SHAKY'S DROOPY DRAWS: The Bafana Bafana verdict... and a word for Dean Furman

FURMIDABLE: Dean Furman scored Bafana's goal

"It was a silly goal to give away. But there is no need to cry over spilt milk. Overall, I think we had things under control after surviving an early onslaught early in the first half. But having grown in confidence, I think we could have scored a famous away win" Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba

IT takes a special talent to let three vital World Cup points slip when you’re 1-0 up in Burkina Faso after the home team have missed two penalties. But South Africa’s Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba has that ability. Never doubt it.

Remember AFCON 2015 when Bafana Bafana were ahead in all three games but came away with one point? Yup, Mashaba’s got a knack for this sort of thing.

On Saturday in Ouagadougou, Shaky - who should never have survived after his awful AFCON 2017 qualifying failure - and our comparatively blessed Bafana Bafana were struggling. No plan, nothing wide, Keagan Dolly lost in a bizarre tactical quagmire and Eleazar Rodgers desperately trying to make his presence felt on his own up front.

It was not a great night for South Africa. An hour before kick-off the nation’s once-feared rugby Springboks had lost 57-15 to New Zealand’s All Blacks, conceding nine tries and scoring none.

We hoped for better from Mashaba’s much-maligned Bafana Bafana and when the ageless custodian Itumeleng Khune saved an unwarranted early penalty from Jonathan Pitroipa, hope sprung eternal.

SHAKY: Mashaba after the draw in Ougoudougou

But in truth, Burkina Faso, with a dodgy referee, are a tough nut to crack at home. With Senegal and the Capo Verde Islanders to come, anything less than a draw would have been disastrous with only the five CAF group WINNERS qualifying for Russia’s 2018 World Cup.

Rodgers, in for the curiously absent Tokelo Rantie, had a couple of chances. So did Mamelodi Sundowns African Champions League finalist Hlompho Kekana. At the back, with Rivaldo Coetzee injured, Tower Mathoho - after the death of his brother - looked out of sorts, his handball offering the Burkinabians hope from the spot.

By half-time, the former Chelsea, Rangers, Oldham Athletic and Doncaster Rovers midfielder Dean Furman - who left for Britain from Cape Town as a nursery school kid - was subjected to widespread nastiness from South Africans on social media. The only pale outfielder picked by Mashaba was being castigated for failing to pull his weight in a midfield that was visibly struggling.

At half-time, I felt the need to point out Furman was doing the job in the midfield, unlike some in the Bafana team - and that he has been our most consistent performer over the past four years, despite being dropped from the squad regularly since Gordon Igesund’s departure for no apparent reason.

And when the SuperSport United midfielder popped up to score what should have been the winner it was a moment which lifted our Rainbow Nation - Furman and I often exchange messages when times are hard. He has never been less than wholehearted in his approach, on and off the field.

It should have, could have, been the victorious icing on a very poorly constructed cake.

But with a win looming Oupa Manyisa, the Orlando Pirates captain who has done little for the Buccaneers since returning from injury. missed an easy chance to make it 2-0 and then gave away ANOTHER penalty after coming on for Dolly.

The second penalty was clear-cut, Mathoho’s first half handball had been marginal. Manyisa's tackle in the box was that of a rank amateur given the situation. But the experienced Alain Traore sent his spot kick so far over the bar you might have glimpsed it over Gauteng had the first rains of summer not crept over the horizon.

But still, somehow, in those final seconds, there was time for Bouna Diawara to produce an injury-time equaliser, dashing South Africa’s hopes of opening their World Cup campaign with a win for the first time since Stuart Baxter was in charge over a decade ago.

With SAFA president Danny Jordaan threatening Mashaba’s job security after the 1-1 draw against Mauritania last month, the word is that Shaky will go if he doesn’t get four points in his opening two World Cup qualifiers.

That means he has to beat a substantial Senegal side at home on November 7. The intervening clash against Ghana this week is meaningless, though Shaky loves a friendly win.

Okay, we’re told locusts, bees, visa problems and Rantie’s ungrateful no-show didn’t help Bafana this week. 

But given Mashaba’s inability to hold on to a lead, his lack of tactical acumen, bizarre selection process and clueless substitutions, surely Jordaan, who failed to beat a man called Athol in the NMB mayoral race, must act. The nation deserves better.

LADIES FIRST: How Vera Pauw and Banyana have out-classed Shaky's Bafana. Calls for her head are simply IGNORANT

GOING DUTCH: Banyana boss Vera Pauw

GOT in to the most ridiculous debate on Twitter this morning. I was amazed to find South African football tweeps calling for the head of Vera Pauw, head coach of Banyana Banyana, our women’s team.

Yes, there they were (I won’t pick out the ignorant by using their twitter handles), insisting Banyana - who can’t even keep their twitter account up to date (@banyana_banyana was last updated 45 days ago) - were on the slippery slope under their Dutch leader and that she must be sacked.

This came barely 24 hours after Banyana had been forced out of the All African Games in Brazzaville by Ghana - on the toss of a coin. The two sides had finished equal on points, goal difference and goals scored, and Ghana won the lottery, going on to beat Senegal in the semi-finals today.

So Ms Pauw and her squad were, in theory, denied a gold or silver medal in the Congo BY A COIN TOSS.

Take note: Her campaign ended unbeaten. Banyana drew both their group games against Cameroon and Ghana after Egypt withdrew. But remember this: the men failed to even reach the Congo, going out to Sudan 2-1 in the play-off while our women crushed Botswana 6-0 to book their flights.

And here were these blokes on twitter telling me she should be sacked. Sure, Portia Modise, our greatest female striker, retired, and Banyana failed by ONE SPOT to reach the women’s World Cup in Canada when they finished fourth rather than third in AFCON.

We won’t mention that heart-breaking AFCON defeat in Namibia against Cote D’Ivoire, whose captain failed to produce proof of her gender amid a huge furore. The Ivorians went on to lose their opening World Cup clash 10-0 against Germany.

This was what Pauw said afterwards: “My players are all sensational and, had they had a chance at the World Cup, almost all of them would be snapped up by overseas clubs.

“That’s the really hard part about missing out on Canada, the fact that lives could have been changed had we got there.”

But let’s compare this to our old friend Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba, the man who runs the men’s team. The man who these strange tweeps continue to defend despite all evidence to the future.

While our women reached the semi-finals, Shaky finished with ONE point in an Equatorial Guinea campaign widely lampooned by those who actually know football.

Then he lost twice at COSAFA against Botswana and Malawi on penalty shoot-outs before the current AFCON 2017 qualifying debacle featuring a home draw against Gambia - the smallest nation on mainland Africa - and an away defeat against modest Mauritania.

Not only that, Shaky was feted for his performance in Equatorial Guinea. He was roundly congratulated for being the worst side in the tournament, equal with Burkina Faso. Shocking.

This was the man who told us we would use the “spirit of 96” to conquer Africa, though he treats the actual heroes who played in that campaign with disdain.

Shaky actually went a Springbok leap further than our endless Rugby World Cup speeches from Fikile Mbalula and ASSURED US we’d conquer Africa.

But then, at various times, he’s said we should be topping the FIFA rankings (we’re 72 and falling under his guidance, Banyana are 59th and rising), were aiming to win the World Cup (Russia 2018 or Vision 2022, we’re still not sure) and, infamously, he insisted any critique of his old-fashioned, agent-driven regime was due to the fact he is black.

Amid all this nonsense, Vera Pauw has quietly moved forward with our women, denied World Cup qualification and All Africa Games medals by a hairs’ breadth. She never said we’d conquer anybody, just did her best to produce results without rotating goalkeepers and captains.

In case Shaky fans need it repeating, Bafana (using an U23 squad) failed to qualify for the All Africa Games. And with home and away games against Cameroon to come in Group M, where Shaky lies rock-bottom, our chances of qualifying for AFCON 2017 are just about gone.

After a friendly trip to central America, Shaky has to rouse his trips for FOUR successive games against dangerous Angola, the first two for CHAN qualification, the second two to reach the World Cup qualification group stages.

Obviously, we wish Mashaba well in his efforts. But given the way he’s been insulting journalists and getting his son Jabu to ask questions in press conferences, he doesn’t appear to have much confidence in his own ability.

Vera Pauw is a different matter. To call her credentials in to question is simply IGNORANT. But did the great Robert Marawa or BBK step forward to defend her having been copied on the tweets? Did they heck.

Today the South Africa Football Association’s Dennis Mumble insisted Mashaba was safe “for two years” and talked of “Vision 2022” in the absence of his president Danny Jordaan, now the mayor of war-torn Port Elizabeth.

I hope both Jordaan and Mumble read this. I’d give Vera Pauw more time, unless she wheels out a Dutch daughter to ask questions in a press conference.

But I’m not sure about Mashaba. And, at last, the rest of the South African football media are starting to realise that truth.

A SHOCKING SATURDAY IN STORE FOR BAFANA BAFANA: Welcome to Mauritania, the world leaders on slavery.

GRIM TRUTH: child slavery is common in Mauritania

RIGHT now, South Africa's finest footballers (according to the slightly confused Ephraim Mashaba) are gathering for battle. International conflict is upon us once more. And our beloved Bafana Bafana are scheduled to play Mauritania, the world's leading slave nation.

Today, we could talk about Mpumalanga Black Aces being top of the PSL for three weeks just two months after trying to sell their top flight status to relegated Amazulu.

Or we could recall Steve Komphela’s bizarre post-match interview as he guided Kaizer Chiefs past financially-troubled Bloemfontein Celtic en route to the MTN8 final and what might just be the first trophy of his career as a player or a coach.

Or we could discuss Bafana Bafana’s Tokelo Rantie, who has played just 23 minutes this season for Bournemouth, being South Africa’s major weapon on Saturday after refusing to leave his honeymoon bed last time he was called. 

Instead, I’ve dug this illuminating paragraph out of an article about Mauritania, Bafana Bafana’s next AFCON 2017 qualifying opponents. Feel free to click on the links for confirmation, it's all there on Wikipedia.

Slavery in Mauritania

A system exists now by which Arab Muslims—the bidanes (literal meaning: white skinned people)—own black slaves, the haratines. An estimated 90,000 Mauritanians remain essentially enslaved. According to some estimates, up to 600,000 Mauritanians, or 20% of the population, are still enslaved.

I never thought I’d see ANYTHING like that in the 21st century. I first came across this Mauritanian slavery stuff during the last CHAN tournament here in 2013, but since then I’ve researched a little deeper. It's despicable.

Shakes Mashaba’s South Africa will fly to Nouakchott on Thursday for the Saturday meeting against a nation where abolitionists are actually jailed for speaking out against slavery.

And nobody says a word. We talk about the composition of our Springboks - eight “players of colour” is clearly not enough for a Rugby World Cup after 20 years - and our Proteas - where Kagiso Rabada and Aaron Phangiso appear to share the “African spot” in our cricket team.

But none of this compares to play against a nation which still harbours slavery, surely?

For some weeks on twitter, I’ve been making this point to our Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, who feels the need to proclaim himself “No 1 Springbok fan” every 5 minutes on SuperSport.

I’ve also tried his deputy, some bloke with an Afrikaans name, not to mention Danny Jordaan, the South African Football Association and other sporting luminaries in our nation, which prides itself on equality and a fairest-of-the-fair constitution.

But nobody is prepared to say a word.

Instead, we will discuss whether Dean Furman, after two games for SuperSport United, is ready to captain South Africa in Nouakchott. Whether Tokelo Rantie will play after 24 minutes for Bournemouth this season.

No, please. This time, the debate over shaky Mashaba’s decision-making can be put to one side. His inconsistent, agent-led selections, his rotation of both goalkeepers and captains, his failure to make adequate substitutions as the game demands.

Let’s ignore, for once, that 2015 AFCON in distinctly undemocratic Equatorial Guinea which left us with one point and the joint-worst record in the tournament. And try to get over the 0-0 home draw against Gambia which opened our AFCON 2017 qualifying effort, perhaps the worst result in the history of our game.

Those COSAFA disasters against Botswana and Malawi, the failure to pick Kamohelo Mokotjo, the appearance of so many of average players even when they aren’t playing for their clubs. Our 72nd place in the world rankings.

Ignore it all.

The point is: We are about to play a nation where people still own slaves. Child labour, sex trafficking, discrimination along tribal and race lines. This is Mauritania.

And we say NOT A WORD. This from a nation which so bravely stood up on the sporting field and declared APARTHEID a four-letter word. We are the nation who MADE sport a political football. And it WORKED.

Please, Mr Mbalula, this is when you stand up for principle, not smug self-promotion. Make a statement, at the very least. Even better, go to Nouakchott and make a speech against this awful practice. The dream: CAF and FIFA will ban this foul nation until they mend their broken nation.

And please, Mr Mashaba, let’s give them a good stuffing on the football field. It's the least we can do.

Hero or villain? How do we judge Shakes Mashaba after a rousing 3-0 win over mighty Mauritius?

SUPERSHAKES: Bafana coach Mashaba

LOOK! In the sky above Dobsonville! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's SUPERSHAKES! All hail an emphatic 3-0 win over mighty Mauritius hours after half his squad had deserted him. What powers, what magic from our much-maligned Bafana Bafana coach.

But there will be no comic book adulation for Ephraim Mashaba here. Sadly, we cannot abide quite that level of hero-worship after putting three first half goals past the side beaten 7-1 by Ghana a week before.

Yes, Bra Shakes had to cope with a mass withdrawal of players just 48 hours before the game and yes, he had only one training session with this makeshift side before the CHAN qualifier.

But hold on a minute: Bafana played reasonably well with only one dose of Mashaba. Perhaps that's the way to go. Announce the squad a couple of hours before the game and send them out and let them play.

Experienced players who have played under Mashaba say the same as they did when Gordon Igesund was in charge: the training sessions are uninspiring, the team talks are less than adequate. No wonder they wanted to go back to their clubs.

A brief examination of why Orlando Pirates, Bidvest Wits, Orlando Pirates, Ajax Cape Town and Mamelodi Sundowns pulled 12 players out of the squad reveals a deeper malaise than simple club v country politics.

The root cause of last week’s Bafana crisis lies in Mashaba’s insecurity. He chose to keep his strongest squad together after the awful 0-0 home draw against Group M minnows Gambia in an effort to beat Angola in Tuesday’s friendly.

It worked, of course. After endless goalless minutes, Shaky Bafana won the friendly 2-1, ironically on an own goal, though Ayanda Patosi's cunning lob deserved better than that.

But when the players, already in camp for a week in Durban, moved from Cape Town to Johannesburg, everyone knew the big players were supposed to return to their clubs for pre-season, just as we knew Tokelo Rantie would not turn up for the Gambia game after his wedding.

South African football is guilty of poor communication, mismanagement and a first qualifier which will make qualifying for AFCON 2017 tougher than ever with Cameroon and Mauritania to come. We won’t even mention the scramble to find players on Friday and the fact that three of them turned up without passports and were thus rendered ineligible.

So it’s very hard to get too excited about a 3-0 win over Mauritania. Especially when the coach comes out afterwards and complains that his players “need to learn to unlock teams like this, they must be able to score against a side parking the bus”.

But of course, in order to do that, they have to have leadership and tactical guidance from the coach. And of that, there was little sign after a rousing first half in front of a worryingly empty Dobsonville Stadium, right in the heart of Soweto.

Yes, we can celebrate a rare romp against an island nation currently ranked 176 in the world, and as Mashaba rightly said: “We are not scared of them, we do not fear the away leg in two weeks.”

But throughout a week of crisis and turmoil, Mashaba and his media men have failed to explain the full facts of a crisis which left South Africa without a team barely a day before a match scheduled for months.

We were left with a stony silence from Danny Jordaan – the SAFA president who now doubles up as mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay – or PSL chairman Irvin Khoza. Nobody explained why the players returned to their clubs or why the planned use of “fringe players” for CHAN wasn’t implemented until the final hours before Saturday’s game.

In truth, with one point registered at AFCON and first hurdle failures in both the COSAFA Cup and Plate, our game is rapidly sliding backwards. The same old problems are cropping up but most are too scared to explain them away.

Yes, it was great to be 3-0 up at half-time – perhaps even better escape Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula’s ill-judged hype which we were subjected to twice during coverage of the Angola friendly.

And we can celebrate the emergence of two-goal Siphelele Ntshangase and Marc van Heerden - both still officially NFD players with Black Leopards and AmaZulu - as well as the enduring, unbeaten brilliance of captain Itumeleng Khune.

But the truth is, that 0-0 draw against Gambia at home was the important result for Bafana in a turbulent eight day period. Friendly wins and CHAN qualifiers are of no importance. Vision 2022 was what we were promised, but I see no vision at all. Just a blind scramble for available players at the last minute.

I hate being the Grinch who stole CHANmas, but that simply cannot be the way ahead.

Humour or racism? David Kekana on SABC last night... "This umlungu uyadlisa" or "the white man is making us lose"

THIS is the moment - all poorly-filmed 12 seconds of it - when SABC analyst David Kekana put his foot in his mouth on Thomas Mlambo's otherwise excellent Monday night show SoccerZone.


The sound ain't great. But here's what happened. Asked about whether he preferred Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Brilliant Khuzwayo or Belgium-based Darren Keet to play in goal for South Africa during the AFCON 2015 tournament, Kekana made no bones about it. He said he preferred Itumeleng Khune's 24-year-old stand-in at the AmaKhosi and said: "This mlungu uyadlisa" or "the white man is costing us" when referring to Cape Town-born Keet, .


I have no problem with the use of the word umlungu. This very morning my t-shirt was emblazoned with the word, which means "white guy" and Bafana Bafana captain Dean Furman knows when that word is chanted around the stadium, it is not used in a derogatory sense.

WHAT IT SAYS ON THE SHIRT: particularly
ugly example of the race group Mlungu

But linked with the idea that Keet is in someway inferior - so far he has barely put a foot (or a hand) wrong in the national jersey - it comes across as deeply offensive. And as my twitter followers immediately pointed out last night, RACIST.


I've looked up "uyasidlisa". On google, the confusing response in English was "Iranians" (go on, try it) but most suggest it means "helping us to lose" with the "uya" suggesting defeat and "sidlisa" his role in the side.Scelo Nciki (@scubkae1 on twitter) and many others helped me with that. 


Twitter on the whole blasted Kekana, not just for his utterance but for his on-screen performance generally, suggesting a lot of his "jokes" fall flat. When I retweeted some of those messages, Kekana stayed silent. The debate raged but generally the reaction was: Imagine if a white analyst had said: "The darkie is letting us down". Unthinkable.


Ultimately, that is the bottom-line. Using race to single a man out for criticism has long been a problem in South Africa.


The question is: in post-Aparthate South Africa how seriously should be take black racism against white folk, after those long years of pale oppression? Clearly white-on-black racism has always been the major problem. But are we now democratic enough to see both sides of this particularly ugly coin? After 21 years, I'd argue: It's time to stop judging on race, time to end the awful habit of declaring ANYTHING on the basis of skin colour.


Around 90% of the tweets agreed with me as we went to bed, only to wake up this morning with THESE tweets from @davidkekana:


"I was asked a comparative question about Keet and Khuzwayo I said he conceded 33 goals in 21 matches for club"


"In African terms someone with a white hue is referred to as Umlungu. Nothing racist about that."


"Well I am married to an Umlungu, so I get told every day when I walk the streets with my wife"


I pointed out that I know several white men who, though married across the colour-line, hold racist views. When I recommended a course in broadcasting, he responded: "Neil (sic) I have done media law and hold a bachelors degree. Please don't insult me."


I said no slight was intended and asked him to apologise, he responded: "To please you Neil?"


I said no, just to prove he was a decent bloke. That was followed by: "I did not judge him based on his colour! It's your interpretation and not a fact"


I pointed out that "umlungu" suggested he had immediately zoned in on to Keet's colour. Kekana, refusing to apologise or accept responsibility for his words, then tweeted: "Neil, I have better things to be concerned with than you. You are the list (sic) of my concern."


And then came the cracker. The response of all racists under fire: "Like all racist (sic) Neal has to point fingers. Does that sound like turning the wheel back to an era?"


By then Kekana was trending on South African twitter as the nation vented their feelings. You can read the tweets online now if you want. Some came to Kekana's defence, but most agreed: "Please apologise, it's the right thing to do". That is, in my view, still the dominant feeling.

Seconds ago, Kekana sent this: "I said Mlungu Oyadlisa, cause he conceded 33 goals in 21 games in Belgium. Get your Zulu interpreter to interpret that."

As I write, there has been no response from the national broadcaster nor Thomas Mlambo, the presenter of SoccerZone and a man who I consider a friend. We did Euro2012 together. Mlambo, as you can see in the video footage, attempted to put a sock in Kekana's mouth as the incident unfolded and after the ad break, he came close to an apology for his colleague's sentiments.


But there has been no apology from Kekana. It's not like we are asking for a pint of blood. Just a simple sorry. If a white man were to say such things of a black player - particularly on the rugby or cricket channels - all hell would break loose.


With Bafana preparing to play Mali in their final friendly tomorrow - and Keet ready to play after a lightning-quick trip home to see his new-born son Leighton - this story may linger. But I hope not. All it would take is a quick "sorry" and we could leave this all behind.


But to ignore it, to let it go, would be WRONG. Racism is NOT ACCEPTABLE. Especially on SABC1, our national broadcasters' flag-ship channel.


Or perhaps I'm wrong and I've been WRONG all my life. Perhaps it's acceptable. Perhaps racism is still okay in South Africa. You tell me, David Kekana.


I left South Africa in 1985 because I just couldn't stand Aparthate any more. I was a young sports writer appalled by what I came across every day working in Umlazi and KwaMashu. I abhor racism, I was arrested and had my telephone bugged for dating a black woman in Durban. I returned to this country in 2010 to cover the World Cup... and came back to look after my elderly father... and because I thought we'd moved beyond the crude divide-and-rule politics of the Boer.


I didn't raise this topic, ordinary South Africans did, the minute they saw you say it. Ask them what you should do, David. We are all South Africans. We are equal. Darren Keet. Even me.



If Kekana, whom I have only met briefly, has a problem with any of this, he has my telephone number. I'd love to hear a reasonable response.

EXCLUSIVE: The SAFA statement that PROVES Thulani Serero had every right to report late for Bafana camp

THE BOYS, THE BOYS: official Bafana squad picture for AFCON 2015
taken this morning before they fly to Gabon tomorrow

JUST one last question for the South African Football Association in the wake of Thulani Serero’s controversial omission from Shakes Mashaba’s AFCON 2015 squad: can you explain THIS?

DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE: SAFA statement, dated 29 December 2014

Yes, here it is, confirmation that Serero, South Africa’s only Champions League star, was only expected in camp on January 2. It’s all there, word for word. Posted on December 29, 2014. Go check it yourself at http://www.safa.net/index.php?page=articles&id=2645 it says: “Only two players will miss the training camp – Netherlands-based Thulani Serero, who is expected on Friday, 2 January while England-based Dean Furman will be in South Africa two days later (Sunday, 4 January).”

Yet on December 30, when Mashaba named his final 23 for Equatorial Guinea, Serero was AXED for failing to show up and Shakes said “He proved to be not as good as some of the others”.

What utter nonsense. What’s worse is that Mashaba and his SAFA cohorts then briefed the local football journalists on how to annihilate South Africa’s most talented player to protect their unbeaten coach.

The truth is of course, when Mashaba heard Serero was in Soweto before Christmas (he arrived home on December 22 to see family and friends) he “went berserk”, allegedly because Serero was telling people he was an automatic choice for AFCON from the provisional 34-man squad, which contained several players not currently good enough to play for their PSL clubs.

The SAFA statement actually proves that, in fact, Serero WAS an automatic choice, like Doncaster Rovers midfielder Dean Furman. Neither were expected to attend the Boxing Day camp, their places were assured. They had no need to join the camp and prove themselves. Much was made of the fact that overseas-based stars Andile Jali and Tokelo Rantie reported early… but they did so only because they were injured.

For Mashaba to unfairly exclude a foreign player is nothing new. Ten years ago he did the same with established world-class players like Lucas Radebe, Mark Fish and Quinton Fortune and, despite strong results, he was sacked for exactly that in 2003.

Mashaba is clearly going down the same route, stubbornly refusing to accept the demands of playing at the top level in Europe. Or is it something darker?

Much has been made of Dr Irvin Khoza’s recent admission that Bafana coaches have been “influenced by agents” and perhaps Shakes finds himself going down the same path. He picks unknown players represented by local agents but refuses to name proven European stars because their agents refuse to dabble in international selection.

If there is a different conclusion to draw, I am happy to accept it. But this article is an attempt to counter the appalling character assassination in the South African media over the weekend, where Serero was portrayed as “arrogant” and “unpatriotic”. The Sunday Times in particular went to great lengths to justify Mashaba’s questionable decision.

In truth, everyone knows Serero, in his own words “would love to have represented my nation at such a big tournament”. Ajax Amsterdam had written to SAFA requesting a Christmas break for their star and, according to the statement above, it had been granted.

With May Mahlangu banned and Kamahelo “Heavy” Mokotjo disappearing without appearing at the start of the Shakes reign, the Serero case is a further evidence of mismanagement and miscommunication from SAFA and Bafana which robs the nation of our finest talent.

Mashaba may be unbeaten in eight games, and we wish Bafana’s 23 all the luck in the world in their Group of Death later this month… but to my mind, SAFA’s statement PROVES Serero was unfairly dealt with. At the very least he deserves an apology, like the one he got from previous Bafana boss Gordon Igesund.

But we all know that will never happen.

Brilliant day for Bafana Bafana; a bad day for illegal guns. Hopefully.

The chosen one: Brilliant Khuzwayo

RARELY has a national football association had a tougher week to deal with. The loss of a current international captain is, thankfully, unique but utterly devastating. Yet the South African Football Association coped admirably.

Danny Jordaan, president for just over a year, has led with dignity throughout the Senzo Meyiwa tragedy – and in his unveiling of a gun amnesty in honour of our fallen captain, Jordaan deserves all the help he can get in a nation where all sections of the population love to keep a weapon in the closet.

Jordaan, a curious combination of authority and bashfulness, wheeled out some real big guns to back a campaign which will end with a Senzo statue (made up of melted gun metal) at SAFA House, right outside 2010 World Cup Final venue Soccer City.

Jordaan and Norman Arendse lead a group including human rights lawyer George Bizos, Gun Free South Africa’s Adele Kirsten, football legend Jomo Sono and THREE judges amongst others.

Not the Bafana squad; Jordaan and gun amnesty team

Jordaan captured the moment well: “It was Madiba who told us “Throw your weapons in the sea”.Guns destroy our society. We need your help to build this statue.”

I first tweeted about a gun amnesty in honour of Senzo on October 27 (see picture below) suggesting it was the one way Meyiwa's death might bring something positive.

On a day when Bafana and Bidvest Wits star Sbu Vilakazi revealed his parent’s home had been subjected to an armed robbery in Soweto last Saturday, Bizos said: "It usually takes a tragedy for people, a country, to say something needs to happen as a matter of urgency. It's not only about the death of the wonderful goalkeeper but also of the other 17 deaths that occurred that day. It's a matter that needs to concern every one of us, every citizen.”

Jordaan has achieved stability on the pitch too. With all our national teams showing signs of improvement, he then turned to Shakes Mashaba to announce the squad which will play Sudan at home (at the Moses Mabhida in honour of Senzo) on November 15 and Nigeria away on November 19, saying: “I have no idea what the team will be…”

Mashaba handled his role well too. He spoke of the pain of having to erase Senzo’s name at the top of the list and gave us Brilliant Khuzwayo and Siyabonga Mpontshane as Meyiwa’s goalkeeping replacements.

He also recalled May Mahlangu and Lehlohonolo Majoro for the first time since Gordon Igesund’s tenure, overlooking the claims of Kamahelo Mokotjo and David Zulu. Much could be said about those decisions.  But for now, #shakesknowsbest is the hashtag after four games, two wins and two draws leave Bafana needing just two points to ensure qualification for the Ebola-threatened African Cup of Nations in Morocco, scheduled for mid-January next year.

Tribute to Senzo: My gun amnesty tweet, Oct 27

It’s the goalkeeping situation which intrigues. Ronwen Williams, the SuperSport United stopper, was seen as the young pretender under Itumeleng Khune when Igesund ruled the roost. Moeneeb Josephs had even been mentioned.

But Khune’s Kaizer Chiefs stand-in Khuzwayo, a regular for Mashaba’s Under 20s, got the nod along with Mpontshane, not always the first choice at Platinum Stars.

Though Belgium-based Darren Keet should start against Sudan, Shakes may well turn to Khuzwayo, who is older than Williams but, paradoxically, less experienced. Remember, in those opening four Group A qualifiers, Senzo and South Africa have not conceded a goal despite the absence of Khune, injured before the opening trip to Sudan.

Up front, Majoro and Orlando Pirates team-mate Kermit Erasmus may get the chance to renew their club partnership, though Tokelo Rantie scored twice for Bournemouth in England last week. At the back, Tefu Mashamaite could grab the captain’s armband next to his Chiefs team-mate Tower Mathoho.

But this is Shakes. He doesn’t do the obvious. Young Rivaldo Coetzee from Ajax Cape Town started next to Mathoho against Congo, and though he lacks MashaMIGHTY’s physique and experience, the 18-year-old could enjoy a repeat performance; he didn't do a bad job.

Throughout his short spell, Mashaba has confounded the critics and gone his own way. While the likes of Ayanda Patosi, Mokotjo and Siyanda Xulu will spend the international break thousands of kilometres away, few can argue about saving on the air tickets if Bafana get the win they need next week.

My Bafana Bafana line-up would look like this: Keet; Ngcongca, Mathoho, MashaMIGHTY (capt), Khumalo; Serero, Mahlangu, Jali, Furman; Erasmus, Majoro.

It makes sense to me. Renew those club partnerships at centre-back and centre-forward; keep last year's PSL player of the year Vilakazi and Rantie as impact subs if the goals won't come, rely on Keet's experience.

But given Mr Mashaba’s ability to surprise, he may go with Khuzwayo; Ngcongca, Mathoho, Coetzee, Khumalo; Masango, Manyisa, Jali (captain), Furman; Ndulula, Rantie.

For now, #shakesknowsbest. And so does Danny Jordaan. We can only hope for plenty of shots and dozens of guns for SAFA over the coming weeks.

Shocked by Shakes: the full text of Claude Leroy's astonishing verbal attack on South Africa's head coach Ephraim Mashaba

Shocked by Shakes: Congo boss Claude Leroy

CONGO coach Claude Leroy, the 68-year-old Frenchman, launched an astonishing verbal attack on Bafana Bafana boss Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba after last night’s 0-0 draw in Polokwane.

While 38,817 Limpopo fans suffered a rainy night and a mediocre AFCON qualifier, Leroy – a veteran of EIGHT international coaching jobs – saved the real fireworks until AFTER the whistle.

Angered by Mashaba’s pre-match comments at Pointe-Noire on Saturday, he said: “We know we are not a huge team, a big team. But we are a team of quality, I'm proud of my players, their behaviour. Always perfect. They never complain. That’s why I’m so disappointed with the behaviour (of Mashaba).

“I cannot tell you that the man in charge of Bafana Bafana is a coach because of what he did to me. I will speak next week (to FIFA) and see if they consider something. When you are a coach you are an educator. You cannot have such terrible behaviour. I am shocked with his behaviour.

“I was never sacked in 34 years as a coach. Never had a problem with anybody. Respect the referee, when players fall down, tell them to get up. I respect the people who love football.

“When I see the behaviour of the man in charge of Bafana Bafana… I’m very happy with the players of South Africa, they are fair. They won at Pointe Noire, we were unlucky. But we will fight now to try and finish Group A in second place.

“We have to play Nigeria at home, play Sudan away. A draw was enough tonight. You have a lot of good players in Bafana Bafana. It’s a pleasure to work with my guys, their behaviour is perfect, they never complain.

“Okay (long pause) maybe I’ll see you at the next Cup of Nations!”


Leroy, who has coached from Malaysia to Cambridge, was winding up for his attack on Mashaba long before the post-match interview last night.


After Mashaba's attack on his goalkeeper Chancel Massa before Bafana's 2-0 win at Pointe Noire on Saturday, the Frenchman said: “The other coach said our goalkeeper is not very good, and that they know how to beat Congo, because if we do not score in the first 10 minutes, we do not do anything.

“That is completely stupid, because we didn’t score [in the first 10 minutes] against Nigeria, they scored the first goal and we went on to win 3-2 in Calabar.

“I don’t like it when coaches say a lot of things. It is important to talk to journalists before a game and to keep a lot of humility. Football is a school of humility.”

“I respect everybody from the bench and never said one word about their coach. Especially a coach who is new at the highest level after a long time. He must keep his humility.”

Mashaba was quoted as saying: “I don’t want to say a lot of things but what I have noticed is that their goalkeeper is not a good goalkeeper, he is not a strong goalkeeper. Take shots from all range, I think it will pay us back.”

 Will be adding further details to this as soon as possible

WORD OF GORD: The full statement on his demise from "deeply disappointed" Igesund

It's over: South Africa's national head coach Gordon Igesund

Here is the full statement produced by Gordon Igesund after SAFA announced they would not renew his contract as South Africa's national head coach:

"Firstly I would just like to start off by saying that it has been my distinct privilege and honour, as well as the highlight of my career to have been the South African Men's Senior National Team coach for these last two years.

"Of course I am deeply disappointed with SAFA's decision undertaken yesterday to not extend my contract beyond August, however this is football and it's the nature of the game.

"I have called this press conference in order to have the opportunity to personally thank those who have supported me throughout the ups and downs - from the SAFA executive committee right through to the technical staff and players. There are too many names to mention each and everyone individually, but certainly I would like to thank the likes of Danny Jordaan, Serame Letsoaka, Barney Kujane and Alex Heredia who have worked closely with me throughout this journey. 

"Together we have had a good run, which has seen the foundations having being laid for the vision, and plan I had for Bafana Bafana in order for them to move forward.

"This is illustrated through the introduction of many young players introduced under my reign some of which, like Dean Furman, May Mahlangu and Ayanda Patosi for example have gone on to establish themselves as true leaders and future stars of this team of ours.

"We also managed to overcome the old stigma of not being able to score goals at the top level. Over the last 32 matches we have managed to score in excess of 1.5 goals a game. 

"In official matches, we played 14, won 7, drew 5 and lost just twice. There have also been a number of friendlies for me to test ourselves and the victory over current world champions Spain will be a night I will never forget and South Africa should never forget. That game, that result is an indication of what is possible with a plan and a vision. Bafana does have the talent and the ability to compete, and defeat the very best and we must never forget that.

"All in all, looking back, as a South African I am incredibly proud of the fact that we have seen the team move up the world FIFA rankings whilst under my tenure and hope we can continue to do so moving forward under my successor.

"Whoever that is, I wish him all the best with his appointment and will always be available to assist Bafana Bafana wherever possible.

"I believe this team can do wonderful things with the vast talent I have seen and I believe I hand over a national team that is in a far better state than the one I inherited.

"Under the current guidance of SAFA I have no doubt we will continue to improve and I wish everyone involved with the national team the very best going forward."

SOCCERBALLZ! my innovative football show on www.ballz.co.za with Mark Fish airs every Thursday from 9am-11am. See Ballz' channel for our growing library of fascinating football interviews with the big names.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

Oh, and here are my first round World Cup predictions made on http://www.kickoffpredictor.com/

ROUND 1 PREDICTIONS 

Thanks for making your predictions for Round 1 of KICK OFF Predictor.
These predictions were made on 6/4/2014 2:03:55 PM
Your predictions are: 

Brazil 2

vs

Croatia 0

Mexico 1

vs

Cameroon 1

Spain 0

vs

Netherlands 0

Chile 3

vs

Australia 0

Colombia 2

vs

Greece 0

Uruguay 2

vs

Costa Rica 1

England 0

vs

Italy 0

Ivory Coast 1

vs

Japan 0

Switzerland 2

vs

Ecuador 2

France 1

vs

Honduras 0

Argentina 4

vs

Bosnia and Herzegovina 0

Germany 2

vs

Portugal 1

Iran 0

vs

Nigeria 1

Ghana 1

vs

USA 1