Orlando Pirates head of development, Augusto Palacios is back with part two of his interview with Soccer Laduma's Vuyani Joni, where the former Bafana Bafana coach talks about development. Why does Palacios think Masuku would probably not be playing in Bucs' first team now? Get the answer in this mini-interview.
Vuyani Joni: Proff let's start from where we left off in our interview yesterday. You were talking about getting our development structures right.
Augusto Palacios: Look, we have to do that otherwise we will never have quality developed players and our teams will continue to pay millions of Rands to buy players. You end up buying players that don't even fit the team's philosophy because you are desperate for a replacement. This is a serious problem and, like I said, if it isn't done well we will never have proper developed players, never!
VJ: How do you feel about teams spending so much money recycling the same players from one club to the next, when little or nothing is being done for development?
AP: It pains me! It really pains me man, because if you look at South African teams you can count very few of them with their development products in the senior team. Look at Barcelona, for instance, and see how many players come from their development ranks. Pirates used to have seven or even more development products in the starting line-up in the Soweto derby. These were quality players and they were not done any favours.
VJ: What stopped that development chain at Pirates? Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs and Pirates have no excuse for not having enough development products in their teams. In fact, they should be leading the way with the recourses at their disposal.
AP: You're 100% correct and that's the way it should be. However, I can't comment on other clubs apart from saying we all need to do more for development. Imagine if a club produced a number of players and sold them abroad, they would make a lot of money. We only have Brighton Mhlongo as our development product in the starting line-up, with Shoes Gumede also in the first team. Menzi Masuku joined us at an early age from Jazzy Queen Legodi's academy. We need to focus our energy on producing more players to save money.
VJ: How do you feel watching a Soweto derby with only one or two development products in both Pirates and Chiefs' starting line-ups?
AP: It makes me so sad because we haven't had more than three development products in a derby in a long time. Producing young players should be a must, not just a possibility. The senior technical team and development coaches should work very close so that players can be monitored and developed accordingly.
VJ: Is that happening at Pirates?
AP: Definitely! We have a very good working relationship with Eric Tinkler and Tebogo Moloi. I hear from other teams' development coaches that there's no working relationship between them and the senior coaches and that's wrong.
VJ: Before we let you go, you played a major role in getting Masuku to the first team. Tell us about that.
AP: Masuku came from Jazzy Queen at an early age and I took him to the MultiChoice Diski Challenge team, where he proved to be a hit. His life changed completely since then because everyone who watched our matches became aware of the boy's potential. If it wasn't for the Diski Challenge, who knows? Maybe Masuku wouldn't be playing for the Pirates first team now. He's such a special player with a great future ahead of him. I'd really like to appeal to the PSL and SAFA to ensure that we have a development league.
VJ: Proff thanks for your time and we hope to see more development products in the senior team.
AP: You're welcome. I can tell you there will be a couple of players in the senior team soon. Watch this space! Let's believe in youth and never underestimate the value of development.
What do you guys think of Palacios' interview?
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Cheers.
VeeJay
