Time up for Gordon's South Africa: after Nigeria embarrassment, is it time for Baby Bafana?

False dawn? Bafana celebrate against CAR

THERE are no words to adequately describe Bafana Bafana’s disappointing 2-0 defeat against Nigeria at the Moses Mabhida on Wednesday night.

So often, under the management of no-nonsense Gordon "Four PSL Titles" Igesund, we have been tempted to scent a new dawn for South African football. There was the AFCON win against Angola, the World Cup triumph over the Central African Republic in Cameroon, even the two hard-fought 1-0 defeats in Brazil and Poland.

But nothing can quite prepare a nation for a thumping at the hands of an old footballing foe, many of whom live gleefully in our midst.

With John Obi Mikel out with a pre-season “tummy bug” and his Chelsea team-mate Victor Moses left languishing on the bench despite his enthusiasm for the Madiba challenge, South Africans were hoping for a rousing triumph – or even a drab draw – against a side with five wins and just one defeat against Bafana.

Instead we were treated to a performance which left many mourning the bad old days of Pitso Mosimane and the bungling Brazilians who preceded him.

Up front, Malmo’s former Pirate Tokelo Rantie, allegedly the subject of a R18m bid from lowly Bournemouth earlier in the day, barely had a touch. Next to him Benard Parker looked more likely to score at the other end, as he did with such stunning accuracy in the numbing World Cup qualifying defeat in Ethiopia.

At the back, the old Bloemfontein Celtic centre-back duo of Tower Mathoho and Thabo Nthethe showed alarming inexperience and a worrying ability to freeze as Uche Nworfor, on as a second half substitute, helped himself to a brace.

The first was a deft back heel, a moment of quick-thinking with his first touch after coming on for Shola Ameobi. The second was a mere tap in, with the glamour sub Moses involved in an intricate build-up which left Mathoho and Nthethe all at sea next to the Indian Ocean.

In the middle of the park, Dean Furman was exposed for the journeyman he really is at Doncaster Rovers with Reneilwe Letsholonyane just as hard-working but equally incapable of finding the killer ball world-class midfielders MUST be able to deliver.

As irate South Africans desperately searched for answers, there was In-Gord-We-Trust insisting: “We did well in the first half. But Nigeria were the better side, they had more purpose in the second half. We made poor decisions around the box, too rushed.

“We have to calm down, keep the ball. I threw in a couple of youngsters. I’m not too disappointed, there are things we can work on.”

But we have heard all that before. It feels like Bafana are no nearer a real solution than we were post-Pitso after that dream-crushing opening draw against Ethiopia.

Former Bafana and Pirates hero Mark Fish said: “It looked like we were afraid to tackle Victor Moses. Nigeria were a far better side going forward.”

There is no easy solution. Development in this country is barely touched on while SAFA and the PSL seek to bolster their coffers with short term solutions and gimmicks. The Bafana junior set-up remains an embarrassment, as do many of the so-called academies at our major clubs.

When Bafana return to the Moses Mabhida, a super-stadium which deserves better, on September 7 to play Botswana, Igesund will be relying on the Central African Republic to take at least two points off Ethiopia to stand any chance of qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil next year.

And do we really stand any chance in the play-offs against sides like these African champions Nigeria? Of course not, given what we’ve seen.

The answer lies in youth. The only answer. Igesund must have the guts to tell the big boys at SAFA he has seen enough of Rantie, Parker, YeYe and Shabba, who shoot like rusty blunderbusses and sell their image rights with lethal intent.

He must ignore calls for a return to the days of Teko Modise, Andile Jali and Killer Mphela. That’s as wise as calling up Benni bloody McCarthy and patching up Siya Sangweni or recalling Stevie Pienaar.

Gordon must go for 2018 now. Unearth the youngsters who are steadfastly ignored as the agents and chairmen insist on the selection of their falling stars in an attempt to keep their value high. We have now reached the stage where these “legends” are named in the Bafana squad for PR purposes even when SAFA knows they won’t play as we saw before the COSAFA Cup and the current double-whammy.

Siyanda Xulu is a case in point. At 21, he kept the mighty Samuel Eto’o quiet for Rostov against Anzhi in the Russian league a fortnight ago, a shackling of the best-paid player in the world - a feat which may ultimately lead to the breakdown of Makhachkala’s billionaire policy.

Yet Xulu and the equally promising Buhle Mkhwanazi at AmaTuks played no part against Nigeria’s Super Eagles and did anyone else get that sinking feeling when Lerato Chabangu emerged as a sub? I did.

Victory over Burkina Faso on Nelson Mandela Sports day on Saturday may gloss over this woeful night for South African football. But thank God it’s the Springboks who are taking on Argentina at Soccer City on the same bill.

WARNING: This was written in the throes of post-match depression!

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 10am-noon. You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal & Pray” column every Tuesday inwww.thenewage.co.za. A shorter version of THIS story will be published in The New Age on Tuesday.

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As Pirates and Sundowns swoop, returning Nkosi talks to Amakhosi

Danke Siyabonga: Nkosi during his German playing days

ON the day that Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns secured expensive reinforcements from the north, Kaizer Chiefs fans are welcoming back a talent from a little closer to home.

The Buccaneers announced the arrival of Zimbabwe striker Takesure Chinyama from Dynamos on a salary of R100,000-a-month – significantly more than the R70,000 Chiefs general manager Bobby Motaung offered Free States Stars for their top-scorer Edward Manqele last week – and Mamelodi Sundowns are believed to be paying nearly twice that to lure Ghana’s Under 20 captain Mumuni Abubaker to Chloorkop after he failed a trial at Liverpool.

But while the anxious Amakhosi await the outcome of a board meeting at Free State Stars to find out Manqele’s future – Sundowns apparently doubled Bobby’s offer - it is the return of Siyabonga Nkosi which has the goal-and-black all a-twitter with excitement.

Newcastle-born Nkosi, who started his footballing life at Bloemfontein Celtic, before first moving to Chiefs in 2006 and on to Germany and Israel before a return to SuperSport United, plied his trade for Golden Arrows with some success last season.

But when new coach Stuart Baxter, who gave Nkosi his Bafana debut in 2005, expressed an interest, busy Bobby did the business and brought the 30-year-old back to Naturena.

On the Chiefs official website, Nkosi says, what you’d expect; Siyabonga: “Thanks. I am excited to be back here at Naturena. It really feels great because for me Chiefs is home.

“I thought the feeling would be different this time around having been here couple of seasons back. But I am still as excited as I was the first time I joined.

“My contract with Golden Arrows was coming to an end in June so my representative, Josiah Mpono told me that there are few clubs that have shown interest on my services. He also mentioned that Chiefs had also enquired; I told him on the spot; ‘focus on Chiefs’. Re-joining Chiefs was my first preference.

“I always felt that I have unfinished business here. I wanted to walk that journey again as I only spent a season the last time. There was a strong feeling to complete the journey I had started. As a fan I have always wanted to see Chiefs winning the league and I am glad now that I have been given an opportunity to contribute to that.

“I didn’t know so many people wanted to see me back at Chiefs. I am really surprised. Amakhosi fans have reacted to the news, it’s been exciting to meet fans on the street, wishing me and the team well in the new season.

“I am looking forward to the challenge of pulling on that gold and black again. I strive on challenges and I will be competing with the best players in the country. Joining Chiefs has re-ignited that competitive spirit in me and I am looking forward grabbing this opportunity with both hands.

“I will be going back to Durban to sort out few things and I can’t wait to meet my teammates when pre-season starts in the next couple of days.”

Chiefs fans, having already seen Morgan Gould arrive from SuperSport, will now be waiting to see what happens to Bloemfontein Celtic’s unsettled Mulomowandau “Tower” Mathoho, who partnered Gould in central defence in the 3-0 win over Gabon in Mbombela last week. Motaung made it clear last week that he expected Mathoho to be in a Chiefs shirt next season – but no official confirmation has yet emerged. Mathoho is coming under huge pressure to put Chiefs ahead of Sundowns despite the financial rewards – particularly on his Facebook page, where dozens of Amakhosi are leaving their pleas.

Unlike Gould and Nkosi – as well as recent acquisitions Sibuniso Gaxa and Bernard Parker – Tower and Manqele might require a substantial transfer fee and with Chiefs reluctant to deal at anything over R3.5m, Sundowns continue to lurk.

But there is another name on the agenda. Katlego Mphela – the alleged Killer who struggled to impress Johan Neeskens at Sundowns last season – has a known admirer in Baxter, who set up his trial at Glasgow Celtic last year. Busy Bobby and Chiefs may yet lure another major star to Naturena. Watch this space.

NKOSI’S CAREER IN A NUTSHELL:

2003–2006          Bloemfontein Celtic         52           (12)

2006–2007          Kaizer Chiefs       26           (4)

2007–2008          Arminia Bielefeld              9             (0)

2009      Maccabi Netanya             15           (1)

2009–2010          Supersport United            15           (1)

2010–    Golden Arrows   44           (8)

International:

2005–2009          South Africa        25           (2)

Bloemfontein Tower has "high hopes" of R10m Dutch move

Erick Mathoho, the 21-year-old Bloemfontein Celtic defender, has "high hopes" of clinching a R10million deal with Dutch Ere Divisie club FC Twente Enschede.

While high-profile stars like Katlego Mphela of Sundowns have failed in their bid to move to Europe this winter – Glasgow Celtic gave “Killer” just 45 minutes and five days to prove his worth at Parkhead – Mathoho’s agent Tim Sukazi insists “Tower” impressed in two appearance during his week-long trial in the lowlands.

Sukazi, a corporate lawyer who only started representing professional footballers 18 months ago, said: “We got there on the Wednesday and straight off the plane he trained twice which was heavy. Then they played 11 versus 11 and the feeling was good.

“Often players will kick each other in a trial, nobody knows anybody and it’s very competitive. But the players at FC Twente were talking to him. There were a number of triallists, another Brazilian centre-back. But the goalkeeper for instance, he was talking to Erick all the time, encouraging him. He saw something in him.

“On the Saturday afternoon they went to play a friendly match and it was quite a challenge. Mathoho speaks Venda or English, not Dutch or Portuguese. He struggled to communicate with the Brazilian. But the second half they put a Dutch boy in at centre-half who spoke good English and he played very well with Erik.

”Now we are waiting for the feedback. They had five or six from the first team watching the match, they need to get together, combine their verdicts and give us some feedback.

“I think they have seen what they want to see from a 21-yearold South African defender who obviously has great potential.”

But Mathoho’s agent revealed the major stumbling block for young foreign players hoping to settle in the EreDivisie – and it isn’t Venda-born Erick’s real first name, Molomowanadou.

Speaking on SABC MetroFM’s Discovery Sports Centre, Sukazi explained: “In the Netherlands, foreign players have to earn a certain salary, sometimes it’s top heavy for young players coming from Africa or Brazil. That can cripple the club.

“They insist on a minimum salary which amounts to around R5m a year, that’s a good thing but it makes it difficult for young players. They might not be in that bracket as yet. So how does one justify paying a young player that kind of money when he is still developing?

“But the deal is do-able. It’s up to them to make it work. Erick is not from any academy. He is a raw talent. We have high hopes.”

A fee of R10m has already been agreed with Bloemfontein Celtic but if FC Twente head coach Co Adriaanse – the man who released Bafana Bafana striker Bernard Parker - doesn’t snap up the “Venda Tower”, Mathoho may move to Israel’s Maccabi Haifa, who are willing to take the player on the basis of video evidence alone, though Sukazi admits: “It’s not the same as the Ere Divisie.”