THE MYTHICAL BEAST AB DE VILLIERS: is there anything the Proteas captain isn't good at?

I don’t  often stray from the football field these days. In the past, I’ve written rugby World Cups; reported on England cricket tours, covered Olympics… but this twittered image outlining the achievements of South Africa’s cricket captain AB De Villiers has got me straying away from soccer.

Can one man REALLY achieve all that? Is this a massive wind-up?

His cricket credentials are NOT IN QUESTION. Abraham Benjamin De Villiers is 30 and is currently averaging 90 with the bat in Australia. Voted the world’s best One Day batsman by the ICC earlier this month, he tops the ODI rankings, is 2^nd in Tests and just this morning he weighed in with another match winning knock at the fabulous Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The records are endless in all formats. Even South Africa’s president Jacob Zuma, absent from parliament  for months, had time for this quote while at the G20 conference in Australia: “Mr de Villiers has done the country immensely proud with his sterling achievements and we wish him all the best going forward.”

He doesn’t just bat like a whirlwind. A couple of summers ago, AB took the gloves when Mark Boucher’s career was sadly curtailed; he’s a top class wicket keeper and averaged 56 while he was behind the stumps.

He also fields like Jonty Rhodes with a superb eye for a catch and a rocket-like throw … oh, and lately he’s been getting a couple of wickets with his dibbly-dobbler bowling.  Yes, Jacques Kallis was a great all-rounder… but how many can bat, bowl, field and keep wicket?

But let’s move away from cricket. As a youngster, De Villiers showed prodigious talents in all fields. He recalls: "When I was 10 I decided I was going to do something in sport one day." Full details are hard to track down but it appears he is a phenomenon when it comes to tennis, badminton, swimming, golf, sprinting and, predictably, rugby.

Just for kicks: AB takes on Dale Steyn

A Manchester United fan – he still lists Cristiano Ronaldo as his favourite player – De Villiers was a useful football at primary school in Bela Bela (Warmbaths) and played at provincial (state or county) level as an Under 12. Some even suggest he was picked for a national junior squad.

Once a scratch golfer (which means he generally goes around the course in par) now playing off nine; AB was the ultimate sporting all-rounder at Pretoria’s sports factory, otherwise known as Affies.

When he wasn’t playing cricket with brothers far older than him, AB was on a tennis court. In his first competitive match, he beat future Davis Cup star Izak van der Merwe, and he was considered a real prospect until he gave up the racket for the bat aged 13.

As a pre-teen in Warmbaths he was offered a place at Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy in Florida, but turned down the chance to join the likes of Andre Agassi and Maria Sharapova. Again, there are claims he was picked for South Africa’s “junior Davis Cup” squad. Incredible.

Hockey and rugby occupied his winters at Pretoria’s Afrikaans Skool for Boys. AB played provincial hockey before the rugby-mad staff persuaded him to join the odd-shaped ball religion and he was soon playing in the first XV at one of the top rugby schools in a nation known for the 15-man game. Again, he was offered a place at the Blue Bulls academy over the road. Again, he declined. But then wouldn't you?

Athletics wise, AB broke the local 100m record at junior level (Usain Bolt admitted the other day "AB is seriously fast across the ground") and, though I can find no independent verification, they say he STILL holds six national swimming records in a nation which has produced golden swimmers like Chad Le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh.

There’s more. Lots more. The story about receiving an award from the late great Nelson Mandela for a science project. And making a music album called Maak Jou Drome Waar (Make Your Dreams Come True) with singer-songwriter Ampie du Preez.

But that’s probably enough. The bloke excels on all fronts. Abraham Benjamin de Villiers: You are a legend.

Discarded by Kaizer Chiefs, Jimmy Tau tells Robert Marawa: I'm hurt but not bitter. But why did Bobby Motaung ditch him?

Hurt, not bitter: Jimmy Tau fought back from an
horrific ankle injury only to be ditched by Kaizer
Chiefs after eight years at the club

JIMMY TAU has finally broken his silence on Kaizer Chiefs’ shocking decision to ditch their former captain.

In a moving interview on Robert Marawa’s Metro FM radio show, the 32-year-old footballing diamond from Kimberley gave us an intriguing insight into the backroom politics at South Africa’s biggest club.

Tau, articulate but emotional, said he was “hurt but not bitter” about the AmaKhosi’s decision to let him go. He explained in detail how he had attended extra training sessions and worked in the gym with physiotherapists to make a “full recovery” from the horrific ankle injury he suffered in the final game of 2012 against AmaZulu.

The man whose surname means "lion" explained: “I worked very hard, I played for the reserves towards the end of the season. The second last league game, against SuperSport, I was writing an exam but the last game, against AmaTuks, I was on the bench, I joined the camp on the Friday.

“I was ready to play. The coach supported me. The only reason I didn’t get back in to the side was because they were doing so well, winning the PSL for the first time in eight years and then taking the Nedbank Cup.

“But the coach saw it all. He saw how hard I worked. Stuart Baxter told me he wanted me to stay. He said he had recommended a new contract for me. I thought I had another season. But they called me in on a Thursday, my agent and Bobby Motaung, the football manager.

“Bobby told me I wasn’t in the coach’s plans. That there was no place for me at the club.  I have to respect that decision but I must say I was hurt. Not bitter, but hurt.

“I couldn’t understand it. The coach had left on holiday a week before. And Bobby told me I wasn’t in his plans. It was very confusing.”

Marawa asked Jimmy if he had any proof of Baxter recommending a new contract. There is none. Tau was reluctant to criticize the club, he repeated the word “respect” several times: “I must respect their decision. They gave me a great opportunity. They allowed me to complete my studies. I will always be grateful to Kaizer Chiefs.

“No South African footballer has become a major businessman since Kaizer Motaung and Jomo Cosmos in the 1970s. That was my challenge. Not to be an assistant coach or something like that. It’s in God’s hands. What has happened is an opportunity for me.

“I know I will get through everything - not because I am tough but because it’s God’s will. This is a lesson to young footballers living in the comfort zone. You cannot rely on the longevity of a professional football career.

“What they have done to my career – not my life – hurt me. But I will survive it. This is a new chance for me. Bobby said the coach didn’t want me, but I have said there are non-football reasons involved.

“Is there another club that wants me for next season? I don’t know about that! Let’s see what God decides!”

Marawa asked the question I was begging for on twitter: Did Bobby Motaung, currently on bail for corruption charges after his dealings in Mbombela, feel threatened by a popular leader who left arch-rivals Orlando Pirates to join the Amakhosi in 2005? A man who played 170 games for the club and eight for his nation?

Jimmy shrugged. He said: “I have given this club respect. I have given Chiefs everything. I played there for eight years. I was captain for three years (before Vladimir Vermezovic’s harsh decision to remove the armband in 2011), I captained in four cup finals, we won three of them.”

Marawa’s probing continued. At the end of the interview he asked: “Jimmy, I wanted to ask you about the Chiefs celebrations. The pictures. Was there one person who was left out, isolated? You’re smiling, you agree with me.”

With that, twitter exploded. Everyone wanted to know who Marawa meant. They wanted to know if Baxter really DID want Tau to stay… and whether “Bobsteak” really was threatened. Many suggested Jimmy was “seeing” Bobby’s sister Jessica, the club’s elegant and effective commercial manager.

It’s hard to respond to those questions in 140 characters on twitter. But I think the answers are obvious. Of course Bobby Motaung WAS threatened by Jimmy Tau, a man I have long tipped for a political future in a nation crying out for charismatic leadership. Crikey, I’d have the man as president tomorrow and so would the estimated 15 million AmaKhosi, I’m sure.

And then there’s Bobby. I spoke to the Hawks captain in charge of the investigation in to the Kaizer Chiefs Football Manager three months ago. Motaung stands accused of corruption during the building of the magnificent giraffe-supported Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga before the World Cup.

Further trouble erupted when Chiefs played home games at the stadium, which struggles to find lucrative post-World Cup matches given the city of Mpumalanga has no professional football club. The speaker of the local council was shot dead after revealing details of alleged corruption.

When I got hold of the Hawks captain I said “you probably can’t say much about the case” but he snapped back: “You think I’d arrest Bobby twice without good evidence? We have a water-tight case against him. He is going to jail.”

I have heard nothing since. It's a year since the first court appearance. Nobody wants to talk. But I do know this. Bobby is in a difficult position, though he has never been suspended over the allegations. Mbombela municipal speaker Jimmy Mohlala is dead. The corruption hasn’t gone away. Neither have the questions.

But there has been no explanation from Chiefs about Bobby, the tough guy who once sneered: “I didn’t need a CV to get this job, this is a family business.”

When a charismatic bloke like Jimmy Tau comes along and gets on well with Jessica and Kaizer Junior – both of whom enjoyed a vastly superior education to older sibling Bobby – he is automatically a threat given the circumstances, not to mention the advancing age of the legendary Kaizer, the club's founder.

My theory is this - and it’s backed by what was said on Robert’s show tonight: Jimmy Tau WAS recommended for a new contract by Stuart Baxter. But once Baxter had gone on holiday Bobby was able to wield the axe for “non-footballing reasons” as he remains a fearsome presence within the club, the man who decides on contracts and transfers.

The last thing Bobby wanted was a heroic player approaching retirement at Naturena. Jimmy himself said: “I did not want to leave the club at the end of my playing career. I was hoping for a role after I finished.”

And what role would that have been? Jimmy would make a perfect Football Manager, interacting with the modern business plans put in place by the popular Jessica. Tau talks well, thinks ahead, has a good relationship with Kaizer Junior, who will also take a backroom role soon. 

And where would that have left Bobby Motaung? Sure, he’ll deny. He’ll threaten. He’ll blame Baxter. We’ll have a look at the double celebrations. Try to find Marawa's mysterious "isolated one".

Some will say Bobby is the man, untouchable. Others feel sympathy for Jimmy. I know where I stand. The only other answer is that Baxter or Tau are lying. I choose not to believe that. But hey, it’s only a theory.

From Russia with love: All you ever wanted to know about Siyanda Xulu, but were afraid to ask

KwaMashu Kid: Bafana's Siyanda Xulu

Siyanda Xulu came Russian back home to South Africa yesterday, significantly encouraged by the news that BOTH of Bafana Bafana’s incumbent central defenders are now OUT of Saturday’s crucial World Cup qualifier.

Xulu moved to Rostov in Russia during the January transfer window – at R6m his move from Mamelodi Sundowns makes him the most expensive player in Gordon Igesund’s current squad – and was left out of the African Cup of Nations 23 after attending the gathering for the game against Malawi in a pre-AFCON friendly.

But with captain Bongani Khumalo and Orlando Pirates’ goal-scoring rock Siyabonga Sangweni both now out of contention, there is every chance Xulu, still just 21, will start at the Cape Town stadium.

Both Khumalo and Sangweni carry fascinating tales. Khumalo was backed to the hilt by Igesund when he was accused of being too good at English and even better at ball-watching during AFCON. But last Friday Igesund dismissed him thus: “Bongani is not even in the team at PAOK in Greece – and I hear he’s carrying a slight injury. So I didn’t pick him.”

But he DID pick Sangweni, who clearly played in the Soweto derby carrying the knee injury that was supposed to put him out for six weeks. Roger de Sa clearly felt gambling in front of 90,000 was the right thing to do – and his side duly managed to keep a cleansheet in a 0-0 draw with their arch-rivals. Sangweni’s leadership – if not his mobility – clearly made that possible.

Before the squad announcement, we had been told that both Sangweni and his former team-mate Tokelo Rantie, now at Malmo in Sweden, were unavailable. But Gordon picked them both. Was this an effort to keep Buccaneering fans happy? Was he worried that, by naming Tower Mathoho and Morgan Gould in central-defence – it Amakhosi goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune assuming the captain’s armband – we might face a footballing civil war?

None of this politicking bothers Xulu. A calm, older-than-his-years sort of guy, I got hold of Xulu in Rostov last week, a few days after he had been named Man of the Match after a 0-0 draw against Alaniya in front of an audience spanning the length of the world’s largest nation.

Just how excited was he to have found a place back in the squad so soon after his AFCON disappointment? “No look,” he said between the crackles and delays of the international telephone network, “Whenever I get picked, it’s an honour. I have always believed it is important to play for South Africa. I am so proud.”

Of course, those may just be words. But for my money, Xulu appears to put patriotism before cash.

The very mention of the sprawling township of KwaZulu outside Durban brings out a whole new Siyanda: “I grew up in KwaMashu,” he recalls, “It will always be home. I live here in Russia on my own in an apartment.

“At first I missed my family, my friends, all my loved ones soooo much. But now I am starting to get used to living alone. I’m going to fly a friend out after the World Cup game for company.

“And it’s great to be asked to come home for this game. But I have travelled a lot.

“Two years ago I went to Barcelona on trial but just as they said they were going to sign me to their academy, they restructured (Joan Laporta was deposed as club president) and it all fell through.

“I also went to Arsenal and trained with them for two weeks. Arsene Wenger had some very nice things to say but then Atletico Madrid made a bid for me – they heard what happened at Barca – but that fell through too.

“So I came back and played in Mamelodi before Rostov made their bid. It was a long story, the price kept going up, but eventually I made the move."

The busy town of Rostov is no stranger to South African imports. Matthew Booth, Tony Coyle, Rowan Hendricks, Bennett Mnguni and Japhet Zwane all played for the mid-table Russian Premier League outfit, which has undergone a number of name changes since the club's creation in 1930. The town itself is around the size of Durban, a port on the banks of the River Don.

They currently lie 12th in the RPL, way behind leaders CSKA Moscow, big-spending Anzhi and St Petersburg glamour club Zenit. But with a fair wind and a couple more wins, they should survive in the 16-team table with a four-point cushion currently keeping them clear of the relegation zone.

With nine games left this season, Xulu accepts: “It was tough, but now I'm quite happy in Russia. It’s just the weather. And the language. The only things I can say in Russian are “left”, “right” and “hi”. I am learning the language but it’s very difficult – even the letters are different!

“That’s why I am so happy to come home for this game. A chance to see everyone again. If I am picked to start the game, that’s great. I will do what I can. The World Cup in Brazil next year is very important, I would love to be there.

“But whatever happens, playing for South Africa has always been, will always be my No 1 dream.”

THIS article also appears tomorrow as my "Neal and Pray" column in www.thenewage.co.za.

The hunt for Steven Pienaar is now officially ON. And it costs NOTHING.

The hunt for Steven Pienaar is now officially ON. South Africa’s leading Premier League star appears to have finally slammed the door on Everton – and is now expected to leave Goodison Park for free in June.

Pienaar himself has said little over his refusal to sign a new contract at Goodison Park, but Phil Neville has had his say – and the Everton captain rarely speaks to us journalists without a strong need to influence public thinking.

Phil – brother of Manchester United’s Gary - said: "The club wants Steven to stay here, but there is not much else we can say. It would be a massive blow to lose him.

"He is such an influential character. But it happened to Joleon Lescott a few years ago and we did not want him to move. It has happened to several other big players.

"You can say to Steven every minute of every day that we do not want him to leave but at the end of the day it is his decision.

"He's from South Africa, he's played in Ajax, then Dortmund now he's been to Everton and had the happiest days of his career I think.

“He is probably weighing up his options now."

The suggestion is Pienaar has already been offered around £65,000-a-week but turned it down last summer before a disappointing World Cup on home soil. That would have taken the 28-year-old from modest Westbury in Johannesburg up among Everton’s top earners.

But it remains a long way short of the figure of £220,000-a-week being bandied around in the debate over United’s Wayne Rooney and Manchester City’s Yaya Toure. And, unlike Pienaar, neither of those two over-paid stars have behaved impeccably in recent weeks.

Rooney, currently “injured” after prostitution allegations, has spent a week relaxing (and not limping despite his bad ankle) in Dubai while Toure nearly came to blows with City team-mate James Milner and drove home at half-time after being substituted in the recent home defeat against Arsenal.

Pienaar, who started his career at Ajax Amsterdam before moving to Borussia Dortmund, can now sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club in January – or he can wait to move FREE to a rival Premier League club at the end of the season. A frustrated David Moyes signed him in 2008 for £2m.

Injury and the debate over his future have impacted on Pienaar’s form this season but he remains one of the Premier League’s top midfielders. After the much-needed 1-0 win over Stoke, Neville insisted: “To be fair to Steven he's got that hanging over him, but he keeps playing well for us.”

Expect an approach from Tottenham’s Harry Redknapp, who has already expressed his interest and has already signed compatriot Bongani Khumalo, as well as former club Dortmund, Manchester United and Chelsea . Former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez, now at Inter Milan, is also a known admirer.

Pienaar chose to talk about racism rather than the race for his signature. An ambassador for the anti-racism campaign Kick It Out, he told the Liverpool Echo: “It happened to me when I played in Germany and Holland. The away fans would shout racist abuse but I used it as motivation to do well against the teams.

“I was determined not to let it get to me because if I had have done then they would have won.

“Kick It Out carries a very important message. The fight against racism is one that the game is winning but we must continue to fight.”

In a further bid to deflect attention away from his future, he added: “Everton has the best away support in the Premier League. When I first arrived I was amazed at how many fans we would take to the away games and that gives you confidence even before the game starts.

“I’ve played for the club all over Europe and the following we have had has been unbelievable. At Goodison as well, when the fans are right behind us and the stadium is bouncing, it really can help players raise their game.”

Just put this on page 51 of today's Lite

LITESPORT would like to apologise to any readers of yesterday’s cricket story on page 35 headlined: “Swann warns SA this is NOT same old England side”.
This newspaper was taken in by two early wins on the tour of South Africa which encouraged us to accept Graeme Swann’s argument which ran along the lines of: “What we’ve been trying for the last five years hasn’t really worked and we’ve done something about it.”
Last night’s humiliating Twenty20 defeat against South Africa A in Bloemfontein suggests this England team ARE, in fact, just as bad as all the other touring teams we send around the world for a good hammering at the hands of our former colonies. For that we apologise unreservedly.
England, without captain Andrew Strauss who avoids the shortest form of the game, were skittled for 89 in an innings that featured three comical run-outs. The second-string South Africans got there with four wickets to spare.
With the first of two Twenty20 internationals looming at the much more intimidating Wanderers Bull Ring in Johannesburg, stand-in captain Paul Collingwood said: “I’m hoping this was just a blip. I never like losing, but I think sometimes it is going to be a little bit of a reality check as well.
“We’ve started so well, it’s a really great atmosphere and there’s a lot of hard work going into it. I guess it’s just our decision-making in this form of the game that tonight has let us down.”
England’s injury list is worrying too. Swann left the field with a slight thigh problem, joining James Anderson (knee), Graham Onions (back) and Stuart Broad (shoulder) in the casualty department.
To see the relevant stories, go to e-edition.thelondonlite.co.uk