OFF TO ABIDJAN BAFANA BAFANA GO!
Our boys played well during the two Afcon qualifiers against Liberia and they went through to the Afcon finals, to be held in Ivory Coast. I think Mamadou Gaye must be eating humble pie at this juncture. I cannot forget him telling the whole of Africa that Bafana Bafana will not come out alive from Liberia. He was telling everyone who was within earshot that our boys were in for a hiding there. Maybe he was influenced by the way in which they played against Liberia at Orlando Stadium. What might have motivated Bafana was hearing that people like him had lost hope in them winning that game. However, that said, although we got a win, there's still a lot to be done. Doomsayers are already predicting that our boys won't proceed to even the second round of the competition. That can be expected, especially from those who have never even kicked a soccer ball in their life, the so-called couch coaches. Mamadou, please swallow your pride and withdraw your previous statement as you now have your tail firmly between your legs.
Bonisile Ngele, Cape Town
I'd like congratulate Bafana Bafana for qualifying for next year's Afcon in Ivory Coast. There were many Doubting Thomases, myself included, especially after being held to a draw by the Liberians at home, but the boys came successfully through against all odds. Now the onus is on SAFA to make sure we don't go there just to add numbers but to compete. We need friendly matches against strong opposition so that the boys are prepared physically and mentally for the continental showpiece. We will rally behind the team as always.
Bongani Mgubela, Diepkloof
Kudos to our men's national team for qualifying for the Afcon. I hope this time it doesn't turn out to be just the usual internal squabbles as it has been the case before where a coach gets replaced at the 11th hour. The national association wants to meddle in team selection as to who must be on the plane to Ivory Coast. Player agents and their own players, etc. I'd like to see a situation where the plan that has been in place about what was going to be done once the team qualifies kicks into action to prepare the team for the finals. Let's play friendlies, not against some minnows but against South American, African, European and East Asian opposition. Let's do all this now. Bring back the Simba Four Nations Tournament and rejuvenate the love for our national team. Let the team tour South Africa like the South African cricket team does when playing Test cricket. I hope SAFA will have the team and the nation's interests at heart.
Mpendulo Donono, via email
South Africa has already qualified for Afcon 2023 taking place in Ivory Coast next year. Sadly, Broos was not aware of this fact. Immediately after the game in Liberia, he spoke as if they needed to get something against Morocco in order to qualify. I don't understand why our coaches don't know or understand these permutations going into these important qualifiers. Even Pitso and his team celebrated a draw, thinking it was enough to qualify the team for the Afcon, when in actual fact they needed a win to ensure qualification. A win which was very much within their grasp, with the likes of Khune wasting time unnecessarily, instead of urging the players to go forward to get the winner. We were the laughing stock of those qualifiers. What is of comfort this time though is that our coach "erred on the side of caution", if you get my point. While we have already qualified, he thought we still have to qualify. Pitso, on the other hand, thought a draw was sufficient, when it was not. Sadly, that was the very last game of the qualifiers and he could not remedy the situation. As a consequence, he lost his job. Not because he was not good but because he could not understand a simple statistic and what needed to be done.
Tortyane wakulo Tonosi, ePhelandaba
As a Sundowns supporter and South African resident, let me start by saying congratulations to Bafana Bafana for qualifying for next year's Afcon even if we didn't give them a chance to qualify based on the first leg draw on home soil. They proved us wrong as a nation. They did a good job by taking us to Ivory Coast next year, so hats off for the boys.
Kenneth "Chukwu" Langa, Soshanguve Block XX East
Well done to Bafana Bafana for qualifying for the next edition of the Afcon. Going into the second leg against Liberia in Monrovia, the odds were heavily stacked against them. Being held to a 2-alldraw at home after having taken a 2-0 lead and the prospect of playing on Astro turf in front of a hostile crowd must have weighed heavily on them. Prior to the first leg at Orlando Stadium, a lot of negative energy from the media, supporters and even soccer analysts did the rounds concerning the lack of Chiefs representation in Bafana. This almost spilled onto the field, hence the lacklustre display at home. It's the prerogative of the national team coach to select his own players without much hullabaloo. Bafana may have qualified the hard way, but that doesn't matter, even Argentina were shocked by Saudi Arabia in the group stage but went on to lift the World Cup. My fellow South Africans, let us, for once, become true patriotic supporters. The performance of Bafana starts with us supporters presenting a united front.
George Sithole, Honeydew
Let me congratulate Bafana Bafana and the entire technical team for the job well done against Liberia in Monrovia. Had it not been for the outburst of the Bafana team manager, I still believe we would not have progressed to the Afcon finals. I'm saying this because football is a contact sport, yet we as South Africans were not allowed to make contact with the Liberians and that was clear even to the people who do not follow football. There was something wrong with the match officials. I still don't understand what was the reason for the referee to award an offside on the counter-attack that ended up being missed by Maela. I'm not condoning the conduct of the Bafana official as it was uncalled for, but sometimes you have to do the unthinkable to make your way out of dire situations. As far as the reception from the Liberians is concerned, I cannot faulter them as they were way better compared to other African countries when it comes to South Africans. With that said, I stand to be corrected as what I've said is out of my own perspective. Congrats once again to the guys for the job well done.
Jimmy Thomas, Elliot, Eastern Cape
Firstly, congrats to Bafana Bafana for qualifying for Afcon, it was definitely long overdue. Team selection was on point as well as the commitment from the team. Big up. As for Chiefs, I'd like to commend them for trying to reinforce the team, but my concern is that the technical team is not well-equipped to deal with the challenges and dynamics that exist within the set-up. Zwane is still wet behind the ears and he definitely needs a strong back-up team. My suggestion is that why not rope in the likes of Doctor, Radebe or Mngqithi for that matter, if he's available. I can assure you, these new acquisitions will be diluted the same way the likes of Dolly, Billiat, Maart, Kwinika and Bimenyimana have. Something is drastically wrong with Zwane and Sheppard's coaching methods. Add to that the fact that no player at Chiefs is currently prepared to take matters into his own hands like the likes of Teenage, Ace and Doc, to name a few.
Hofmeyr Kwitshana, via email
Hats off to Broos for fulfilling his first mandate to qualify Bafana for the Afcon. He showed bravery by benching our two-goal hero Foster and starting with Lepasa, who repaid the trust by scoring the first goal. The coach did a good job as we've failed several times to qualify for the tournament. The Ghanaian referee also handled the game well because he was not intimidated by both the Liberian players and supporters. On a different note, well done to Chiefs for winning a fourth league game in a row against Stellenbosch FC. The mission to end the season in second position continues. Despite being a man down, Stellies fought hard in the second half and almost equalised at the death. That shows the good work put in by Barker and his technical staff on the team.
Bernard "Bra Ben" Tshukudu, Ga-Maria
INCREDIBLE FEEDBACK
Mr Editor, the cover price increase was long overdue considering the state of our economy. Let me thank all MAKE YOUR POINT regulars for their educational analysis. Mr Editor, can you please interview Mr Sifiso "Jomo" Biyela? I want to know from him what the challenges of running a professional team are. Aside from the PSL grant, how does he fund the operational costs of Richards Bay FC because just recently they lost Umhlathuze Municipality as their sponsor? And ask him, besides football, where does he get his income from? Is he a businessman or politician?
Moeti Lerato Richard, Qwa-Qwa, Free State
On behalf of all Soccer Laduma readers around Mokopane, Mapela, Bakenberg and surroundings, I welcome the increase of the paper's cover price with open arms. In our Wednesday soccer Bible, we get more for less. Even if it meant I had to pay R25 for a copy, I would say, "As you please." We are more than just readers now, we are one big family.
Lekiya Magoai, Nelly (Ga Malope)
Being a first-time contributor to MAKE YOUR POINT doesn't make me a newcomer because I've been reading this publication for many years and I really appreciate its contribution to our football knowledge and the information shared therein about football. We become technically and tactically aware and this newspaper helps us have an insight of how the football game has evolved. Big ups, Soccer Laduma, for your great work and may we, the readers, continue supporting and buying this print publication because it would be very sad to lose you guys. We can't afford to have another soccer print title closed down because of decreasing sales.
Lungile Ndaliso, Jabulani Flats, Soweto
Robert "Mzekezeke" Nkosi's interview, in Soccer Laduma issue no. 1317, refers. That interview was disturbing. All teams in the PSL have fans or supporters who like their teams with all their hearts. As a fan, you are the face of a team. What Mzekezeke said in that interview really disrespected fans of other teams. I quote: "Playing small teams, you find other teams' supporters hanging together." That's pure lies. He is really misleading some fans and he must be corrected. He must understand that every team has its own style of doing things. We can't copy what Sundowns do. We must be creative in our own way.
Danny "Madeenzo" Moreo, Segakwana village, Moruleng
GLAMOUR BOYS IN FOR THAT SECOND SPOT
The race for second spot is hotting up, especially between Pirates, SuperSport and Chiefs. They all had tough opponents this past weekend. Stellenbosch played a very good game, especially in the second half, even with a man down. I was happy for Zwane for his Man of the Match performance. He even had two attempts saved by the goalkeeper and one coming agonizingly close. His shooting was on point. One thing I would like is for Maart to work on his shooting more since he likes shooting from range. The hogwash uttered by Barker was very disappointing and misleading. Minyas United FC (the anti-Chiefs brigade) entertain such reckless and stupid comments. Opposition players hack and injure Chiefs players and it must be left unpunished. Handling of the ball outside of the big box by the goalkeeper is a straight red. Who doesn't know this? If an offence is legit, it deserves a punishment – that's what is important. Can we make educational arguments rather than spewing hatred?
Lucky Khunou, Meriting
We've said enough, as supporters, about various aspects of Chiefs' overall performance that make us unhappy even though the club is winning games at the moment. These range from erratic displays by some players, poor coaching as a result of inexperience from our coaches to lack of ambition from the club management to restore the team to its former glory. I want to focus on management this time around. It is clear that the Motaung siblings who are now running the show – Bobby, Junior and Jessica – have not learnt the tricks of running a successful club from their father. They are just content that the club is up there in the top four and are not giving us supporters confidence that they have a clear vision to make this team great again. I mean, by now they should be beefing up the coaching department by bringing in a big name like Doctor and other Chiefs legends such as Khuse or even Letsholonyane. In this way, Zwane will have many great soccer brains to assist him because right now, when the chips are down, you can tell that he is struggling as we've seen when the team nearly loses games which they could have wrapped up early.
Sindile Kwitshana, via email
The race for the second CAF Champions League spot continues and could go down to the wire after Chiefs triumphed against their hoodoo team Stellies FC. After SuperSport dropped points and Chiefs and Pirates won, the second spot will be contested by three teams: Chiefs, Pirates and SuperSport. My only prayer is to see Amakhosi claim second position as they never disappoint. The last time they participated in the CAF Champions League, they ended up as runners-up to Al Ahly. The show goes on. May God bless the Glamour Boys.
Boitumelo Vanrooyen, Schweizer-Reneke
Well done to my beloved Amakhosi for a massive win against Stellies as the race for second spot intensifies. We played well in the first half and managed to score early goals, but I was really worried of the Maritzburg story repeating itself. It was a relief when Stellies failed to pull one back before half-time. We took our foot off the pedal as soon as the referee blew for resumption of play in the second half and were duly punished. Chiefs had no business conceding a goal like that and what the defence did there was a felony. How could they go to sleep like that? Very amateurish. We need to cut the mistakes at the back if we are to mount a serious challenge for second spot. While at it, let me congratulate Sundowns for winning the league for a sixth successive time. I have a feeling the Brazilians are still going to dominate this league until the cows come home. I've said this before and I'll say it again, only Chiefs and Pirates have the capacity and potential to dethrone Downs, but sadly, I don't see it happening soon. Soccer is a team sport, but massive shout-out to Du Preez for hitting top form when we needed him the most. In Zwane, we have one for the future. Top performance from him over the weekend and may he keep that up. My blood is Gold and Black. Amakhosi 4 Life!
Marvin Matseke-Mabula, Burgersfort Leboeng Rutseng
Congrats to Amakhosi for their win against Stellenbosch FC. Tight game. Barker was complaining about the penalty awarded to Chiefs, saying that the Soweto giants are always awarded penalties. I would like Mr Ace Ncobo to review and give us clarity. As for Ka Bo Yellow, they played good football over the weekend in the CAF Champions League. As a nation, we are behind you all the time. Speedy recovery to Maluleka, who collapsed during the AmaZulu FC v Swallows FC game.
Isaac Tsenene, Gqeberha
I understand Chiefs are chasing the signature of Siphesihle Maduna. For me, it would be the best signing ever made by the club in a long time. Maduna plays with flair. He is very good on the ball.
Neo Mahlangu, Tembisa
Quick One-Two's
Isn't it intriguing that teams coming from the second tier barge into the elite league like a house on fire in the first round but fade away towards the end of the season? This also happens to most teams who acquired new ownership. Look at last season, for example. Teams like AmaZulu FC, Sekhukhune and Royal AM went pound-for-pound with the big boys, but towards the end and this season they've been found wanting. The same is now happening with the Richards Bay contingent. This boggles my mind as to whether our coaches lack creativity or they seem content with just staying in the league and not challenging for honours. Anyways, soccer players are a bunch of lucky employees. No matter how much they fumble, they hardly get fired.
Nafie Moloantoa, KwaThema
South African football is going to suffer for a long time as long as those who are in charge don't want to listen to us. How can they select players that are not playing at club level for the national U23 side? They overlooked Dondol Stars players who are playing every week. Playing for a PSL team doesn't mean you're good. Why do we have the SAB League and the ABC Motsepe League? Those divisions are the ones that we must select our U20 and U23 side from because those young talented boys are playing every week. Let's try to be fair, coaches, and select on merit. Doing favours will cost you your job.
See "Big Name" Ngobeni, via email
This is different because it was not an overnight thing. The love and attachment were borne out of years and generations of watching different Pirates teams dominating, or at least competing amongst the best. When Mama Joy jumped ship, I sat there wondering why was it so easy for her to move on? How do you forget what had become your daily life and move on just like that? They say it's the hope that kills you. Beneath the surface though, there isn't much optimism left, but it still hurts when the Sea Robbers fail to deliver, for you never stop dreaming. Sundowns are the dominant force in the local game at the moment and as we edge closer to the end of yet another season, it is not easy to comprehend, but it is clear why they are champions for the sixth time in a row. As for the Ghost faithful like me, we shall soldier on; after all, the heart wants what it wants and if the weekend result is anything to go by, we live in hope for better days ahead.
Pamani Tshuma, via email
I love and respect coach Barker for the stellar job he's doing with Stellenbosch FC, but he seems to be suffering from the same disease as most of the PSL coaches, that of not accepting a defeat against Chiefs no matter what. His post-match comments were irresponsible as they insinuate that referees are doing Chiefs some favours. A goalkeeper handles the ball outside the 18-yard area and gets a deserved red card, but somehow Barker has a problem with that. I understand that beating Chiefs makes coaches' CVs look better, but if they lose fairly, the least they could do is give credit where it's due. Our editor, Vuyani Joni, once said that coaches sometimes say things in the heat of the moment, but having been in the game for this long, Barker should know better. Let me conclude by congratulating Sundowns for officially winning their sixth league title in a row.
Malesela "Dance" Boya, Kanana, Hammanskraal
Coaches like Barker need to look at themselves and the discipline of their players rather than making a helluva noise about penalties and red cards issued against them in games against Chiefs. This season, Stellies conceded four penalties against Amakhosi – it raises a question of discipline. Word of advice to Barker and all who think like him, stop using Chiefs as your measuring stick. Teams out there are winning the league with seven games remaining. These are teams that must be going all out to emulate Downs, rather than celebrating three points or one point against Chiefs.
Mompati Panyaza Ndlovu, Lekubu village, Zeerust
Whatever this Romain Folz guy has on Sandile Zungu must be big. I said it before, this guy is taking AmaZulu FC nowhere. Numbers don't lie, his record is so poor that even Mpengesi at Chippa wouldn't dare hire this guy. Ever since he joined the club, he has never played the same line-up for two or three consecutive games. This club is too big for this learner. Zungu may have a good plan for the future, but he put his trust and the supporters' trust in the wrong person. As long as this Fohloza is there, I am not interested in anything that has to do with my beloved Usuthu. The club doesn't exist to me.
Lulama Nqeketho, Delft, Cape Town
It was the best weekend ever as my two teams won their games on Saturday – I'm talking about Chiefs and Arsenal. I'm also happy for my neighbour Pirates, who won their game earlier. The fight for position two will be quite a battle as any team from number two to four doesn't want to throw in the towel. As for coach Barker's post-match rant, let me rather plead the fifth.
Nyambeni Samson Khuphani, Tshiawelo Ext 5
Congrats to Sundowns for clinching another league title in style. This is history in the making as they've won it with seven games to go. We can only ask where are other teams while this is happening, like Pirates, Chiefs, Cape Town City and SuperSport, just to name a few? This is so embarrassing because Downs don't have competition and it shows that they plan well and ahead. They don't rely on other teams to do them favours, they do the work for themselves. The so-called big teams must ask themselves questions and do some introspection regarding the dominance of Sundowns. Let's leave the issue of financial muscle aside. They bring quality, not this buy-one-get-one-free scheme. Sundowns have set a new record and I doubt if there'll be anyone to break it.
Madimetja Vic Mashamaite, Renstown
Congrats to Gallants for reaching the Last 8 of the CAF Confederation Cup. They fought hard from two goals down to win 3-2. They are quietly doing their business in Africa while locally they are not performing so well, but the winning momentum on the continent will surely help in the PSL. Internationally, the Blues and the Foxes have sacked Potter and Rodgers respectively. Furthermore, Newcastle taught Man United a good lesson while also utilising their height advantage effectively. Last but not least, at home sweet home, Ka Bo Yellow have won their sixth league title in a row. Hats off!
Amos "Tiger" Tshukudu, Ga-Maria
After Man City and Arsenal outshone their respective opponents, Leeds United and Liverpool, with a similar scoreline of 4-1, it is clear that the championship has two possible destinations. It will either go to the city of London or stay put in the footballing city of Manchester. However, Arsenal need it more. Firstly, they want to prove that the Invincibles did not die with the sensational departure of Wenger. Secondly, Arteta, Jesus and Zinchenko want to prove that they can shine elsewhere away from the splendour and affluence of Etihad. Thirdly, the Gunners are to prove that the London city is still breathing entertaining football. The glamour of footballing London is returning. As for City, they do not have any point to prove, only to reduce the English Premier League to a Farmers' League. If it happens that they clinch the championship again, then the competitive traits of the league will gradually begin to wither. However, a triumph of Arsenal will redefine the competitiveness and glamour of the league.
Batsirai Kativu, Johannesburg
I watched Man City against Liverpool on Saturday. When they scored first through Salah, the Reds thought they might repeat what they did to Man United. This time, Klopp was against the mastermind in Guardiola. Klopp thought he could score seven past Guardiola's team, but that was not to be. Guardiola made him chew the chillies he has been planting in Ten Haag and Benni's garden. Congrats to Pep, his troops and fans.
Moses Mokoena, Ga-Mokwakwaila
