Obscene or ridiculous: Why SAFA, CAF or FIFA must investigate Claude Le Roy's allegations against Shakes Mashaba

Veteran: AFCON winner Claude Le Roy has coached NINE national sides

SHAKES MASHABA’S honeymoon was fun. The 64-year-old’s intitial stanza was good for South African football, two wins and a draw in his opening three games sent a shiver of expectation through Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula and the millions who long for an effective Bafana Bafana.

But the painful 0-0 draw against Congo last Wednesday – and subsequent allegations from their 68-year-old French coach Claude Le Roy – have cast something of a shadow over the great Shakes revival.

Though South Africa remain undefeated after four Group A AFCON qualifying games and surprise captain Senzo Meyiwa has yet to concede a goal, there is no disguising the paucity of ideas in front of 38,817 at the Peter Mokabe Stadium.

And what are we to make of the bizarre war of words between Mashaba and Le Roy, two of the grand old men of African football?

Initially, when Le Roy came out post-match and lashed Mashaba’s “shocking behaviour” it look like a storm in a tea-cup, a spat over Shakes saying Congo goalkeeper Chancel Massa wasn’t up to much.

But subsequent investigation reveals are far nastier aspect. Le Roy says Mashaba made an obscene gesture “which I cannot repeat in front of the ladies” – and he is demanding action over an alleged "grasping of the private parts".

An AFCON winner with Cameroon, Le Roy, emotional and upset after a game he felt his side might have won, said: “I’m shocked by the behaviour of the head coach of Bafana Bafana. At the end of the game, he showed me with his hand.

“Some people saw him do that. I couldn’t believe it was possible at our level, at international level.

“I can tell you it’s the first time in my life of coaching, I’ve been coaching for 34 years. We have a photo from one of our photographers. I think Fifa and Caf will receive this photo because from an educator (coach) you cannot accept that in terms of behaviour.”

At first, South Africans were happy to dismiss Le Roy’s ranting as the disappointment of a sad old man. But there’s more to it than that.

Leroy added: “It’s unbelievable. I saw that in a country where I was so proud to be today. I was in charge of the world team for the 89th birthday of president Nelson Mandela in Cape Town and it was one of the biggest moments in my career.

“When I see that, I cannot call this man a coach because he does not deserve it. Before the game, I was saying something very simple. Football is a school of humility. When you win, you have to be more humble than when you lose.

 “I’ve won a lot in my career, a lot of big competitions and I never said anything. In football you always have to stay humble, not to speak like the qualification was already there. Football is difficult.”

And Le Roy is not your average French journeyman, he has a real understanding of football, where he has coached for three decades everywhere from Cambridge to Cameroon, a veteran of NINE international coaching positions.

Denial: Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba

Delving in to a fascinating background, he said: “My love for Africa comes from my grandparents and my father, who was a warrior for Patrice Lumumba in the fight for independence. I know about the battle in South Africa. This country is something very important for me.”

Predictably Mashaba denied making an obscene gesture (allegedly looking at Le Roy and grabbing his own testicles), saying: “I don’t know what I did. I would have loved him to have said (to me) so that I could comment. I know nothing about that.

“I gave him a South African medal before the game and shook his hand. Let him come with the pictures and let’s see what he’s talking about.”

“Full-time, I never even came close to that man. I don’t know what he’s saying.”

We await photographic evidence with interest. At the very least, SAFA must investigate these allegations. If CAF and FIFA don’t do it first.

This article first appeared in www.thenewage.co.za earlier today.

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

The magical madness of King Shakes Mashaba: see it for youself in Polokwane on Wednesday

Fairy-tale characters: scorers Rantie and Ndulula

THIS morning we wake up to a brave new world in football-speaking South Africa. Congo have renamed their second city Three-Pointe-Noire, Bafana Bafana are top of their AFCON qualifying group and Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba is being widely suggested as a future president.


Yesterday's 2-0 win has firmly re-established the reputation of our game, just as Orlando Pirates surge to the African Champions League final last year helped restore the pride in our diski.


But when it comes to analysis, how do we explain Mashaba's record of three games, two wins, one draw. How can we possibly unpack a situation which sees AFCON champions Nigeria bottom of the group with one point and much-maligned Bafana top with SEVEN... and NO GOALS CONCEDED.


Attempting to write my Neal and Pray column for www.thenewage.co.za today I found myself constantly coming up against logic as I attempted to reveal Mashaba's genius.


Our 64-year-old coach, who has only ever worked within the borders of South Africa (you have to included Swaziland at this point) came up against a 66-year-old called Claude LeRoy (who has enjoyed NINE international hot-seats) and utterly confounded the Frenchman, who had gone to Nigeria and WON in Congo's opening qualifier.


It all makes no sense. As SAFA President Danny Jordaan said at the end of July when Shakes was selected to replace Gordon Igesund: "Shakes was the cheapest option, yes, but cost was never taken in to account."


With Carlos Queiroz and Frank Rijkaard asking for figures upwards of R12m a year to run Bafana, Shakes took the job while he was embroiled in getting our Under 20 AmaJitas to their own African

Fine finish: Rantie's goal at Pointe-Noire
See vine HERE: https://vine.co/v/OADaEJ1tHg7

Youth Championship next year. It was a ridiculous scenario. He was off travelling up north while simultaneously trying to prepare the nation for a qualifying group featuring Steve Keshi's rampant Nigeria, dangerous Sudan and Rwanda... who were ultimately replaced by Congo after fielding an ineligible player.


Yet from this chaos, our AmaJitas beat Cameroon to qualify for their African Youth Championship and, as history now shows, he has guided the seniors to an almost impregnable position atop Group A despite that distraction.


It's utterly inexplicable. No international coach starts his task with another job to complete. No international coach goes in to continental qualifying not knowing much about how his guys are doin overseas. No international coach can be expected to succeed when he's been involved with kids and Swazis over the past decade after an embarrassing departure from the hot-seat ten years ago.


But Shakes has done all that. And more. He just doesn't care for logic. Look at Saturday's incredible selection decisions, a long list of brave but apparently crazy options.


Giving 17-year-old Rivaldo Coetzee his record-breaking debut in a place like Pointe-Noire was madness. Especially when you consider Coetzee is hardly a first-team regular at Ajax Cape Town. And then throw in the fact that he chose to break-up the all-conquering centre-back pairing of Tefu Mashamaite and Tower Mothoho, who have helped Kaizer Chiefs to a 12-match winning streak to start the season.

On your bike: Ndulula's acrobatic opener
See vine HERE: https://vine.co/v/OADawXIjVvW

In midfield, he discarded Ayanda Patosi and Kamahelo Makotjo but opted to fly Thulani Serero over from Ajax Amsterdam. Worse, he told Makotjo he "looked heavy" after making the FC Twente midfielder travel to Sudan and Cape Town last time out without a minute on the park.


Up front, Shakes appeared to have yielded to popular pressure, calling Orlando Pirates top scorer Kermit Erasmus in to the squad. And then what does he do? He leaves Kermit on the bench. He picks Bongani Ndulula, a striker who has done little to lift Amazulu off the foot off the PSL. And, worse, he adds goal-free Tokelo Rantie who can't make the starting line-up at English second-tier hopefuls Bournemouth.


But of course, it's in goal where Shakes has made his bravest decision. Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa had travelled to these parts before. Nobody will forget his two penalty saves against TP Mazembe nearly two years ago, though few were allowed to see it as the television coverage was blacked out in Lumbubashe in neighbouring DRC.

To pick Meyiwa, weak on crosses and big on lurid front page headlines, was utter madness. To make him captain for the injured Kaizer Chiefs hero Itumeleng Khune was UNBELIEVABLE.


But as I have said on twitter from the start. SHAKES KNOWS BEST. Meyiwa proved unbeatable, I counted SIX good saves, one a brilliant bit of game reading when the Congolese took a tricky quick free kick.


In midfield, Dean Furman, plying his trade with lowly Doncaster in England, was magnificent next to Serero, Mandla Masango and Belgium based Andile Jali. And then came those two quick goals after half-time from Ndulula and Rantie.


Fairy-tale stuff. I can't explain it. Here's Shakes' attempt, quotes direct from SAFA after the game:

“I am happy to have beaten Congo for the second time. The first time I was a stand-in coach. We defeated them one nil, today it was two and I hope the next time it will be three. But it shows there is some improvement from the coaches, we are getting somewhere.

“It also shows we are on track with our vision. Sudan and Congo are no pushovers, and we lacked a bit of luck to defeat Nigeria. But things are working well. If you look at the personnel we brought in, they looked good.

"Youngster Rivaldo (Coetzee) was outstanding, Letsholonyane gave us what we wanted. Going forward we will bring in one or two more players because we are building a new side and I hope it will bring more results. Should we qualify for Morocco then we will test the strength of the squad at the tournament, and once we are done there we look forward to preparing for 2018 World Cup.

“It’s a combination of things because when you play good football without scoring it doesn’t help, but you can also play bad and get three points. But here we have combined the two because the boys are playing good football, it’s been quite a while since I last saw our team playing such good football. They are beaming with confidence as individuals, but the combination of the players means we are gradually achieving our goals."

He says it well, does Shakes. But it still doesn't explain his uncanny ability to take a bunch of footballers and make them play like their shorts are on fire.

On Wednesday evening at the new Peter Mokabe Stadium in Polokwane, South Africa gets the chance to see this Mashaba magical madness for themselves when the Congo fly in for the return game. Victory will just about ensure qualification with Sudan at home to come.

I suggest, very strongly, you get there if you can.


Vines thanks to Soccer Laduma's Joe Crann @yeswecrann

The Royal Marang Hotel: where England stayed and where Bafana Bafana are RIGHT NOW

Here it is, my World Cup 2010 video of the brand new Marang Hotel in Boshoek. England stayed there for the tournament in South Africa and Shakes Mashaba's Bafana Bafana are there this week as they prepare to fly out for their crucial AFCON 2015 qualifier against Congo at Pointe Noire.

Who's your Dady? Rwanda pay the price for identity crisis and Bafana must change travel plans

Identity crisis: Rwanda's Birori Dady; also known as DRC's
Etikiama Agiti Tady with his club side AS Vita Club

It has to rank as one of the silliest attempts at subterfuge in footballing history. Rwanda are OUT of Afcon 2015 and South Africa’s travel plans will have to be radically revamped to include Brazzaville.

Quite whether the new Bafana Bafana head coach Shakes Mashaba will enjoy this incredible tale is uncertain. Disqualified Rwanda are ranked 101 by FIFA while their late replacements in Group A, Congo, are ranked 78.

With Sudan (ranked 115 by FIFA) away first up on September 6 followed by Nigeria (33) in Cape Town on September 10, South Africa (ranked 69) will now play Congo away a month later as they reach the halfway point in a six-match qualifying schedule which ends, abruptly, on November 19.

Rwanda thought they had qualified for Group A with South Africa, Nigeria and Sudan after they ousted the Congo on penalties (both sides won 2-0 at home in a two-legged tie) but then came the storm over the number of passports held by a chap called Birori Dady.

With Egyptian giants Zamalek also raising concerns over Dady’s true identity after playing in the African Champions League against his club side AS Vita in the DRC, the full story began to unravel.

Sunday’s full CAF disciplinary statement read: “The protest by Congo contested the eligibility of the player Birori Dady aligned with Rwanda, and plays for the AS Vita Club of Kinshasa with Congolese (DRC) passport as Etekiama Agiti Tady, and a different age.

“Following investigations by CAF and on the basis of documents provided by the federations of Rwanda, Congo and DR Congo, and hearing the player's testimony on 11 August 2014 at CAF headquarters in Cairo, CAF established that the two identities only referred to a single person.

“While the Rwandan Football Federation (FERWAFA) maintained that to their knowledge the player Dady Birori had one identity, investigations revealed that he was summoned as Etekiama Agiti Tady by FERWAFA to join the national team of Rwanda.”

In effect, it’s a bit like South Africa playing Zimbabwe and calling up Knowledge Musona under an assumed name. Absolute madness when Birori (or Tady) plays his football as a home-grown player in the DRC with AS Vita.

Not very appealing: FERWAFA will fight disqualification

Predictably, Rwanda's FERWAFA today said they will appeal the CAF ruling, with their case set to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Success appears unlikely, though Dady only played in the first leg of their qualifier against Congo.

The shockwaves in Rwanda will be huge while they’ll be dancing in the streets of Brazzaville… but for South Africa there are more pressing problems before the trip to Sudan at the end of the month.

Shakes Mashaba arrived back in South Africa today after a useful 1-1 draw with the Under 20 AmaJitas in Cameroon on Saturday. But he missed last week’s absorbing live PSL action and he remains without an assistant coach or technical director just a fortnight before AFCON qualifying kicks-off with the grown-ups.

The latest word on those positions is this: the Technical Director position will be filled on the advice of FIFA’s technical guru Gerard Houllier, sources suggest that man will be “Dutch or German, somebody like Foppe de Haan, who was at Ajax Cape Town”.

According to my sources only Steve Komphela or Neil Tovey locally had sufficient qualifications for the role, which was supposed to be filled last week. Neither will now be considered. Shakes will report to Fran Hilton-Smith in the meantime – the former Banyana Banyana official now describes herself as SAFA’s “acting technical director”.

Shakes is likely to turn to Gordon Igesund’s No 2 Serame Letsoake as his assistant, though he will also involve his AmaJitas deputy Thabo Senong either as the new Under 20 coach or as a second assistant.

None of this fills me with glee. But Shakes knows best. His first priority will be to get his AmaJitas through the second leg against Cameroon. Then he will turn his attention to a new Bafana squad, who will attend a four-day camp before the Sudan trip.

Mashaba is leaving it late. But after a bright start to the new domestic season, perhaps that won’t matter. But we do know it can’t get any worse than what Rwanda are currently going through.

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Out of Africa: the only way is UP for the Kaizer Chiefs African dream. Or is it OUT?

Unsavoury scenes: Chiefs surround referee Shikongo at Soccer City

PERHAPS the most telling quote on a painful Saturday night for South African football was THIS from Stuart Baxter: "My biggest regret is that, when the world sees officiating like they tonight, they laugh at Africa.”

He’s right. The 60-year-old from Wolverhampton has had a wide and varied career, ranging from Scotland to Scandinavia, Australia to Spain. And he’s rarely seen anything like he saw at Soccer City, where Kaizer Chiefs fell one goal short of reversing their 3-0 defeat against AS Vita in Kinshasa the week before.

And then of course we had Chiefs talking about withdrawing from CAF completely amid fears of a three-match ban from future African competition. Plus THIS quote (among others on Robert Marawa's MetroFM football show) from General Manager Bobby Motaung last night: "If you win against African teams away, you might be killed or not leave the Stadium."

To be honest, it's bad, but not that bad. But you get the drift of what Bobby is trying to say. Still, Chiefs chose to join the other seven Champions League rejects for this morning's April Fool's CAF Confederations Cup draw and will (presumably) play Ivory Coast's ASEC Mimosa in the play-off round for the group stages later this foolish month.

ASEC Mimosa were famously dispatched by Orlando Pirates on their run to African Champions in 1996, but they won the African Champions League in 1998 and have won the Ivorian championship 24 times, the last in 2010.

Had Chiefs pulled out - as they threatened to do for a few difficult hours on Monday - South African football would have been back in the doldrums after Orlando Pirates' epic journey to last season's final. But you can understand the thinking in the Motaung family corridors. As it is, they may well field a reserve team for the tie nobody is sure they really want to win.

So what went wrong with the Chiefs African dream? We can discuss the lack of AmaKhosi fans at the stadium on Saturday, the lack of atmosphere compared to their trip north the week before, the injuries to goalkeepers Itumeleng Khune and Reyaad Pieterse and the ankle problem picked up by striker Knowledge Musona.

But in essence, this was about the Namibian referee. Though Knowledge got the 10^th-minute goal Chiefs so urgently required, Rainhola Shikongo saw fit to deny the home side an even bigger advantage when he ruled out Kingston Nkatha’s 4^th minute goal with a dubious offsides decision.

Shikongo went on to deny two clear penalties – one an obvious handball, the other a shove in the box on Matthew Rusike – and despite a half-time lecture on time-wasting from AmaKhosi assistant boss Doc Khumalo, the referee consistently refused to rush goalkeeper Nguemba Lomboto who broke the six-second rule by handling the ball for 12 seconds or more at times.

Then there was the issue of injury time. With Morgan Gould finally producing the second goal in the dying minutes, Baxter was promised seven minutes of injury time. He said: “We were told seven minutes of optional time, then they said three. And when it got tight at the end, the referee only gave us 90 seconds.

“It’s hard enough playing in the African Champions League, but playing with an official like that makes it very difficult indeed. We were a better side than them, we know that.

“But what can I do? I have to say congratulations to AS Vita, good luck to them, I hope they do well in the Group Stages.”

Unlike Baxter, the Chiefs players chose to take out their frustrations on referee Shikongo, berating him verbally at the final whistle and coming close to a shoving match as officials rushed to intervene. A pitch invader or three added to the mayhem and Baxter groaned: “Our fans are behaving recklessly at the moment. But you can understand their frustration. It is frustrating when you see officiating like we’ve seen tonight.   

"The keeper was an embarrassment. Sometimes he took 15-16 seconds on the ball, it just got worse and worse.

“We get the second goal, hope the ref is counting the seconds the keeper took, but three minutes was a smack in the face. And we didn’t even get that.”

There is no question CAF competitions have a reputation for poor refereeing and dodgy away trips. Throughout the continent season-long unbeaten home records occur with a worrying frequency.

We had clues last season of course. Orlando Pirates’ problems at another DRC club TP Mazembe last season – a trip which included a television black-out, journalist detentions, confiscated sim cards, two penalties and an unjust red card – should have resulted in a lengthy ban for the Lubumbashi club. It didn’t. TP Mazembe were fined and went on to reach the final of the Confederations Cup with barely a blush of embarrassment.

For Baxter, the defence of AmaKhosi’s PSL crown now becomes the priority, along with a Nedbank Cup quarter-final against SuperSport United. You have to wonder how hard they will work to stay in the CAF Confederations Cup after all this.

The good news? Pieterse, who banged his head against a post making a save on Saturday, should be fit for tonight’s clash with rock-bottom Golden Arrows, and Khune should return for next weekend’s top-of-the-table clash against Mamelodi Sundowns.

The bad news? I understand Bernard Parker has been playing for some weeks with a heavily strapped ankle. Musona also has an ankle problem, picked up in the first half on Saturday.

With Sundowns, now level on points at the top of the PSL, to come on Saturday, Chiefs could find their season collapsing around them before the trip to the Mimosas. Baxter knows the mantra though: “Now we have to pick ourselves up and carry on with our season. We have to take this defeat on the nose.”

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Is this the end of the African road for Kaizer Chiefs? Here's the closest thing to a match report you're likely to get

UPHILL BATTLE: Shabba and Baxter

Kaizer Chiefs' shocking 3-0 demise in Kinshasa on Saturday, like Orlando Pirates supreme effort at TP Mazembe last year, will never be seen in South Africa. In fact, despite all those shenanigans in Lubumbashi last season, not a SINGLE Mzanzi journalist travelled to AS Vita on Saturday. Bizarre.

Fortunately the AmaKhosi’s efforts at over-turning that dire deficit at Soccer City on Saturday will be visible to all as Stuart Baxter’s men attempt to reach the Group Stages of the African Champions League. 

I can uncover no feasible reason from either the SABC or SuperSport as to why the crucial Champions League second round clash between South Africa’s most popular football team and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s finest went untelevised. Nor can any of the big soccer internet sites and newspapers explain why they failed to send a SINGLE reporter to the game.

So the nation went in to the big showdown BLIND. All I could muster during Sunday afternoon’s disastrous first leg in the Stade des Martyrs de la Pentecôte was this SMS from Baxter on the morning of the game: “Just going to squad meeting. Chaos reigns is Congo but lads have done well so far to stay focused.”

As the game unfolded on fuzzy video links, even fuzzier radio streams, computer crashes and twitter updates, it became clear that the home team’s 22-year-old striker Firmin Ndombe Mubele, capped six times by the DRC, was going to be the star of the night.

His first goal popped up on seven minutes. A few Chiefs chances later, he doubled the lead in the 35^th minute before completing his hat-trick and the scoreline a minute after half-time. AS Vita also allegedly hit the woodwork twice.

Two of those goal, apparently, were “wonder goals”,  a pair of classics. How can I be sure on the basis of blurry images and hearsay? Simple. Baxter was on the SMS within minutes of the final whistle.

This is his concise summary of events:

“We missed chances and they scored two wonder goals.

“At 1-0 we have a set play and that leaves Masha (Tefu Mashamaite) free with the keeper. He misses and they go straight down the other end and score. 3-0 comes from a Van Basten copy (a reference to a cracking volley for Holland in the 1988 European Championship final) minutes after half-time.

“It was a good game but we will have to dig deep in Joburg. Talk when we get back, Neal.”

And that’s it. Apart from a few messages and pictures from Kaizer Chiefs communications manager Vina Maphosa (and the patchy video below), we have little else to go on before AS Vita’s all-conquering heroes – who qualified for the Congo league play-off last week – arrive in South Africa for the second leg.

On twitter, we attempted to find ways in which we could #welcomeasvita, ranging from playing live Steve Hofmeyr songs in the hotel lobby to piling the Congolese squad in to a dodgy taxi for the trip to Soccer City next Saturday. There was even a suggestion which should send Kulubhuse Zuma to their pre-match meal.

But while SuperSport United coach Cavin Johnson complained to me that his side’s 1-0 defeat at Tunisia’s Etoile Sahel in the CAF Confed Cup had been marred by poor refereeing – centering on a disallowed Mame Niang goal – Baxter has yet to tell us of any shenanigans in the DRC on Sunday.

So assuming the PSL’s “penultimate” ref Victor Gomes doesn’t officiate next Saturday – he gave FIVE penalties in a single game three weeks ago – Baxter will have to rely on an emphatic 4-0 win at home or face playing with the also-rans in the CAF Confederations Cup..

But as I said to him before he left the Congo: “If David Moyes and Manchester United can recover from 0-2 in Greece to win 3-0 against Olympiacos after the season they’ve had, Kaizer Chiefs can do at least that against AS Vita.”

With his champions six points clear at the top of the PSL, Baxter and his men have lost just two out of 21 games since early November – to Platinum Stars and AS Vita. They have NEVER lost a home league game in 18 months under the Wolverhampton-born coach.

Yes, 4-0 would be miraculous. But stranger things have happened.


FULL VIDEO BELOW, shorter version HERE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVW-nW3Nuck

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The trouble with a treble: Kaizer Chiefs fighting on three fronts with VV and the Soweto Derby looming

Knowledge is Power: Musona celebrates

STUART BAXTER’s task becomes clearer – but trickier – every week. The closer the Kaizer Chiefs head coach gets to his goals, the darker the clouds will get. That's the trouble with a treble, even when you're on a 17-game unbeaten streak.

Yes, his on-loan Zimbabwean goal-poacher Knowledge Musona thumped home a first-half hat-trick in Maputo on Saturday – not that any of the local broadcasters bothered to televise the AmaKhosi’s emphatic 3-0 win against Liga Muculmana – and Baxter’s men cruised through to the second round 7-0 on aggregate.

But on Sunday, our Chiefs were greeted by news of an unwelcome trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo when AS Vita saw off Zimbabwe’s own “Glamour Boys” Dynamos 1-0 in Kinshasa after a goalless first leg in Harare.

The Knowledge hat-trick, missed by SABC and SuperSport, is HERE!


We all remember the last time a South African side went to the DRC on Champions League duty. Orlando Pirates went through hell at TP Mazembe at the same stage last year, with television black-outs, detained journalists, bogus red cards and TWO dodgy penalties.

But hey, Pirates survived and went on to the Group Stages and that stirring African Champions League final defeat against Al Ahly. And who’s to say Kaizer Chiefs can’t do the same?

Sure, the ankle ligaments twisted by Bafana Bafana’s No1 Itumeleng Khune won’t help matters, but they’ve got back-up. Former Nike talent search winner Reyaad Pieterse has been strong in Africa, earning the nickname “David James” (after the former England and Liverpool goalkeeper) and failing that, Baxter can turn to former AmaZulu stopper Brilliant Khuzwayo, who cut his teeth in the Under 23 national squad.

But now, with that trip to the DRC to come, Baxter must attend to his domestic duties. The Nedbank Cup has to be defended – and so does the PSL title after last season’s double in a glorious first season at Naturena for Wolverhampton-born “Mbax”.

Despite that six point lead at the top of the table, Baxter won’t be taking Alan Freese and his Platinum Stars for granted tomorrow (Wednesday) night at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium. Dikwena already have the MTN8 and Telkom KO in the bag this season, under-estimate them at your peril.

And then, the Soweto Derby on Saturday. Hold everything. The Ides of March put paid to Julius Caesar a few thousand years ago and arch-rivals Pirates have two potential back-stabbers: Serbian coach Vladimir Vermecovic is ready to use his shiny new work permit and Bafana striker Lehlonololo Majoro can hardly score less than his peers at arch-rivals Pirates.

As we said last week here, the presence of those two former Chiefs employess alone promises a lively derby at Soccer City, regardless of the Buccaneers’ limp 1-0 defeat against AmaTuks over the weekend.

With East London's Buffalo to come in the Nedbank Cup and both Bidvest Wits and Mamelodi Sundowns closing the gap at the top of the table, Baxter knows how difficult it will be to maintain that unbeaten run – which dates back to November 5 and the start of my current beard – on three fronts.

He grins: “We were so professional in Maputo, it’s hard when you go into a game winning 4-0 but we kept our motivation and concentration.

“We changed the way we normally play, we wanted to make it a test. We played with the 3 centre backs in case we want to use that when we are on the road in the rest of Africa. Our plan worked perfectly.

"Ask a big club anywhere in the world about their ambition and the answer will be the same. We are an ambitious club. Like other big clubs we go into each tournament to win.”

 Can they compete on three fronts? Can any big club? Yes. You can do just about anything when you've got a form guide reading WWWWWWWWWDDWWWW. 

BOLLOCKZ! my innovative football show on www.ballz.co.za 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 & Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice and charity bets for our Wingzofchange charity! 

FINAL ANALYIS Drawlando: when a criticism becomes a compliment and Roger reaches for De Star

BACK TO RED! Rooi Mahamutsa

SIX months can be a lifetime in football. In half a year, the beautiful game can evolve beyond recognition, particularly in the heart of a throbbing Soweto. The very meaning of words can change, villains are born as heroes fade, African giants are cut down and rendered pointless pygmies.

When champions Orlando Pirates stumbled over the line in third-place after a series of draws at the end of last season, they were gleefully derided as “Drawlando” largely by Kaizer Chiefs fans, relishing their refound double-winning dominance.

This season, after a series of quite miraculous ties, the word “Drawlando” has turned from criticism to compliment. The second-leg draw against Kaizer Chiefs which put the Buccaneers in to the MTN8 final, the desperate final point against Al Ahly which saw them in to the knock-out phase of the African Champions League… and on Saturday night, the epic 1-1 draw which put them past Esperance on away goals.

Incredible. Counting the first leg 0-0 stalemate against the fearsome Tunisians at the Drawlando Stadium and the drawn MTN final which they lost on penalties to Platinum Stars, Pirates have drawn FIVE of their last SEVEN fixtures.

But in that time, Rogério Paulo Cesar De Sá has become simply Roger de Star as the apparently hopeless crusade for a second African Champions League title grinds towards an epic home-and-away conclusion.

The bizarre retirement of Benni “Goalmachine” McCarthy has been forgotten in the wake of Lennox “Bracela” Bacela’s move from Bloemfontein Celtic, the inspirational skipper Lucky “Sinister” Lekgwathi has been supplanted in the space of 90 epic minutes by one Ayanda “Stand-in” Gcaba.

We should mention too, the rise of Senzo “Spotstopper” Meyiwa at No1 after years of Moeneeb “Slimkat” Josephs in a heartbreaking glove story and the rise and rise of Lehlogonolo “Vieira” Masalesa whenever a midfield reinforcement was required.

And most importantly of all, the injured Siya “Ironman” Sangweni finds himself edged out in the defend-and-score stakes by Rooi “Mooi” Mahamutsa, goal-scoring hero of Tunis.

From the bitter hangover of the double-treble slump at the end of last season, Orlando Pirates find themselves two steps (how we wish it was a single final at a neutral venue) from continental domination for the first time since the slowly dimming legends of 1995.

Everything has changed. Reputations, fortunes, buzz words, heroes; they’ve all altered radically in six turbulent months, a period during which, I believe, has been despite the club chairman, no because of.

What was it Roger de Star said before a crusade which has flitted from Comores to Angola and on to a blacked-out DRC, from Egypt twice to the Congo and Tunisia? “"We have been underdogs since the first game we played in this competition, and that is fine, we are good with that, no problem.”

Winning is for sissies. Missed chances are a mere detail only SABC football analysts harp on about. Don’t bet against another two draws to clinch the crown.

And so the the FINAL DETAILS: Pirates play Al Ahly, penalty shoot-out winners over Cameroon's Coton Sport, at Orlando on November 2 in the first leg. And the trophy will be decided in Egypt on November 9.

And if you doubt Pirates can do it against the seven-time winners and reigning champions, try this from Don Mattera, an extract from his poem compiled last year on the 75^th anniversary of Buccaneering football:

”THEY WILL SING OR THEY WILL SAY:

AH, BEHOLD THE MIGHTY BUCCANEERS

THEY CONQUERED ALL THEIR PEERS

AND SURPASSED THE GRUELLING TEST

AND WEAR THE MOST-COVETED PRIZE:

THE GOLDEN STAR OF MOTHER AFRICA”

Drawlando. Shout it: DRAWLANDO! You know it makes sense.

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 9am. Roger de Star and Alan Freese both lined up for this week. See the Ballz channel on www.YouTube.com for our growing collection of interviews with the big names in South African football.

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 inwww.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice!

Why Pirates MUST win on Sunday - the African Champions League Group A permutations are all here

Final fling: For Roger de Sa's Pirates

ORLANDO PIRATES looked so comfortable at the halfway stage in Group A of the African Champions League it appeared they couldn’t fail to reach the semi-finals, with real hopes of a second star growing.

It was an incredible start for Roger de Sa’s Buccaneers, having garnered SEVEN points in their first three games with a mediocre draw against Congo’s first-time champions AC Leopards in Orlando followed by two incredible wins against Egyptian giants Al Ahly 3-0 away and Zamalek 4-1 at home.

Sadly, things have gone badly wrong since those heady days. Saturday’s 1-0 defeat on a cabbage patch in Dolisie comes after the 1-2 Al-Gouna reverse against Al Ahly. And with one game to play - against African champions Al Ahly at Orlando on Sunday - they STILL have just those seven points.

De Sa, with distant memories of those early qualifying wins over Zanaco and TP Mazembe now fading, remains defiant: “Look, we finish against Al Ahly on Sunday on a proper pitch, where we will get to play some football. And the message is: All is not lost. We are still in this.

“It was always going to be tough – the conditions weren’t good. You saw the pitch and what you see on TV is far from what we actually experience.

“We’re disappointed to lose but it was very trying. We attempted to string some passes together on a very bumpy pitch but it wasn’t easy, the plan had to be changed. We had to adapt as best we could. My boys did their best - you can’t fault them for effort.”

And with Sunday’s Egyptian derby producing a 4-2 defeat for reigning African champions Al Ahly over Zamalek behind closed doors, the permutations in Group A appear incredibly complicated with Pirates and Leopards both on seven points, three behind the Al Ahly.

But the simple truth is this: Pirates MUST win against Al Ahly on Sunday to qualify for the semi-finals. That guarantees a place in the last four, no matter what Leopards do against the now hopeless Zamalek in Egypt (the games are supposed to kick off simultaneously).

Similarly, a defeat against Al Ahly in Orlando puts Pirates OUT, even if Leopards LOSE at Zamalek – because the Congolese have a better head-to-head record against the Sea Robbers, having drawn with them away and beaten them at home.

The most complicated scenario for Pirates involves a draw. That will also put them out – unless Leopards lose their final match. A win puts the Congo champions through on points in second place, a draw puts them through on head-to-head against Pirates.

The background to all this is complicated, because the CAF Champions League uses a head-to-head system ahead of goal difference as their primary discriminator.

For instance, the Pirates win scenario could leave THREE sides tied on ten points if Leopards win too. But because Leopards are better than Pirates on head-to-head and Al Ahly have the advantage over Leopards but not Pirates, the top three would then form a mini-league with Roger’s men on top with seven points. Al Ahly would have 6, Leopards 4 with results against Zamalek ignored.

A three-team mini-league would also put Pirates out if they lose and Zamalec win, allowing AC Leopards to qualify.

If Pirates top the group with a final win, they will play Cameroon’s Coton Sport, who finished second in Group B after a 0-0 draw at Sewe San Pedro in the Ivory Coast. Tunisia’s Esperance, ACL finalists last year, top the group after beating Angola’s Recreativo Libolo – who put Pirates out last year - 3-2.

Group A

TEAMS	P	W	D	L	F	A	PTS
AL AHLY (EGYPT, holders)	5	3	1	1	8	7	10
ORLANDO PIRATES (SOUTH AFRICA)	5	2	1	2	8	4	7
AC LEOPARDS (CONGO)	5	2	1	2	3	3	7
ZAMALEK (EGYPT)	5	1	1	3	6	11	4

Group B

TEAMS	P	W	D	L	F	A	PTS
ESPERANCE (Tunisia)	5	4	0	1	7	3	12
COTON SPORT DE GAROUA (Cameroon)	5	2	2	1	4	4	8
SEWE SPORT (IVORY COAST)	5	1	1	3	3	4	4
RECREATIVO LIBOLO (ANGOLA)	5	1	1	3	6	9	4

I have asked Roger de Sa if he will appear on BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za this week, it 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 in www.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice!