Steve's looking increasingly Shaky: Kaizer Chiefs coach Komphela needs less words, more wins

TROUBLED TIMES: Steve Komphela and Orlando
Pirates coach Muhsin Ertugral, who has already fallen

THE demise of Kaizer Chiefs as THE footballing force in South Africa is just slow enough to escape labels like “crisis” and “disaster”. But it’s not far off.

Yes, we should be more worried about our national side. Banana Bafana beat Senegal, only for coach Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba to find himself suspended for the friendly 1-1 draw against Mozambique for “unacceptable behaviour” (finger wagging, accusing Danny Jordaan of "not supporting me" etc).

HELP REQUIRED: How most listen to Steve
Komphela's post-match interviews 

I am reliably informed Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic will leave Uganda, where the local FA are struggling to pay his salary, to take over South Africa after AFCON 2017 in Gabon next February.

Shaky will fight for his job. Micho may be persuaded to go elsewhere. But SAFA have 10 months to wait before they resume World Cup qualifying action against the Cape Verde Islands in August 2017. Kaizer Chiefs, apparently supported by 15 million South Africans (that number is falling fast) have no such luxury.

They are back in action on Wednesday night against their former coach Stuart Baxter’s SuperSport United at what may just be a near-deserted FNB Stadium.

There were plenty of fans for their clash at Loftus Versveld against Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday. So many it forced a 15 minute delay to the 3pm kick off. But it looked suspiciously like Masandawana’s KaboYellow were almost equal in numbers with the mighty AmaKhosi.

On the field, Sundowns have been ahead of Kaizer Chiefs for some time… probably since the day Baxter, who won the title twice in three years, decided to leave Bobby Motaung’s tortured regime weeks after his second championship.

Stuart told me he would leave if Bobbytrap, last week revealed in the Sunday World to have lost millions in a shopping centre deal, wouldn’t let him play a role in transfer dealings.

Of course Bobby, without a CV but in charge of the family business with his dad getting doddery, denied him that. And his replacement Steve Komphela has been suffering ever since.

Last season, under the sophisticated eye of Komphela, Chiefs finished fifth in the PSL after Motaung decided not to give PSL player of the year Tefu Mashamaite and top scorer Mandla Masango pay increases.

This season Bobby went a step further, publicly announcing a list of 20 players he wanted to get rid of, including R5m-a-year Siyanda Xulu and other players still under contract.

There were whispers of Komphela being not entirely happy. Especially when Motaung, having promised to lash out R50m on replacements, only spent about R5m on a bunch of free signings, two Chicken Inn Zimbabweans and Lewis Macha, a young Zambia playing in Mozambique.

I predicted disaster but Komphela confounded my pessimism with a strong start. While Mamelodi Sundowns - off winning the African Champions League - and BidvestWits fell behind in the fixture list, Chiefs made a cheeky trip to the top of the PSL.

But in truth, it was never going to last. Komphela has fiddled with his forwards, messed with his midfield and strewn his strikers all over the place.

His once-fantastic post-match talks have become mundane. Sometimes he’ll occasionally grasp for a phrase along the lines of “statistics are like a bikini, they don’t cover everything” but in truth we have seen him struck down by the pressure of running a big club having NEVER won a trophy in his career.

On Saturday, Sundowns were just too good for his bargain-basement squad. Chiefs scored a fortunate opener from what was clearly a Rama Mphahlele cross. Tebogo Langerman immediately hit back with an equaliser and Sbu Vilakazi - who always said he wanted to go to Chiefs but they refused to make a decent offer to Wits - produced a gloriously ironic winner.

Komphela produced the usual dross after the game, talking about concentration and improvement, but in truth referee Daniel Bennett allowed them to escape a clear Percy Tau penalty and Itumeleng Khune made a couple of good saves to keep the scoreline sensible.

And for the first time in 18 mediocre months, Komphela looks seriously vulnerable. Midway through the second half, he threw on injury-plagued free signing Keagan Buchanan as Chiefs searched for a winner. But instead of taking off defensive midfielder Willard Katsande, who wasn’t having his finest afternoon, he benched Siphiwe Tshabalala, who can always be relied on for a good delivery or a cunning free-kick.

That was the shaky substitution of a troubled coach. A defensive move when his side were crying out for attacking inspiration.

Komphela sent lofty defenders Tower Mathoho and Rama forward late on in an attempt to force an equaliser. But by then 87 minutes had been played. On the social networks, resignation had already set in. Another defeat, another disappointment.

Shakes Mashaba may be in difficulty with the national job. But I suspect Komphela is rapidly heading for the same fate. Big jobs demand big personalities. People who have won major silverware. Neither man measures up.

A BAD WEEK FOR SOUTH AFRICAN SPORT: honest opinion or reason to flee the country?

TOUGH START: Pirates new keeper Felipe Ovono

I feel like a traitor. Just called my British-born son. Asked him if I’m being fair. But some things HAVE to be said after a week of sporting headlines which make tough reading for South Africans.

Given that our sporting staples  consist largely of a patriotic diet of football, rugby and cricket, perhaps it’s time to think more broadly before somebody accuses me of ignoring England’s current plight at Lord’s.

We shouldn’t ignore the positives: a South African team surviving the rigours of the Tour de France on debut, a couple of better athletics performances on the Golden League track, the Davis Cup win against Ireland at Irene and the number of millionaires with Seffeffriken accents doing well in The Open at St Andrews.

But in the back of my mind there’s a little voice shouting: aaaaaargh. Which brings me back to a sporting week which has been little short of embarrassing for South African sport.

Look, when Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs announced they were both off to Swaziland for a pre-season tournament, it sounded quite exciting despite those asking economic and political questions. The chances of a quick Soweto Derby do decide the Kings Cup before the Carling Black Label Cup gimmick was welcomed by many, even on the artificial surface at the Somhlolo Stadium.

When the mighty AmaKhosi were stuck at 0-0 against Mbabane’s Swallows at half-time, the first doubts began to stir. I tweeted about the possibility of our Soweto giants both failing against Swaziland’s semi-professional hopefuls.

To be honest, the idea of both Chiefs and Pirates failing on penalties, even on a plastic pitch in a minor warm-up in the nation ranked 160 in the world, never really impinged on my thinking. But it happened.

The Buccaneers threw away a 1-0 lead, their new Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper Felipe Ovono was beaten and they joined Chiefs as penalty shoot-out failures, leaving us with Swallows against Royal Leopards in the final. As worrying as anything that happened on the pitch was the South African commentators ignoring the plight of our Soweto giants as a third game in three went to penalties and the Swallows took the silverware.

Of course, it’s not a disaster. Just a pre-season blip. Steve Komphela is no mug. Eric Tinkler has proven his bouncebackability time and again.

But while all this was happening, our mighty Springboks hit a speed bump too, losing their opening Rugby Championship clash against Australia in Brisbane 24-20, throwing away a substantial lead with the World Cup looming and Victor Matfield limping.

And then of course, we have to consider those crushing defeats against Bangladesh last week, which saw the Proteas, after their comfortable T20 success, lose the ODI series in a pair of record-breakingly bad performances which resulted in defeats by 7 wickets and 9 wickets.

Heyneke Meyer, Russell Domingo and Shakes Mashaba are the big national bosses in the big national sports. They all seem to prefer picking old reliables than bright young things, though Kagiso Rabada was a shaft of cricketing sunlight in the ODI disaster. None of them are expensive, imported coaches. All three were cost-effective options after the sudden departure of their predecessors.

But let's be frank: none of them inspire great confidence.

And obviously the chances of all three of our big national teams recovering are good. The Proteas begin their Test series against Bangladesh today, the Springboks could come back and thump the All Blacks and Bafana could yet recover from their opening 0-0 draw against Gambia and qualify for AFCON 2017 with good results against Mauritania and Cameroon.

But Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula is uncharacteristically quiet. One of his most verbal critics, a former CNN sports anchor I’ve know for years, Graeme Joffe, claims he had to leave the country after exposing corruption in numerous South Africa sporting bodies.

He says his life is in danger and has exiled himself in New York. That can’t be right. Sport is all about opinions, and when things go badly on the field of play, criticism is a MUST.

We cannot simply ignore results and trends when things go badly. It’s been a very bad week for South African sport. Let’s just be honest about it. And try to make things better.

THERE IS NO GORD! Igesund's fate finally decided as SAFA say NO MORE

Keep your hair on! With Gordon
Igesund after the 2-0 defeat against
Norway in Cape Town which forced
me to shave my head

It was always a matter of WHEN not IF. Ever since that appalling display at CHAN, when Gordon Igesund failed to push Bafana Bafana beyond the group stages in January, the writing has been on the wall.

And as I said at the time here http://neal-collins.blogspot.com/2014/01/oh-my-gord-is-this-way-ahead-for-bafana.html, Carlos Queiroz – backed by a local technical director and possibly Roger de Sa – is the obvious choice to replace a man who spectacularly failed on ALL his mandates.

With the World Cup in Brazil about to take place without us (qualification was one of Gordon’s MUST DOs) the damage done during his two years at the helm will continue to be felt for some time.

When Igesund took the job, he promised me he would build relationships with PSL and foreign coaches, that he would groom players through frequent Bafana youth and U21 games, that he would produce a style of play all South Africans could relate to.

Instead, as we crashed out in the AFCON quarter-finals and failed to win a World Cup group even after Ethiopia were docked three points, Gordon did what he did as a club manager, winning a record four titles with four different clubs.

He played the old faithfuls, stuck with his favourites, relied on certain agents and contacts for information. While he patiently went for the infamous “Cup of coffee” with the internationally retired Steven Pienaar at Everton, he fell out publicly with Pienaar’s successor Thulani Serero amid a title-winning season at Ajax Amsterdam.

Though that spat was patched up, there were other behind-the-scenes disappointments, arguments, inexplicable selections. For fear of legal action I cannot talk about the specifics of some of those. I would question why Buhle Makhwanazi of AmaTuks had to beg to get a game while Thabo Nthethe found it impossible to be dropped as he moved to Mamelodi Sundowns and became the face of Mr Price Sport.

Cup knockout: Gordon and the infamous cup of coffee

I would ask what happened to Keagan Dolly, the talented Ajax Cape Town youngster who was picked for a 30 second appearance in Morocco and then disappeared off the radar. I’d love to know what happened between Gordon and Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, I’m fascinated by Matthew Pattison’s surprise appearance at CHAN and the constant shuffling of the side amid reports of huge bonuses on offer.

But now we can put those questions behind us. Gordon is gone when his contract expires in August. There will be no more Bafana games under his watch. Yes, he did his best. Nobody is questioning that. He could not legislate for his assistant Thomas Madigage’s tragic death early in his reign or Bernard Parker’s amazing own goal in Ethiopia.

But he had plenty of luck and failed to capitalise on it, with his reliance on men for whom the Bafana jersey had become a habit rather than a privilege.

At AFCON, a side better trained for penalty shoot-outs would have pushed Bafana to the semi-finals, in World Cup qualifying, the Central African Republic were forced to play on neutral ground and Ethiopia blundered over suspensions, at CHAN we had a plethora of Parker penalties.

But none of it mattered. Apart from the friendly win over Spain, nothing of note was achieved though Gordon will point to a superficially impressive seven defeats in 31 games. And even that win over the world champions failed to produce the expected rise in the FIFA rankings. Defeats to sides like Nigeria (in CHAN and a friendly), Zambia and that record 5-0 thumping at the hands of Brazil leaves Bafana in a WORSE situation than we were when Pitso Mosimane was chucked out for drawing with Ethiopia.

Igesund will say he was unfairly treated. That he never got the chance to qualify for a major tournament. But given the Ethiopia situation, he actually had a head start in the World Cup campaign, while AFCON and CHAN (both on home soil) were gifts he squandered.

Interestingly, the only achievement South Africa has managed over the last two years is down to Shakes Mashaba, whose Amajita won the COSAFA Under 20 tournament in Lesotho (Igesund’s senior side reached the final in Zambia) so we should hope that Mashaba, at 63, remains in Jordaan’s thinking.

Amid rumours about the controversial AFCON winner Steve Keshi of Nigeria, former Bafana, Real Madrid and Portugal No1 and Manchester United No2 Queiroz remains the favourite to fill the 24^th vacant Bafana hotseat in 22 years.

His reputation as a developer of youth – earned with a golden generation in Portugal – and his ability to lift Iran to the top of their Asian World Cup qualifying group ahead of South Korea make Queiroz an obvious choice.

But cash will be the problem. Carlos Alberto Perreira was on a reputed R10m a year, Pitso on about R8m and Gordon on around R6m. As I understand it, Queiroz earns $12m a year with Iran. He knows and likes Roger de Sa and would probably work with him – assuming Iran have a tough time in Brazil.

But if the Iranians fall in love with Queiroz over the next six weeks and they achieve the unthinkable by qualifying for the knock-out stages, will he REALLY be tempted? How much contact has already been made, since I first saw Carlos with Danny during CHAN?

These questions will be answered in time. But not before the World Cup is over in July. That leaves precious little time for preparation before an AFCON 2015 qualifying group which features Nigeria, Sudan and probably Libya.

Many feel Igesund should have been retained. That he did the best he could - like those last two draws Down Under against Australia and New Zealand.

But the truth is, Igesund DIDN’T DO WHAT HE PROMISED. He didn’t groom young players when it mattered, he didn’t build relationships with local and foreign clubs (he suffered a plethora of withdrawals when he announced his final squad), he relied on ‘contacts’ to tell him if foreign youngsters were performing.

Gordon will no doubt return to the PSL and achieve success with a mid-ranking side like Moroka Swallows or SuperSport United. I’d even suggest he’s a better fit with Orlando Pirates than Vladimir Vermecovic.

But Gordon, you just weren’t cut out for international management. You failed on every front. It’s time for a brave new world. Let’s hope Danny Jordaan and his National Executive can provide us with something better over the coming weeks.

Don’t hold your breath.

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.

FULL LIST OF FORMER BAFANA COACHES
23 in 22 years
(including caretakers/interim appointments)

Stanley "Screamer" Tshabalala (1992)

Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba (1992)

Augusto Palacios (1993)

Clive "The Dog" Barker (1994–97)

Jomo Sono (1998)

Philippe Troussier (1998)

Trott Moloto (1998–00)

Carlos Queiroz (2000–02)

Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba (2001)

Trott Moloto (2002)

Jomo Sono (2002)

Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba (2002–03)

Jomo Sono (2003)

April Phumo (2004)

Stuart Baxter (2004–05)

Ted Dumitru (2005–06)

Pitso Mosimane (2006)

Carlos Alberto Parreira (2007–08)

Joel Santana (2008–09)

Carlos Alberto Parreira (2009–10)

Pitso Mosimane (2010–12)

Steve Komphela (2012)

Gordon Igesund (2012–2014)

Still propping up the PSL: Why BOTTOM-TO-THE-TOP may prove a tough task for Orlando Pirates

Plundering the Pirates: Ernst Middendorp and crew

THE full scale of Orlando Pirates monumental “bottom-to-the-top” campaign was painfully mapped out for the Buccaneers on Saturday night.

After that draining African Champions League crusade, Roger de Sa’s side were STILL in the fight for the Q1 prize until Bloemfontein Celtic turned up in Orlando.

But on a day of great entertainment – which also saw Kaizer Chiefs go top of the PSL – the mediocre Siwelele raised their game to new heights.

Coach Ernst Middendorp admitted after their shock 3-2 away win: “Look, I spoke at half-time to the players, our first-half was the best I’ve seen in the PSL this season. And I'm traveling a lot, I go to Pretoria, I go watch matches in Pietermaritzburg, and all over.

"We are probably one of the only teams really playing with two up front, we create chances and sometimes the best defence is moving forward. Now our back-four operates as a compact unit, and one of our secrets is that we were very solid at the back."

"Then in the second half, we showed that fighting spirit we've been asking for and I'm very very, very happy for my team. Today’s result was full deserved.”

And there’s Roger’s problem. Though his side learned a lot on their continental crusade, they return to the hurly-burly of domestic football with EVERY side in the country eager to keep the bustling Buccaneers below them.

De Sa himself accepts: “How poor was that? We were too relaxed. In the first half we were horrendous. The second half was a little bit better but still not good enough.

"There might be a little bit of fatigue setting in, and some of the new players not up to it. We have to throw new players in and Mbongeni Gumede had some good moments, but it’s still a learning curve.

“No excuses, they were better than us, they wanted it more than us, and we've got to do a lot better.”

It remains the case that Pirates could go on an epic journey from the bottom to the top of the PSL – if they WON all those five or six games in hand they could still sneak above Chiefs – but De Sa is now aware of just how tough that task will be after five games have earned them a mere seven points.

They don’t have another PSL game until they travel to dangerous youngsters Ajax Cape Town on the 11^th, so they’re going to be rock-bottom for some time yet. On Saturday at 8.15pm in Mbombela they’ve got Platinum Stars in the Telkom KO final – a repeat of the MTN8 final they lost on penalties in Durban earlier in the season.

With the African Champions League and MTN8 both lost at the last hurdle, De Sa says: “I’m hardly delighted about that but at least we know where the finishing line is. It’s got to be third time lucky for us.”

I suspect he’s right. But a TelkomKO triumph will only prove a temporary solution. The PSL has rarely been more competitive. Being bottom of the table is no elephant in the room. It’s a raging bull for Roger.

BOLLOCKZ! my own football show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 9am. 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 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 how we are doing in using @thumperpigeon's R5,000 to make money for the Ballz charity WINGZ OF CHANGE.

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!