Yes to England victory, and to NZ team spirit

Indispensable. . . the All Blacks engaging in their best war tool - team talk.

I  never toasted England’s victory in anything like I did on Saturday when the Roses defeated the All Blacks in a high voltage encounter that had Twickenham screaming from all sorts of emotions until the final whistle. I am happy for England because New Zealand’s unbeaten run was fast becoming a tag of invincibility, something the sport of rugby does not need for itself.

Apart from ending NZ’s unbeaten run that had gone through 20 matches undisturbed, England were huge on the night, awesome. I don’t know what they had for their pre-match meal but I never saw the England rugby team stand so tall, and yet so vigorous in its movements, whether in attack or defence.

I don’t wish to name anybody in their squad because it was a thorough team work they dished out on Saturday. So pumped up were England that they looked like they could win another match soon after the final whistle had gone at Twickenham.

Bravo England, bravo.

While I celebrate their fall, I was touched by the All Blacks for their team talk after shaking hands with their opponents following the final whistle. The New Zealand players had a quick onfield post-match talk, obviously to discuss where it went wrong for them in London. The players were so absorbed in the talk one had some understanding why the All Blacks are such fine sportsmen. They concluded their discussion by consoling those teammates who were still emotionally down from the loss, and then walked off the Twickenham pitch looking like the champions that they really are.

I wish South African sports teams, especially Bafana Bafana and the soccer teams in the local league, could emulate the example of the All Blacks. The football teams in SA are battling for positive resuIts internationally, and lack of maturity. Who would forget the dance of shame Bafana players performed in Mbombela Stadium in late 2011, thinking their lousy goalless draw with Sierra Leone was enough to qualify for 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

Even if they had indeed qualified, it would have been a mature thing to have had a moment of reflection before they even thought of dancing. In fact, the second best thing after a quick post-match talk is to thank the fans for their support.

In victory or defeat, post-match team talk is crucial not only to bind the team together, but to highlight what went right or wrong so that a clear path is carved for battles lying ahead. Local soccer legend and former Bafana coach, Screamer Tshabalala, is on record saying the downfall of SA football, from club level to national teams, is lack of team talk in all areas of importance.

“In my playing days we talked after the coach was done with his training session; we talked the game in the bus heading to the match, and we talked about the game after the final whistle,” Tshabalala once said.  

     

SA faces test in Soweto Marathon

V for veteran. . . Johannes Kekana won the City to City marathon between Joburg and Cenurion, now he wants the Soweto title, despite his age. 

South Africa’s premier standard marathon (42.2km), the Soweto Marathon, is upon us again - on Sunday. And once again, South Africa’s prowess in marathon-running is under the spotlight, for valid reasons. Before unknown Michael Mazibuko won the men’s race last year, the title had been in the hands of visiting athletes, mainly from Lesotho.

At the age of 24 Mazibuko emerged at the right time for marathon running, albeit Kenya introduces international marathoners from the age of 20. His victory last year, which was totally unexpected, raised hopes for the country which in the past had produced some of the finest marathon runners in the world.

The Soweto Marathon used to be the stage where these great home brewed marathoners used to meet. I caught the tail end of that era when I was a sports reporter. Previews ahead of the Soweto race used to be like a boy’s walk through the candy market: plenty of goodies but difficult to make a choice. It was like that trying to write about the marathon 15 years ago; lots of contenders that you ended up dedicating a story to most of them – for weeks ahead of the race.
Just to take you down memory lane, in 1997, a year after I had started my career as a sports writer, the following were contenders for the Soweto Marathon title that year: Abel Mokibe, Zithulele Sinqe, Daniel Radebe and the crazy and yet talented Eric Mhlongo. There were other contenders whose names I can't recall now, and that’s how strong South Africa was in the marathon.     

This year there is high hope that Mazibuko could repeat his feat. And beyond him, there is talk about veterans Johannes Kekana and Gert Thys being contenders for the main title. I admire the two guys for what they have done for roadrunning, but winning the Soweto Marathon on Sunday is unlikely. Just to illustrate my point, Thys ran for SA in the Olympic Games in 1996. This is how far back one has to go to recollect Thys’ best years.

Kekana showed he still has that winning mentality when he won the City to City marathon in September. Now as far as my experience goes, well as a roadrunning writer, it is a big, big ask to pursue a marathon victory two months after competing to win another race, more so an ultra as the City to City is 50km-long. If Kekana were 24, I would hold thumbs up for him. But at 40, well it’s up to him to prove the sceptic in me wrong.
Here’s hoping that if Mazibuko does not do a double take, then hopefully someone new would come out of the woods of some corner of the country to clinch the title and its R100 000 first prize. Thanks to the big pay, the Lesotho and Zimbabwe guys would be coming down the mountains and crossing rivers, in their quest for the jackpot in Soweto.

Lesotho is in mean mood after Mazibuko’s interruption last year, when he beat Moeketsi Mosuhli to second place. Mosuhli and fellow countrymen, two-time winner Mabhutile Lebopo, Lebenya Nkoka and Teboho Sello (2007 winner) are some of the Lesotho men favoured to recapture the title on Sunday at Nasrec.
Not to be scoffed at is the challenge by the Zimbos, who often show more hunger for success in any race than other runners.

The absence of known strong contenders for the women’s race has virtually handed Lesotho’s Mmamorallo Tjoka the title – for the seventh time!
Here’s hoping the weather would play fair with the athletes and spectators, allowing for a memorable race day. I won’t be at the race this time, due to other commitments. Good luck to all, more so the SA runners!

Time to warm up to Africa

Joy for Bafana. . .  Happy scenes for South Africa fans might not amount to any significant success on the soccer field if the local football fraternity continues to isolate itself from the rest of the continent.

The leaders of African football are in South Africa for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations draw later today. Under normal circumstances, the gathering in Durban by CAF and FA executives from across the continent should not look odd in one of Africa’s premier cities, if South Africa was not at odds with the fortunes of football in Africa.

The South African football public normally does not care about the events on the continent. I don’t have to go far back to cite the most recent example for my argument. This past weekend when in South Africa we were immersed in the affairs of domestic questions, this time via the Telkom Knockout, the focus of the rest of the continent was on the conclusion of CAF Champions League’ semifinal programme.

For the record, Esperance de Tunis and Al Ahly of Cairo qualified by overcoming spirited efforts by sub-Saharan opposition. Esperance, defending champions, beat recent champions TP Mazembe of DR Congo 1-0 at home to advance on a similar scoreline after aggregate. The two teams had played out a goalless draw in Lubumbashi two weeks earlier.

In the second semifinal last Sunday Ah Ahli overcome the odds placed on their championship run disruptions in the Egyptian league through a spate of public unrest – both political and criminal.  Egypt’s international striker Mohammd Nagui, otherwise known as “Geddo”, scored the only goal as the ‘Red Devils’  beat Sunshine Stars 4-3 on aggregate, following a 3-3 draw in the first leg in Nigeria.

These were the biggest stories this week as far as African soccer is concerned, but not in South Africa, where talking point was the defeat of Kaizer Chiefs at Bidvest Wits the previous Friday night. Support for  the local game is crucial for growth at all levels of football. But in South Africa we seem permanently blinded from all that is crucial about the game on the continent. Even the newspapers or radio sports shows last week and and on the weekend did not say anything about the business of qualifying for the final of the Champions League, the most prestigious club competition in Africa.

As a result, the soccer fraternity lacks respect for any good and progress that happens in African football. In South Africa the local league is seen as more important than the Champions League, even though the latter affords the winner the chance to rub shoulders with the best clubs in the world through the Fifa Club World Cup. TP Mazembe made the continent proud by reaching the final of the Fifa tournament, the first African team to do so, even though they lost to Inter Milan in the championship match.

Mazembe were not disgraced losing to Esperance in the Champions League semifinals last week. The club proved it has the pedigree to be counted among the best. Even remarkable is that TP has seven Zambian internationals in their books, a reality that has symbiotic benefits for both the club and their neighbouring country to the south, through international exposure.

While we know about the reputations of Esperance and Al Ahli, as well as the superlative technical ability of the rest of north African football which has made them virtual perennial champions of African club football, how does one explain the rise of Sunshine Stars? In recent years the Nigerian club has risen from the dust of  Akure city to be counted among the best in African football. Like in their debut season in the Champions League, Sunshine last year also reached the last four of the CAF Confederation Cup. A closer inspection of the club’s circumstances in their location in southwestern Nigeria reveals that most PSL clubs in South Africa are privileged. And yet by comparison, they are underachievers. Our clubshabitually struggle to cope with the conditions on the continent because mentally and spiriatually they are always ill-prepared for what is awaiting them when they travel. 

SA football - from the players,  officials, media and fans – needs to make an introspection on our relationship with the rest of the continent. The reason why are we dismissive or ignorant to developments in Africa, explains why we are underachieving despite our better access to resources.

Here’s hoping the Afcon draw tonight, and the tournament early next year will help change attitudes in South Africa. We need to hear soccer lovers debate about African football and the media writing and talking a lot more about the CAF Champions League.  How do we expect to meet the likes of Chelsea or Barcelona or Brazil’s Santos in  official matches if we are not going to win the Champions League?

Meanwhile, I am crossing my fingers that Bafana Bafana do not draw Nigeria in their group tonight. Even at its worst periods, the Super Eagles often have the extra wing against South Africa. I think it is their mental strength that does the trick. SA players are notorious for not researching anything about their opponents. So, in the mental warfare, it is easy for the likes of Nigeria to be superior.

The bottomline is that to conquer Africa, is to know Africa. As long as we keep our distance, the prospects of winning anything - at both club and nation level - are non-existent.

Difference between Meyer and Igesund

You have a chance. . . this is the message new Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund has been preaching to South African players where they are in the world.

Two of South Africa’s major sports are managed by two new coaches – Heyneke Meyer for rugby’s Springboks and Gordon Igesund for soccer’s Bafana Bafana. But being new in their jobs, and the fact that both got the hot seat after being overlooked in the past, about sums all that is common between the two coaches.

It is incredible that while Igesund is generally seen to be Bafana Bafana’s saviour by the football fraternity, after years of underperforming by the team, Meyer carries himself as Sprinboks’ messiah. He was however brought down to earth with a thud in his first championship in charge – the recently ended Castle Rugby Championship.

Arrogance in team selection proved to be Meyer’s Achilles heel. The resounding victory over a disjointed Australia at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld was about the only highlight in the series for SA, whose game was blighted by poor spot kicking.

Granted, the Boks outplayed the All Blacks in New Zealand midway the competition. But the record books will show that SA lost, thanks to erratic kicking by an out of form Morne Steyn. Meyer had seen enough of Steyn’s poor form in the earlier matches but chose blind faith to logic to select Steyn again at No.10 in Dunedin on September 15.

Though it was clear to the local game’s followers that the onform and regular match-winner from the flyhalf position was Elton Jantjies of the Lions, Meyer contrived to pick Johan Goosen. Not a bad a choice given the Cheetahs youngster’s potential. Timing was all that was wrong about this move by Meyer. Goosen at the time had missed most of Currie Cup action through injury. At the time of his selection Goosen had been match-fit for a few days.

Needless to say he was overwhelmed in Dunedin, coming in with 25 minutes to go. The unspoken message for the 20 year old was that he had to repair the damage Morne Steyn had already done earlier. He missed with his first attempt at goal, but scored with a 45-minute kick later. Goosen was clearly never to feature again as the All Black turned on their trademark late surge.

You would think Meyer would recognize his error, but hell no. He defended his howler with one of the flimsiest excuses by a coach in international sport in recent times. His post-match comment, once again, exposed blind faith:

“I’ve always rated Johan Goosen. I watched him play as a youngster and it is a pity he got injured (before the Castle series) because he was always part of my plans.”

Meyer also added “but I don’t want to throw him to the wolves. . .  he is a guy with a lot of character and mental toughness”.

That mental strength fell into pieces when he started against the Aussies a week later; it was clear Goosen had been thrown into the lions, despite earlier assurance by Meyer. Though Jantjies, who was selected after Steyn was finally dropped, was in the squad, his long-awaited Bok debut came in the dying minutes of the game and had no opportunity to show his worth.

Goosen started again at Loftus in the last match, against NZ, and his run was over in just 34 minutes when Jantjies was introduced. As was the case in Dunedin, this replacement also served to desperately try to fix the problem everybody knew of – except for Meyer of course.

By contrast, Gordon’s message on arrival in the Bafana camp was that no one was guaranteed a place in the national team. And that hard-working players with high technical standards, work rate and right attitude would be considered.

In his first two games in charge, Igesund recalled keeper Moneeb Josephs from “retirement”. The move was inspired as first choice keeper Itumeleng Khune returned brilliant stats in the game against Brazil, which SA lost 1-0, but on the back of a competitive and brave showing.

 Before this, Khune and some prima donnas during Pitso Mosimane’s tenure were almost guaranteed places in the national team, whether they worked hard or not. General ill-discipline ran through the team, with no real action being taken to remedy the situation. Even worse, good players were forced to seek employment with the big clubs in order to get the nod in the national set-up.

In his first two matches Igesund, including a 2-0 victory over Mozambique, Igesund showed he was not going to tolerate arrogance, and that he was not going to protect any player against the form book. For the match against Poland in Warsaw tomorrow there are players such as defender Thabo Nthete. In the recent past the Bloemfontein Celtic skipper would not have anticipated such gracious recognition of his skills as a defender and as a natural born leader of men on the field.

While there’s gloom overriding the rugby fraternity over the Boks showing in the Castle series, there is excitement all round about how Igesund approaches his work in Bafana. Some people are questioning why certain players are not in the squad, more so Teko Modise and Andile Jali.

Personally I feel the squad is better off without the last two. If I had to pick a player to beef up this squad, I would go for Black Leopards captain and attack-minded midfielder Mongezi Bobe. But again, the coach knows better.

Good luck Gordon and Bafana in Poland.    

Fond memories of an Olympic moment

Big time. . . Josia Thugwane celebrates with the SA flag after winning the marathon in 1996 Atlanta Olympics. With him is second placed Lee Bong-Ju from Korea.

So far so good for the London Olympics, despite the slightly sour bit earlier on about certain events taking place in front of empty seats. The records are tumbling down everywhere, and from the South African point of view, swimming is providing the best cheer in the opening week.

Despite the hustle and bustle of London, my thoughts are in Peterborough, 140km north of the capital. Though the medium size city has its attractions, and a rich history, Peterborough is hardly in the news. It is not in the news now as the games surge ahead, though other England cities have been drafted in to host certain events.

However one of my lasting memories of the Olympic Games is embedded in this city on the banks of the gentle River Nene. One day in 1996, when I was a sports reporter, I happened to be waiting at a bus station outside the Peterborough train station. I had just arrived there by train from London, and was still dizzy from the strange sights and smells, and the effects of a 14-hour flight from Johannesburg. I was there to cover a world U15 cricket championships.

Also waiting at the quiet bus stop was a guitarist who perfectly fitted the description of a drifter. He struck up a friendly conversation, and after I had opened my mouth for my first words, he said: “Aha, are you South African?” I said yes, and he became animated with excitement and I just thought it was the Mandela thing, as he was still the President.

I was wrong. The drifter was raving about a historical sporting moment for South Africa, to which I was totally oblivious. “Your man has won the marathon. Your man has won the marathon!” I got a hug and a handshake from the joyous guitar man.

I still did not know what he was talking about. Apart from the jet lag, this was before google and facebook in cellphones, so I was in the dark in a foreign country despite the pleasant sunny weather that day. The drifter’s bus arrived before mine and later mine showed up too. After I had settled into my hotel room in the village of Oundle, up the River Nene in Northamptonshire, I switched on the TV. And there it was. . .

A sports news bulletin was showing Josia Thugwana winning the marathon championship at the Atlanta Olympics! The excitement of the drifter enveloped me, a good three hours later. I jumped up and down to celebrate, even though Thugwana’s historical moment had happened 10 hours earlier!

That’s the magic of the Olympics, putting unknowns and underdogs on the world stage. Not long before his moment Thugwana, a former herdboy with minimal education, was eking out a tough living on the Mpumalanga Highveld coal mine ridges. Here he is now, being watched by millions around the world in his moment of triumph.

There are more like Thugwana in this current Olympiad, whose lives are going to change for the best after London. Despite the big team we have sent to the Olympics this year, I wish more emphasis would be put into developing so called minor sports in future. As I am writing this blog, table tennis is on and I just wonder aloud: “What prevents a well-resourced country to promote this simple to manage sport in the marginalized areas of South Africa?”

Needless to say, we don’t have anyone representing us in table tennis in London. Even worse, I don’t remember any news about national championship in South Africa in the past five years.

Apart from table tennis, there are other Olympic sports such as handball, volleyball and judo we should be helping to develop. The gist of my argument is that mass participation in sport in South Africa could be secured by promoting the “minor” codes.  Money has been the main factor behind the receding fortunes of these sports in South Africa. This issue needs to be carefully addressed because in all fairness, our downfall is in planning not in desperate shortage of funds.

Team SA in London is largely made up of athletes from elite sports. However, the true philosophy of the Olympics is to promote mass participation at home level, before deserving sportsmen and women qualify to compete at the Olympics. I submit, our athletes deserve to be there as the qualifying criteria they have met were very difficult.

My plea though is that let us see participants in what is called Cinderella sports as well.

Bucs, SuperSport must up the ante in CAF

On warpath... Al Merreikh players celebrate another victorious moment inside the usually packed Al Merreikh Stadium in Omdurman, Sudan. Merreikh are formidable campaigners in CAF contests.

The gripping PSL 2011/12 season is over, and congratulations are in order to league champions Orlando Pirates and the SA cup winners SuperSport Unites are in order. The two teams now must carry the momentum forward into the CAF competitions, a territory that has almost become a taboo subject for South Africa football fraternity.

It boggles the mind how SA football expects to progress and “conquer” the world when it totally ignores the continental championships. We have dreams of matching the biggest clubs in the world, as can be seen with the overwhelming excitement when the Vodacom Challenge comes, with the invitation of one overseas club, more often from England.

 The Vodacom Challenge, which is a private enterprise of Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and their jersey sponsor Vodafone, has proved to be an unnecessary distraction to SA football. People get so excited over it, forgetting that it is only a friendly involving a European side in its pre-season tour. The visitors obviously never exert themselves, playing just hard enough to avoid defeat. So this is not the place to meet Manchester United and City, Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Inter Milan strength for strength.

The only way that can be achievable for an African club is to win the CAF Champions League, which qualifies the winner for the CAF Club World Cup. Other meetings with the world’s best will remain just that: exhibition matches. South Africa has under-achieved in CAF competitions because we simply just don’t take them seriously.

One had to look at the emptiness of the Peter Mokaba Stadium, where Black Leopards stopped Nigeria’s Warri Wolves in the Confederation Cup earlier this month, to understand the national psyche on CAF. Just about 1000 fans arrived, despite the perfect weather conditions and significance of the official status of the international match-up. It suffices to say Leopards were lonely at home as they magnificently overhauled their 3-1 deficit with a 2-0 victory, to advance on away goals rule.

The lack of respect for CAF contests is not within the fans alone, it affects local officials and media as well. Editorial space for African football is often either negligible or absent in local newspapers. Even when Leopards, SA’s remaining club in the current CAF season, leave for away matches very few people know about it because the story is just not there.

For the record, the Limpopo-based Leopards will meet Al-Marreikh of Sudan in the last-16 round.  Next month the club travels to the sauna of Omdurman, the base of Sudan’s best two – Merreikh and Al-Hilal, which ironically is also in contention in the Confed Cup – to seek a placing in the group stage quarterfinals.  It is difficult to win there playing in 40 degrees Celsius. The best Leopards can do is to contain damage against a good team like their host. The second leg will be in Polokwane on July 1.

Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United will line up for the the editions of the Champions League and Confed Cup in February  2013. Between now and then the players and the technical staffs of the two teams must put that thought in their minds and begin mental preparation from the moment the new PSL season starts. For now everybody must enjoy their holidays after a grueling 2011/12 season.

In conclusion, things like the Vodacom Challenge and the new Carling Black Label are trips taking SA football nowhere. At least the old Vodacom Challenge, for which African top clubs were invited, made a lot more sense as it put us closer to where we are supposed to be – brilliance on the continent.

God neutral fan as Cosmos, Leopards face off

Heavenly. . . even though soccer is a like a religion to many fans, God cant be expected to endorse any team.

After weeks of proclaiming God’s favour for their survival in the Premier League, Black Leopards and Jomo Cosmos finally get a chance to take the matter in their hands today. Both owners of the two clubs, David Thidiela for Leopards and Jomo Sono, have evoked the mercy of God for their football problems, saying the Almighty has a plan for them and all that jazz.

I don’t begrudge Thidiela and Sono’s beliefs, but in football God is neutral. I don’t know about other sports but I suspect the same vibe goes. There is no way God can select any team for relegation because that would be bias, which is an unholy thing to even think about it.

The fact that some clubs are more wealthy than others, or more organized, does not mean heaven is whispering words of wisdom in their ears, so that they could be more dominant over the others. Inequality and forgettable decision-making are realities of life, so I should think Leopards and Cosmos will concentrate in their quest to survive, and go on to sort out their problems afterwards.

Obviously a win by Leopards will condemn Cosmos to their fourth relegation, something that should finally allow the club boss Sono to do some soul searching as he works on a recovery strategy. The odds favour Leopards to win, even though they are lousy travelers. My sympathy lies with the team from Limpopo, the only Premier League side from that province.

And that does not mean I dislike Cosmos, I support them in other causes; they know why they are sitting precariously at the bottom of the table. But today my feeling won’t count because it will be every man for himself, for survival.

 As much as all eyes are on the conclusion of the championship race on Saturday, it suffices to say the relegation battle will be decided tonight. And may the best team win, and that should be Leopards, soccer gods willing!