What an unbelievable atmosphere at FNB Stadium, where Orlando Pirates beat Kaizer Chiefs 3-2 in the Soweto Derby. I must say, this was one of the best games I have watched because both sets of players and their coaches held nothing back. Both teams went out for a win and no one played to defend anything. It was an amazing experience and I am sure everyone left the stadium happy, even if the results didn't go their way. Football was a winner on the day and this game really made me proud. I just hope we will eventually get to a stage where there will not be any delays to the games because of late arrivals. These delays are not good for the game.
Doc answers your questions…
Please don't forget to send your questions to editor@soccerladuma.co.za for now until further notice.
King-Babs Mogobye wants to know what did I think of the Soweto Derby?
Like I mentioned in the introduction, this was one of the best games I have watched in a long time. Both teams really played well and I left the stadium happy because of the performances.
Gavin Ryan I have, on numerous occasions, explained on this platform and many others that retiring jersey number 15 at Chiefs was never my decision. Just like I can't say anything new on it, I can't answer your question why Gonzalez was given jersey number 14 at the club.
Being Doc
Sometimes there are things that move you but you are not even aware of it. You look at individuals from a distance, making a difference in their little corner and you have no idea how they do it. Later on, you get to meet them and understand how they operate. This reminds me of coach Khabo. I'm trying to say, never limit your inspiration from just the people in your circle or those around you. The way to grow is learning from others and ignoring the negatives because they weigh you down.
Coaches I've worked with: He really opened our eyes
When you look at coach Khabo Zondo's history, it is so rich and unbelievable. You look at the kind of players he produced and coached at Tembisa Classic and Golden Arrows, just to mention two, and you see the South African football identity. Everyone wanted to watch those teams. They played the game the way we want to see and enjoy it. Those were two difficult teams to play against because, like I said, of their style of play. The type of players coach Khabo had in those teams were not big-name players but players that could fit into his philosophy and playing style. There is a long list of those players who went on to make a name for themselves at big teams and they were almost everyone's favourites. This kind of a coach shouldn't be allowed to disappear from the football fraternity, it should never happen!
Coach Khabo should be working on developing our future stars because he really has an eye for talent and his record speaks for itself. This is someone we would be proud of because he is one of those who believe in the football identity we can all relate to. He's done unbelievable things for South African football already. We know coach Khabo because of the fruits of his work and the type of players that he produced. Most of these players were unknown amateurs that he introduced to professional level. They grabbed the opportunity with both hands and took our football by storm.
Had it not been for coach Khabo, we wouldn't have known about a lot of these typical South African players because they would not have been given a chance to prove themselves at this level. Imagine if we had more teams like Classic and Arrows in our league, the stadiums would be packed to capacity because of the entertainment value. He's one of the coaches I have been lucky enough to rub shoulders with. I got to know him on a personal level a bit over the last few years and I couldn't believe the level of attention to detail that he possesses. Coach Khabo is not the kind of coach who will be shouting at players or screaming up and down the touchline. Don't get me wrong, he's not always smiling because he will let you know when he is not happy about something. The beauty about the whole thing is that I had an opportunity to work with coach Khabo for years when we were involved in the Nedbank Ke Yona Team as coaches together with Jerry Sikhosana.
This is where I got to know and understand the finer details of how coach Khabo operates. The man's talent identification skills are on another level. I remember, there were a couple of times where coach Khabo would spot a talent that Jerry and I never even thought of giving a chance to, only for him to be proved right at a later stage. As soon as he mentioned the jersey number, explained what he saw and what he felt needed to be worked on, you think back and realise that he is right because we may have overlooked some of the most basic skills from the player. He would be so modest about it and not even rub it in to show that he was right. I just really, really enjoyed working with him in that project because he really opened our eyes on talent identification.
It puzzles me that someone like coach Khabo is not involved in our football in any way, while he has such a rich history when it comes to unearthing raw talent. He should be part of our national youth programmes to ensure that he plays a role in putting together the building blocks for the future generations. I thought he would be coaching one of our development teams because, like I said, he is well-versed on development matters and this is an area of our football that needs to be worked on. Coach Khabo is one of the people it would have been great to see working in our football structures but that is not happening. This is one of the coaches we should be reaping the fruits from, together with the long list of the likes of Shakes Mashaba, Trott Moloto, Augusto Palacios, Conti Kubheka and others. Sadly, these guys are idling on the sidelines because no one sees the need to rope them into the system and allow them to play an important part in our football.
Football has lost a legendary coach in Khabo and someone who should be of more value to our Beautiful Game. Like I said, this is one of the people who should be helping our football but he is so far away from it. People like coach Khabo can play a significant role in ensuring this doesn't continue anymore because they've been there and done that before. We ask ourselves, what is wrong with our development structures but we are not doing the right things. This is one coach I hail as unbelievable but I feel bad that his talent has not been put into good use by those in charge of our football. We should have this man in our football system and not allow him to be in the football wilderness any longer than he has been already.
Our football is crying for people like him. This is a coach I was with during our SAFA courses, with Steve Komphela, Neil Tovey, the late Thomas Madigage, Kwanele Kopo and others. What a legendary coach! My friend, coach Khabo, I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to rub shoulders with you. What an unbelievable human being! Very humble and knowledgeable coach that I feel we need to get back into the football system, sooner than later. We need to look ourselves in the mirror and ask some tough questions as to what needs to be done to get the likes of coach Khabo back into the system. I honour, love and respect you coach Khabo.
Doc's memory bank: That man knows his story
I never thought coach Khabo had it in him to be so funny and be able to crack jokes. He always shows this serious side to him but, after spending some time with him, I realised that there was actually more to him than just being serious. During one Talent Search in East London, Eastern Cape, he made us laugh so hard! There was a moment where one of the trialists came to try his luck and we got a moment out of this world from that incident. It was something I had never witnessed in football, as both a player and a coach, and unfortunately I'm not going to go into details about it or explain what really happened, because of the nature of the incident. Coach Khabo noticed it and turned it into one of the best jokes I have ever heard, serious as it was. You should have been there to understand how unbelievable it was for him to turn the incident around and find a funny side to it, right on the spot. We all laughed so hard because we couldn't believe what we had just heard. Sometimes we would identity a player and when we gave him the player's jersey number, he would be like, "Hey Mdokisi, asikhulumeni iqiniso ngebhola madoda. Asiyekeleni ukudlala maan (… let's talk truth about football, guys. Let's stop playing around)," and that would be his way of showing disapproval for my selection. That meant the player didn't impress him at all. Funny enough, he would explain to us why he doesn't rate that player, what he's lacking and what needs to be worked on in his game. After listening to him, Jerry and I would look at each other in complete agreement with the coach. That man knows his story when it comes to talent identification and I take my hat off for him. A very unbelievable coach when it comes to talent identification or scouting.
Doc's Friend Zone
Coach Khabo, like I said, and I started spending some time together through the Nedbank Cup initiative. Before that, as both a player and assistant coach at Kaizer Chiefs, I only knew him from a distance. Even then, I had so much respect for him because of the role he had played at his previous clubs, as I mentioned earlier. I always admired the way his teams played and that caught my attention and interest, because I wanted to know more about this man. When we eventually started meeting up more regularly, coach Khabo became one of my best friends ever! To this day, we remain in regular contact and share a lot because of the strong bond between us. He is one of the first people to call or text me on my birthday, for instance, and I always do the same to him. When we play the legends' games, he is our coach and the fact that we are from the same agency, our friendship is on another level. What inspires me about this guy is the fact that nothing has changed about him from the time I knew him as an opposition coach to now as a friend. He remains the same humble and softspoken friend and colleague. Whenever we meet up, I always laugh a lot and I appreciate you, coach Khabo.
