One of the unlikely stars of the Netherlands squad at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil is without a doubt winger Memphis Depay. He is used sparingly in the Dutch team, usually coming on as a second half substitute. The reason for that is clear: Depay is still being developed for big things in future.
He started playing regularly at his club PSV Eindhoven only from last season. Secondly, he only turned 20 in February this year, so he still needs protected, gradual introduction to the senior national team. And after just eight caps for Oranje, he's doing all-right.
Though the factors above are important to note, it is Depay's childhood which is more crucial to mention. He grew up without a father after his Ghanaian immigrant father left the family following divorce from Memphis' mother. Depay refers to this episode in his life by insisting to be called just Memphis, as seen with his team jerseys, because he finds hard to honour a father who was never there.
As a result he grew up angry, with total disregard for authority, something youth coaches at Sparta Rotterdam noticed as soon as a 9-year-old Memphis joined the club's junior ranks. Despite the rebellious nature, Sparta coaches stuck out with him until they released him to PSV at the age of 12, in 2006.
His natural skills and strong physique allowed him to progress rapidly through the ranks at PSV, but lack of appreciation for discipline and school work were always lurking. He would threaten to return home after a serious reprimand for his wayward ways. Luckily for him, PSV put up a network of advisers around him, including coach-cum- father figure called Joost Leenders, to assist the young rebel off the pitch.
Through Leenders, Memphis understood the value of discipline, respect and work ethic, gradually developing into a player everyone now sees shining on the word stage in Brazil.
After signing his first professional contract at 16, Depay was promoted to the senior team at PSV Eindhoven the following year.
This story of social challenges affecting young men repeats itself in many parts of the world, and some of the biggest stars in football had to overcome tough neighbourhoods and dysfunctional families to reach the top.
From Cape Town to Polokwane, there are many Memphis cases in South Africa, the most prominent being the tragic story of Jabu Pule (Mahlangu). Pule, who also grew up without his father, also shot to prominence in his teens. But erratic behaviour showed that psychological scars of growing up in poverty were not dealt with properly at junior levesl.
The kind of support Memphis enjoyed from the age of 9 in Dutch academies points to a long journey that we are still to undertake to properly prepare our players to be world class material from an early age.
As things stand, football development in South Africa still battles to step up from its infancy stage. If our players continue to struggle with basics such as trapping and passing the ball, then we are still a long way from setting up structures for psychological therapy at our academies.
With so many young players shining for best performing teams in this world cup so far, overall Brazil 2014 demonstrates how far behind South Africa has fallen in world football.
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