that season 10 points ahead of our closest rivals, Silver Stars.
Which goes to show: all you need is Love… and on the rare occasion, an overnight drip.
That's it for this week. Make sure you head to www.soccer6.co.za for soccer Tips and Pools.
Yours in football,
Coach Gordon Igesund
