Good luck to Langerman

Changed man... Tebogo Langerman revealed how he had in the past undermined the importance of CAF club championship until most recently.

All eyes in African football are on Mamelodi Sundowns this weekend, as the South African and continental champions make their Fifa Club World Cup debut. Sundowns meet host and Japan champs, Kashima Antlers, on Sunday December 11.

The Antlers, from Ibaraki Prefecture on Japan's main island Honshu, are simply the glamour boys of Japanese football. They have won that country's premier league eight times, an no other team in the J League has won the title more than three times.

So, it's clear Sundowns quarterfinal opponents in the Fifa tournament are no pushovers. The match taking place in 72 300 capacity Yokohama International Stadium, the home ground of Antlers' fiercest rivals F Merinos, does not proviude offer any reprieve because the Japanese seek success for their country in this tournament.

Naturally I want success for Sundowns, more so for for the Pretoria club's midfierlder Tebogo Langerman. Ahead of the final CAF Champions League against Egypt's Zamalek, Langerman confessed to an attitude that has delayed SA club's progress in international football for many years.
Langerman told Sowetan newspaper in Johannesburg that the CAF tournament has greatly improved his form and skills as a footballer, which also led him to be regularly for national duty. The hard running offensive midfielder said previously he did not take CAF fixtures seriously. He does not offer a clear reason why but judging by his comments in the story, it was just an attitude thing he shared with other SA players. It is incredible how South African players had over the past two decades thought they would have any impact in international football if they did not excel in CAF competitions.

Thankfully Langerman realised his mistake and his change of heart is out there for all to see as his career enjoys a high he has never experienced in his 7 years in the pro ranks. Hopefully other players in SA will dump their foolish attitude and start taking CAF championships seriously. Not trying to earn the right to play in the club world cup translates to lack of ambition by those who still feel CAF Champions League does not matter.

Well done, Langerman. I am behind you 100% and good luck in Japan.         

Sundowns ride their luck

THE fact that Mamelodi Sundowns are back in contention for Africa club honours after they were knocked out twice already in two competitions this year came as both good and bad news.
That Sundowns have been reinstated in the 2016 CAF Champions League is good for the club president's desire for his team to be crowned African champions. Patrice Motsepe has thrown more than enough for that dream to come true, only for his team to come short.
 This year Sundowns did not even reach the goup stage of the continent's premier club competition, after they were outfoxed by DR Congo's Vita Club in round three. The Kinshasa proceeded to the quaterfinal's groups stage as a result, but were later thrown out because they had fielded an ineligible player.  That's how Sundowns were called back to replace Vita.
Their return is also good news for SA football ambition, which is now desperation,  to be counted among the best in  Africa. We once won the Africa club title, back in 1995 when Orlando Pirates victory. This was even before Champions League days, and it has been more than a 20 year wait to be called champions again.
Underachievement on the continent is bitter reality for South Africa, because we like rating ourselves among the best even when our results show a less colourful picture. We are bad like that, which is why I feel the reinstatement of Sundowns via the boardroom is bad for football. Of course it's not Sundowns' fault that V Club were clumsy like that. But then the newly crowned SA champions went to  lose to unfashionable (let me Google... ) Medeama of Ghana in the Confederation Cup.
You see, after losing to Vita at home, Sundowns and seven other losers in third round of the Champions League were relegated to the Confed, which provided a chance to salvage something for Africa honours in 2016. It's bad but lucky for Sundowns that after falling to Medeama in Ghana, they get another chance again in the Champions League.
The news of their reinstatement arrived after the team personnel had concluded their off-season holiday plans. Coach Pitso Mosimane was meant to travel to the US, most probably to go enjoy the Copa America. This points to another bad situation about SA football; the league season running from August to May, copying Europe. The reality of this misnomer is that at the time the rest of Africa is busy, our league is in recess.
That also means our teams in CAF competitions at that stage will not take a break, and players will have to continue competing after a bruising domestic season. This weekend Sundowns are travelling to ES Setif in Algeria for their first match of the last-eight round robin. Their next match is Wednesday June 29, hosting Enyimba from Nigeria.
Go show you deserve your luck guys! Needless to say, good luck. I back you 100 per cent.
Wishes of the best of luck this weekend also go to Bafana Bafana as they take on Lesotho in the quarterfinals of the Cosafa Cup in Namibia. Bring the glory home guys... it's been long coming.    

Ex-Jomo Cosmos youth shows how to win

Soccer genes... Jonathan Bolingi Merikani, DR Congo striker, spent time at Jomo Cosmos when he was a teen. Today he boasts gold medals from CAF Champions League and CHAN

TODAY the son of former Jomo Cosmos goalkeeper is an African champion, again. This time following DR Congo's 3-0 victory over Mali in the final of the CHAN (African Nations Championship) on Sunday evening. And to add the cherry on top, Jonathan Bolingi Merikani also scored on the fine evening in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. The 21-year-old Bolingi also has a CAF Champions League gold medal, with TP Mazembe of Lubumbashi . He is the son of Mpangi Merikani, former Jomo Cosmos goalkeeper. When still a teen Bolingi also spent time at Cosmos, where his father is still employed as goalkeepers coach. 

Mpangi Merikani, now that's an interesting name from the past. The slightly built keeper was more known for his antics between the posts during Jomo Cosmos' glory years more than 15 years ago, doing something akin to what TP Mazembe's Robert Kidiaba is known for today.

Merikani's eccentricity came with the territory, as we saw with other keepers from DRC in those earlier years of the PSL. These Congolese goalkeeper showmen included Pelewe Delamogo (AmaZulu), Makweni Mayala (Orlando Pirates) and Francis Chansa, who played for 10 clubs in SA. A more businesslike Botende Eshele, formerly with Kaizer Chiefs, was different in his approach, though some will vouch for some oddity about him. My point overall is that Congolese goalkeepers brought a particular flavour to the PSL in South Africa and contributed immensely towards the growth of this brand.

I am deliberately citing the achievement of Mpangi Merikani's son because he shone in a hugely successful championship which was largely ignored in SA. CHAN is a nations cup open to players based in their home leagues. South Africa, which sells the PSL as the best league in Africa, was absent after they were eliminated in the qualifiers by Angola. Elimination in the qualifying rounds is part of life in football, but for the country which harbours ambitions to be the best in Africa it was just bad to just to walk away from the Angola loss without bother, as SA did. In fact, SA did not show much care for the two-legged qualifier against Angola because at the same time the national head coach was away with the senior national team, playing friendlies in the Americas. 

Old block... Mpangi Merikani, Jomo Cosmos goalkeepers coach, played for DR Congo during Zaire days

That's how erratic our approach in SA had been all these years. The entire football fraternity – from the PSL, clubs, fans to media – did not pay much attention to the two-week final tournament ably hosted by Rwanda. Even the announcement that SA officials, referee Daniel Bennett and assistant Stevens Khumalo, would handle the final match on Sunday February 7 failed to spark any excitement in SA. That the whole spectacle was shown live on SuperSport's DStv did not help either. This begs the question: how do we hope to be champions in Africa when we don't know what's going on in Africa?

For the record, Meshack Elia scored the first two goals as DR Congo beat Mali 3-0 to be crowned two-time CHAN champions. So, who boasts a better league: DRC, Mali or SA?

Meanwhile, CAF Champions League starts this week. On Saturday Mamelodi Sundowns travel to Bulawayo to meet Chicken Inn FC while Kaizer Chiefs will be out to the Comoros to play Volcan Club Moroni on Sunday.

Sundowns have expressed their desire to be African champions, despite coming short in all previous campaigns. They play good football at the moment, topping the proceedings in the PSL, and they look the part for international football. But looks can be deceiving as SA's worst enemy is poor preparation. Our teams, Sundowns included, have in the past lost to smaller teams which play semi-professional football blighted by lack of resources. 

Zimbabwe champions Chicken Inn are at the moment in the offseason, but they had a good practice in an international friendly tournament in Ndola, Zambia, last week.

Their coach Joey Antipas fired the first shots into the air this week, expressing concern about Sundowns free-scoring form. This is the usual mind games which SA players battle with. Though this time the Sundowns squad boasts internationals, it is a mystery how much work the players have put in, in terms of acquiring valuable information about the “Gamecocks”, including their venue – Luveve Stadium?

As for Chiefs, the club boasting the biggest following in SA has always been known for its disdain for African competition. This does not make sense at all; how do Chiefs expect to have a shot at the Fifa Club World Cup when they do not have the desire to win the CAF Champions League?

Their task against Moroni part-timers is easier than what Sundowns are up against. But with their fans not even knowing about the team's pending trip to the Indian Ocean islands – where is Comoros, one of the supporters asked me yesterday – I don't expect immediate change of attitude from this club. The management has conspired to make supporters to only care for domestic competition. Mention CAF to a Chiefs fan and get a sneer in return.