The TRUTH: Ajax Cape Town coach ROGER DE SA on Cecil Lolo's funeral: the grief, the pain, the LIES

ROGER THAT: De Sa's tweet on the day of Cecil Lolo's tragic death

ROGER DE SA left home for Cecil Lolo’s funeral at 6am in the morning. He returned home at midnight on Sunday exhausted and depressed. Now he is angry. Fuming.

Cecil Sonwabile Lolo was the “True Warrior” in De Sa’s Urban Warriors, a man who emerged from nowhere, with nothing, to become a professional footballer. His death at the age of 27 in a car accident two weeks ago left Ajax Cape Town, part of one of the world’s largest footballing franchises, shattered.

This morning, when De Sa took the side for their first training session since last Friday, Lolo’s seat in the dressing room was left empty and covered in flowers. De Sa says: “That’s how the players felt about Cecil. He was popular, he was respected by all.”

Which is why De Sa is eager to end the witch-hunt orchestrated by Robert Marawa and ANC MEC for Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture Pemmy Majodina after the funeral. De Sa rubbishes claims the players were banned from attending, he points out that Majodina was nearly as late for the funeral as he was and asks WHY DIDN’T ROBERT MARAWA ATTEND?

I’ll leave Roger to tell his story:

“Neal, all this “we didn’t care about Lolo” is pure bullshit. Let me start at the beginning. The day he died. Devastating. We did’t know what to do.

“We sit with the family. Three little kids from two moms who live with his mother. The player has no insurance, nothing whatsoever. No funeral plan. NOTHING. So our chairman Ari Efstathiou says we’ll provide an educational trust for kids, least we can do.

“Then let’s look after the family. His mother and other people he looked after. About eight of them. We have to look after them too. Help them recover from Cecil’s death, they all lived off his money.

“But for the kids (a daughter of six months, two boys of 5 and 8), let’s get a proper education. No company would do that, you know that Neal. We are doing everything we can here.

“Then we retire the number 21. His shirt. We’ll never use it again. Nobody’s ever done that, not even for Senzo.

“We name a stand after him. Did Pirates do that? Then there’s the memorial service in Khayalitsha, his base, his place, where he lived with his family.

“That’s followed (last Friday) by a memorial service for all supporters at our base, Ikamva. And yes, all of our players were involved in both memorials, they said their farewells, they cried, they cared.

“We are always in contact with the family, said we’ll help with funeral arrangements. They wanted to go somewhere remote in Eastern Cape. That wasn’t ideal for us but we had to respect it. We paid coffin, funeral, food, in the region of R50,000.

“We do all that. The one thing I don’t like thinking, and Ari is too scared to say, is everyone is saying the club stopped the players from going. That’s bullshit. I went. Last training session was Saturday morning, next one was today. We’d never stop anyone from going.

“They’re trying to say club stopped people from going. That not true. Some Chippa United players went, they were local. But there was nobody from the PSL, SAFA, no other club. For me to get there, I left at 6am got home after 11pm. How do you expect everybody to get there?

“It was a real trip. First we flew from Cape Town to East London, drove to Butterworth 120km. I thought that was it but then there was the drive to the village (Chebe in Centane).

“Neal, you’re English. You've got no idea, a dust road for about 50km, not even a four-by-four can go on that thing, we crossed river, water, rocks. And all of it in an Avis rental car, it must be buggered.

“We managed to get there 12.30, the funeral had started, we already told the mother we’d be late, she respected that.

“We were there. Listened to a couple of speeches. Then the minister started the real thing. Coffin was carried, Cecil was buried. After that we had to leave, needed three hours to get back to airport. We spoke to the father and the mother. We did everything we could.

“I hear stories Ajax stopped players from attending, all this hogwash. This minister arrived 45 minutes before me, having a political go. Using it as a political tool. DA against ANC. Majodina her name was. She looked disappointed when we got there.

“It’s about Lolo, not politics. Nobody stopped anyone from going, the club felt that’s what they were going to do from the beginning. The family chose the burial site, what more do you want?

“I have to ask. Why didn’t Robert Marawa go? I was there. Some close friends of his were there. But some people just can’t get there. That’s life today, you know what I mean.

“Everyone’s climbing on a bandwagon, trying to be all cultural, it’s very disappointing. Ari is trying to protect the players, obviously they didn’t go. No player came and asked to come because they knew where it was.

“Two memorial services, armbands, minute’s silence, we even stopped the match to clap in the 21st minute. All these things were done. Lolo’s seat is empty in the dressing room with flowers on it. We’re going to put a picture up. We respected his culture.

“I saw a picture of Senzo’s grave the other day, he doesn’t even have a grave stone yet. All the people who are having a go, these soccer journalists who never played football, where were they? Did they pay their respects?

Cecil was “The Real Warrior” to me. We had a very good relationship. I was devastated. It only sank in when I got to the parent’s home in the morning. It hit me.

“You go through it, feel every tear, yet here people are lying about players not being allowed to attend the funeral. What kind of story is that?”

Should any media houses/sites wish to use excerpts from this EXCLUSIVE story, feel free, just credit. And stop trying to capitalise on Cecil Lolo's death.

UPDATE: November 11: This story has been used by Kickoff, The Citizen, News24 and The Times.

FOR BALANCE:
1 What Cecil's dad says: http://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/lolos-dad-feels-let-down-by-ajax/


2 What Senzo's dad says: http://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/soccer/2015/11/11/Senzo-Meyiwas-dad-furious-at-Khoza-for-going-public-with-insurance-payout

21 today! My effort at Soccer Laduma's "7 Taps for 7 Lives" challenge

Here it is, my entry for Soccer Laduma's "7 Taps for 7 Lives" challenge. All you have to do is register at www.odf.org.za and then video YOUR best effort at football juggling.




Inspired by www.soccerladuma.co.za's Clint Roper, the challenge has gone out to celebrities Robert Marawa, DJ Fresh, Bob Skinstad, Benni McCarthy, Steven Pienaar, Itumeleng Khune and Kermit Erasmus.

Get ot there and do YOUR taps after you've read THIS: http://www.soccerladuma.co.za/news/articles/categories/multimedia-laduma-tv/7tapsfor7lives-1/193723.

Rambo Igesund turns negatives in to positives. There'll be no World Cup CAR crash in Cameroon.

GOOD GORD! Igesund as Rambo from the Star back page today

GORDON IGESUND told the assembled journalists in Yaounde yesterday: “The facilities have been good. Training has been great. We have no complaints.”

A few hours afterwards he laughs: “Not quite true of course. But that’s what I want the Central African Republic to hear!”

It’s typical Gordon. South African football’s head coach is a tough bloke, right back to his days as a no-nonsense striker in Durban in the 1980s, where defenders feared to tread on his toes. Bulletproof like Rambo, as the Johannesburg Star illustrated today on their back page.

Day one of Bafana Bafana’s trip to Cameroon – allegedly neutral territory but in truth the lad of Issa Hayatou and his Francophone football clique at CAF – started badly and got steadily worse.

On Wednesday afternoon at Douale, the commercial capital, South Africa’s 34-strong travelling party for the crucial World Cup African Group A qualifier were told their flight to Yaounde, the legislative capital, had been cancelled. Something about tyres on the aeroplane.

Pitch battle: The stony training ground in Yaounde,
from Robert Marawa's facebook page today

With no relief in sight, Gordon ordered a bus. They made the five-hour trip through Cameroon by road, with one member of the party revealing: “It was a real eye-opener.”

Arriving late with one training session already abandoned, Igesund’s men then found the training ground they’d booked in preparation was “unavailable”. Another delay while a new ground was sought. It turned out to be the facility pictured on the right.

Igesund laughs: “It was unbelievable. Rocks everywhere, holes, even the goalposts were a mess. So we found a corner with a bit of grass and did some warming-up excercises. I didn’t want to risk injury.

“I was angry, of course I was. The whole thing was a disgrace. I’d love to know the full story behind the cancelled flight. But I had warned the players to expect this sort of thing. They’re not fond of us in these parts.

“I told the players afterwards, on Thursday night, they can throw as many obstacles in our way as they like, it only makes us stronger. And to be fair NOT ONE of my players made a single complaint, you know? They were good as gold.

“Today (Friday), we finally got to train at the stadium itself. It’s not bad. It’s a big pitch, plenty of grass on it. There are a couple of bumpy patches but really, in African terms, it’s like Wembley.

“Tokelo Rantie (who arrived from Malmo in Sweden after last week’s 2-0 friendly win over Lesotho on the astroturf at Maseru) looks sharp. I’m even considering playing three up front!

“Yeye and Shabba (from double-winning Kaizer Chiefs) are looking good, the team is shaping up. The centre-back pairing (Tower Mathoho and Thabo Nthethe) are looking solid and I’m very, very confident. I want to pick up from our home game, where we beat CAF 2-0.

“If we can do that again, we’ll be well on our way. And then we’ve got Ethiopia in Addis Ababa next weekend. Win that one and we just need to beat Botswana in our final game to top the group.

“And don’t forget, Ethiopia have got Botswana tomorrow – our neighbours drew 1-1 with Egypt last week, they could do us a favour, couldn’t they?

“Look, we know it will be a tough, tough game. They’re a physical side (the latest FIFA rankings show CAR at 59, South Africa at 60) but so were Lesotho (155) and if we can keep the ball, use our talented players, I’m confident.

“I can promise you we won’t be under-estimating them.

“But I have a very good side, despite the injuries. We have a good squad, Itumeleng Khune is a great goalkeeper, we will take these problems we’ve had and use them. We’ve turned the negatives in to positives.

“We know the nation is watching. Thank you for for your support Neal. I hope your 3-0 prediction (made live on South Africa's eNCAnews tonight at 7.45pm) doesn’t cost you your hair again!”

With thanks to Gordon and Robert Marawa on Metro tonight.

Keshi and Nigeria: There can only be one winner

Where Eagles Dare: Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi

STEPHEN KESHI. Mastermind. Just when you thought Nigeria could go no further against the Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations quarter-finals, he wheels out the master-plan and surges to AFCON 2013 glory.

And just when you thought he’d be focused on the Confederations Cup in Brazil, he bashes off a resignation letter to the Nigerian Football Federation and announces his fiendish plot live on air.

Classic.

He had everyone running around pulling their hair out. Until this morning when he calmly told Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi he’d had another think and would stay in charge of the Super Eagles.

Presumably after he had explained how he wants to remove all those who plotted against him in the build-up to South Africa 2013 – and exactly what kind of package/car/retirement plan/medical scheme he wanted to go forward with.

The right honourable Mr Abdullahi called those “certain assurances” as the smoke cleared this morning.

This is no ordinary bloke. A winner on the field for his nation in 1994, Keshi spent time preparing for the big one with foreign forces Togo and Mali before he turned his eagle eye on the coveted double of playing and coaching in an AFCON triumph for his homeland. Only Egypt's Mahmoud El-Gohary had ever managed it before.

Right now Keshi is so far ahead of the men who tried to sack him before the 2-1 win over Cote d’Ivor he’s in a different time zone.

In England we’d call this a willy measuring contest. More polite cultures – like the USA where Keshi has spent a lot of time since playing for Sacramento in 1996 - might refer to such extravagant gestures as “strategizing” with a z.

In simple terms, Keshi is bigger than anybody in Nigeria at the moment. He has the trophy, he has broken the drought, he has knocked back the knockers.

Of course, he could have gone home, had a chat with the powers that be and simply agreed a new package. But this way, calling Nigeria’s bluff while he was still in Johannesburg, Keshi arrives in Abuja as an all-conquering untouchable.

He didn’t just see off Africa’s footballers, he has utterly destroyed his detractors. For now.

In a vast nation riven by all kinds of rivalry - particularly between supporters of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan - sporting success can be a useful tool.

One widely quoted source this morning “close to the president” revealed: “Yes, it is very true that Keshi resigned his position as coach of the Eagles. That he confirmed to us. It was quite alarming given the complaints he brought up. There were a lot on things going on that the nation didn’t know.

“He informed us about backlog of salaries, his official car that has only been on paper since he took office. Even in South Africa, money was an issue. It is appalling but the key thing is that Keshi has calmed down and has agreed to continue as the coach of Nigeria.”

But he was never less than calm. By revealing how he’d been sacked before the quarter-final, how his fumbling federation had already booked tickets home before taking on Drogba and the Toure brothers, he has gone 2-0 up and we’re deep in to ego-injury time.

And then there were those classic quotes after the quarter-final triumph: “I don’t have anything against white coaches. Just those that are carpenters at home and coaches in Africa. “

Presumably a pale imitation had already been lined up by the Nigerian federation before their self-esteem started flooding back. But that is guesswork, as is the name of the possible replacement.

Then he was at it again after the emphatic 4-1 semi-final win over Mali in Durban: “If José Mourinho, gets a call from a rich team, he goes. I'm here for now, but if God grants me this AFCON, we'll see if there's anyone out there who wants me.”

That Keshi has now become the first African (South Africa’s Clive Barker could dispute it, but that’s another debate entirely) to win AFCON since Cote d'Ivoire's Yeo Martial in 1992 is a perfect epitaph to his bold outbursts.

Africa, perhaps the world, lies at his feet. Nigeria were never going to accept a public relations stunt like resigning to sports host Robert Marawa, despite his apparently regal status.

Nigerians at home and diasporically around the world honestly believe Keshi – with a little help from Emmanuel Emenike, Victor Moses and man of the tournament Jon Obi Mikel – could take these Jolly Green Giants to Confederations Cup contention and have the World Cup wobbling.

A Nigeria which has tried 19 coaches in 19 years since their last AFCON victory in 1994 simply could not allow Keshi to walk away. And he knew that.

STOP PRESS: THIS FROM KICKOFF.COM:

NFF President Aminu Maigari says he has not spoken to Stephen Keshi since the coach announced his shock resignation on Monday evening.

"I was as surprised as anybody else to hear that he had resigned because I never saw a letter from him. I employed him and there are processes in place for doing things.

If he wanted to resign, he should have shown me respect by informing me the proper way,” Maigari tells KickOffNigeria.com.

Despite Keshi having met with Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi into the early hours before agreeing to rescind his decision, Maigari said he had not spoken to the coach.

"I haven't talked to him. If he has something to tell me, he should come and tell me."

Abdullahi, however, said he spoke to Maigari before going into his meeting with Keshi. All three are on the same chartered flight taking the team to Abuja, but Keshi and most NFF officials avoided each other all the way to boarding.

Abdullahi admits that some friction remains, but says there will be time to resolve all that.

"This is not the time for that. For now we have resolved the issue and he will be staying. After the reception we will sit down and sort things out. Obviously, there are certain things that weren't handled properly, but we will have plenty of time to sort them out."

PLAYING CAREER

1979       ACB Lagos           10           (1)

1980–1984           New Nigeria Bank            42           (4)

1985       Stade d'Abidjan                13           (2)

1986       Africa Sports      22           (2)

1986–1987           Lokeren               28           (6)

1987–1991           Anderlecht         99           (18)

1991–1993           RC Strasbourg    62           (9)

1993–1994           Molenbeek        40           (1)

1995       CCV Hydra           20           (1)

1996       Sacramento Scorpions   16           (3)

1997–1998           Perlis FA               34           (4)

International

1981–1995           Nigeria 64           (9)

Coaching

2004–2006           Togo

2006–2008           Togo

2008–2010           Mali

2011       Togo

2011–    Nigeria

Stuart Baxter: the honest truth about Kaizer Chiefs and their coach

Your number's up: Kaizer Chiefs trio Baxter, Nkosi and Jessica Motaung

IT'S one thing to be 4-0 down after 37 minutes of your opening competitive game of the season. It's quite another to be a Kaizer Chiefs fan and hear that your coach, Stuart Baxter, has been economical with the truth.

When I spoke to Joe Mann on Metro FM's popular Sports Centre (now known as 083 Sports@6) last night, I was asked for my views on the opening weekend of MTN8 action and I dropped the bombshell: "Stuart Baxter lied about his CV, and I never thought he was a good choice to coach a big club like Kaizer Chiefs."

Of course, I didn't just talk about Chiefs. I pointed out how well Mamelodi Sundowns had played in their emphatic 4-1 thumping of the AmaKhosi at a packed Loftus Versfeld. How the oft-lamented Teko Modise had pulled all the strings - and how good debutant striker Edward Manqele looked.

Oh, I also questioned the penalties given and not given in Orlando Pirates squeaky 1-0 win over Bloemfontein Celtic, the efficiency of SuperSport United in their 2-1 win over Free State Stars and praised Moroka Swallows for producing the one result I predicted wrong - an emphatic 2-0 win over AmaZulu despite the recent departure of Gordon Igesund to Bafana Bafana.

But it was my critique of Chiefs which attracted the most responses, some of it abusive, on the social networking sites. It was a bit of a shock. I made my first appearance with Robert Marawa on Metro during the 2010 World Cup and have been chatting away with the great man regularly since, on television and radio.

So, am I, as some would have it an "air head" who, as another suggests "knows nothing about football"? Do I hate Kaizer Chiefs? Do I have a hidden agenda? Of course not. I am, as I told Joe on Monday night, a lifelong football player who played over 3,000 games, a coach, a referee, a lover of the game, particularly in South Africa where so many of my ilk deride "local football" as rubbish.

I never reached great heights as a player, though you will see pictures of me winning the FA Over 35s Christian World Cup on my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/nealivorcollins/photos in 2010, aged 49.

As a youngster I was coached by England manager Roy Hodgson who told me I would never make it as a player, I was picked for Northern Transvaal schoolboys and South African Universities and trained with Umlazi Bush Bucks as young journalist in Durban. I was never good enough to make Clive Barker's first team, not with the title-winning side he and Lawrence "Big Bear" Ngubane had put together.

Then, as a conscientious objector and political exile, I spent 1985-2010 in England, playing two or three games a week in the local leagues as I learned my trade on the Mirror, Daily Mail and Sky TV.

I returned to South Africa for the England cricket tour and World Cup in 2010, fell in love with the place and a local lawyer - all over again and stayed to look after my doddery dad in Centurion.

I have no bias against Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates. Just huge admiration for the two giants of South African football. But if I see something wrong, something dodgy, I'll raise the issue. Unlike so many in the media here, I have no in-built fear of Irvin Khoza or Kaizer Motaung - or his son Bobby. 

In the UK, I have been told to "f*** off" late at night by Sir Alex Ferguson and was once confronted by a mob of angry Birmingham fans in North London. I have seen Millwall late at night, been to European games where riots have broken out. After those incidents, and many like it, you tend to do your job regardless of the insults. As long as you stick to what you believe to be the truth.

I tell it like I see it. And that's what I continue to do, though it has lost me many friends over the past two years in South African sports journalism.

When Baxter arrived, I wrote stories like these, some of which were re-published in local newspapers and websites.

http://www.neal-collins.blogspot.com/2012/05/komphela-matthaus-gullit-no-new-kaizer.html

http://www.sportscentral.co.za/is-stuart-baxter-the-man-the-amakhosi-need/17975/

But if it's the truth about Stuart Baxter you want, it's to be found here:

http://www.iol.co.za/sport/soccer/psl/baxter-loose-with-the-truth-1.1294320#.UCENP_Ygdcg

Written by the Johannesburg Star's Jonty Mark on May 11, I've given you the full story below. Robert Marawa had Bobby Mataung in the next day to discuss Baxter's lies. He couldn't - or wouldn't - explain the anomalies. Baxter has never explained the holes in his CV. And this is the man put in charge of South Africa's biggest club. So now it's your choice. Read what is written below. You decide if I was right or not. 

Embellishing your CV is hardly a new trait, but Stuart Baxter really ought to be a little more careful.

The new Kaizer Chiefs coach, in an interview with The Star on Thursday, did his best to make his time in between coaching Bafana Bafana and the Amakhosi look, shall we say, as effervescent as possible.

Baxter resigned from the Bafana job in November 2005, after failing to qualify the team for the 2006 Fifa World Cup. His return to South Africa and the Amakhosi came as a surprise to many, when it was confirmed last week.

Whatever Baxter said in meeting with Chiefs president Kaizer Motaung persuaded the Amakhosi chairman that the 58-year-old Englishman was the right man for the job.

Yet one hopes Baxter was not as generous with the facts as he was on Thursday. The Chiefs coach’s first strange claim was that upon leaving Bafana he “went to Japan for one year and won the title”.

Closer inspection reveals that in 2006, Baxter’s Vissel Kobe finished third in the Japanese second division, winning promotion to the top-flight through a play-off.

That’s a “title”?

Baxter then went off to Helsingborgs in Sweden, a country where he lifted the Allsvenskan title in 1998 with AIK Stockholm.

“When I went to Helsingborgs they were third bottom and we finished third.

“We also got to the last 16 of the Europa League,” said Baxter on Thursday.

Another swift check of the facts, however, and Helsingborgs actually finished fourth in the 2008 Allsvenskan, and reached only the last 32 of the 2007/8 Europa League (the Kaizer Chiefs statement on Baxter’s appointment this week also states that he reached the last 16).

These exaggerations extend to Baxter’s time with the Finnish national team, who he joined in 2008.

The Chiefs coach correctly noted that Finland had drawn twice with Germany in a decent World Cup 2010 qualifying campaign.

But the truth was once again loose as he went into their failed Euro 2012 qualification.

According to Baxter, Finland “got beaten 2-1 by Holland, lost to Moldova when we had Sami Hyppia sent off five minutes, in, and came back and drew with Hungary.

“It was very difficult to qualify. I said to the Finnish FA that I wanted to get back into club football, and spend more time with my daughter.” (Baxter’s daughter fell very ill when he was in Japan, one of the main reasons he went back to Scandinavia).

Well, Finland did lose 2-1 to Holland and did have Hyppia sent off in a 2-0 loss to Moldova (in the 36th minute, not the fifth), but they also lost 2-1 to Hungary.

It is difficult to believe how anyone could make this succession of mistakes accidentally, and has to cast Baxter in a slightly dappled light even before he has started his work with Chiefs.

No wonder, if he believes his own story, that the Chiefs coach says: “I don’t think I have to prove anything to anybody. I must just make sure the players enjoy training and the supporters enjoy what they are watching.” – The Star

Kaizer Chiefs: Is the sun going down on Bobby Motaung's grand plan?

Worth a few Bob: Motaung

BOBBY Motaung’s endless struggle to make Kaizer Chiefs the biggest club in South Africa struck a major obstacle as the sun went down last night.

General manager Motaung, son of the club’s creator, brother of the once striking Junior (and the very striking Jessica, Chief’s marketing guru) claims to have signed Erik Molomowandau “Tower” Mathoho from Bloemfontein Celtic. Great move. Born on the same day (March 1) as me and a certain Robert Marawa, the 22-year-old is  one of the better centre-backs in Africa and would form a dynamic duo with Morgan Gould, picked up from SuperSport United last month.

The two will probably play next to each other for Bafana Bafana as they seek a long-awaited win over Gabon in an international friendly in Mbombela on Friday night.

Just how Bobby, apparently working “closely” with new boss Stuart Baxter despite the distance separating Soweto and Wolverhampton, persuaded Celtic supremo Jimmy Augousti to part company with the Tower on the cheap remains a bit of a mystery.

Word was that Chiefs would pay no more than R3.5m “for any player” as they attempt to close the gap on arch-rivals Orlando Pirates, who have on six trophies in the past two seasons. The Sowetan newspaper is talking about an R5m fee, claiming deal is not done, but the excellent Patrick Baloyi records the sum as R3m for a done deal.

Tower’s market value was probably three times that. Yet according to my esteemed colleague Baloyi at The New Age, it appears, after an unsuccessful trial with Holland’s FC Twente last season, Mathoho has decamped to Naturena despite the haggling.

Tower’s agent, Tim Sukazi, explains it thus: “The constitution of this country ensures we do not deal in the slave trade in football. Gone are the days when players could be coerced into joining clubs against their own choices."

Strange that. In Europe, a contracted player goes to the highest bidder when personal terms are settled. And there is little question Sundowns would have bid more than Chiefs for Tower, and just about anybody else they fancy.

Next up after Gould (transfer fee not disclosed) and Mathoho? That would be the Free State Stars striker Edward Jabu Manqele who will turn 25 on June 16.

Today we are told that Manqele, who burst on to the scene with 10 goals for the little stars of Bethlehem last season, is also available for a remarkably modest fee. And, according to kick-off.com’s “source close to”, he has been offered a R75 000-a-month salary plus a R600 000 signing-on fee.

Now normally, signing-on fees are only offered to players who are out of contract and available on a free transfer. I find it hard to believe Manqele was made available on that basis by Stars, but details of the young striker’s contract are sketchy.

Problem is, Bobby may not have offered enough. According to a third club interested in Manqele, Patrice Motsepe’s billions have come in to play. The Sundowns supremo offered to double the Chiefs offer last night.

Kick-off.com quotes their source as saying: "Chiefs have offered Edward a very, very good contract, but the boy is now confused because Sundowns keep upping their offer as well.”

Manqele, plucked from Vodacom League Trabzon FC by Bafana interim boss Steve Komphela last year, is quoted as saying: "I am still in the dark. I will know my future with Free State Stars next week Monday, and for now I would rather not comment on which team I prefer to join."

That’s wise. Because, of course, Chiefs – the richest club in South Africa with a huge Vodacom sponsorship, huge sponsors and an estimated 15 million Amakhosi behind them – are not quite playing the game.

Bobby, who told us last year he didn’t need a CV to work for the family business, insists: “Manqele is one of our targets, but as negotiations are challenging, I cannot confirm when we will reach an agreement with his club.”

That’s when, not if. Yet Bobby’s refusal to pay more than R3.5m is patently ridiculous. That amount – around 320,000 pounds in British terms – would barely buy you a Conference (fifth division) journeyman in England. And if you think R70,000 a month is a reasonable offer for one of the best young strikers in the country, consider this: Yaya Toure is on 250,000 (R2.7m) a WEEK at Manchester City – where mere squad players earn a minimum of R3m a month.

Chiefs, with all their resources, should be competing at a far higher monetary level to satisfy the non-rising Amakhosi, frustrated as they watch the Buccaneers plunder silverware with alacrity. Instead, Bobby is trading on the Chiefs brand to bend young stars to his bargain-basement desires.

We all know Sundowns pay over the odds. Even if Manqele went to Chloorkop for the rumoured R140,000 a month, Elias Palemba and Teko Modise are reported to be on nearly three times that after their moves from Supersport and Pirates.

We also know that many top young stars go to Mamelodi purely for the money… and disappear amid the dozens of expensive young things competing for Johan Neeskens’ attention.

It’s financial madness of course. But ask any Arsenal fans if money matters – and they’ll tell you all about England’s 2012 champions Manchester City. Just as Bobby is trying to operate within daddy’s budget, Arsene Wenger attempts to keep within upcoming UEFA constraints in Europe. And the Gunners, like the Amakhosi, went trophyless again last season, missing out on the big signings as they attempt to deal within a tight structure.

For City’s Sheik Mansour, read Sundowns’ Motsepe. Pay the money and you win the titles.

Motaung, who has also spotted Leopards' Zimbabwean striker Kingston Nkatha despite the fact he is “not for sale”, is unfazed. He tells Baloyi: “We have been working hard in ensuring that we sign players that fill Chiefs’ standards and we all know what Mathoho can offer. His jersey is waiting at Naturena.”

We’ll see, Bobby, we’ll see.

Orlando Pirates: Did they pay off coach Leal... or did he leave with nothing. The truth is out there...

ON the South African “who’s who” website Dominic Buti Ntsele, born on October 30, 1966, is listed thus: “He has handled some of the toughest corporate crises and issues in South Africa and the US. He is a communications strategist.”

Yet again this week, Dom found out that corporate crises are nothing compared to sorting out a football club.

Though Mr Ntsele is listed as having several high-powered executive roles, it’s his position as a director of Orlando Pirates FC which has seen him come under fire the day after the Buccaneers finally parted company with Brazilian coach Julio Leal.

The problem is this: Dom went on the excellent Robert Marawa show on MetroFM on Monday night and assured listeners: “Leal did not receive a pay-off for leaving Orlando Pirates after seven months of his three-year contract.”

And on Tuesday morning, The New Age’s equally excellent Patrick Baloyi grabbed the front page rather than the back to tell readers: “Leal departs R2m richer.”

Baloyi reports an unnamed director as saying: “Leal is legally sharp and would not have left Orlando without a fight.”

The unloved Brazilian, suspended last month when he said he “couldn’t see a way forward”, was paid R350,000 a month. In his short seven months at the Pirates, where he surprisingly replaced treble-winning Dutchman Ruud Krol, Leal won the MTN8 and Telkom Trophies, to ensure the Buccaneers had their hand on every domestic trophy in the country.

The key to Leal’s departure came with the mounting criticism from within the camp that grew before their African Champions League opening round failure against Angola’s Recreativo do Libolo. I wrote at the time that Leal was on his way out http://neal-collins.blogspot.com/2012/02/revolting-buccaneers-threaten-to-sink.html and though it was roundly denied by all – notably team spokesman and goalkeeper Monieb Josephs - it was of course true.

Since his suspension, Peruvian caretaker Augusto Palacios has seen the Pirates crash out of the Nedbank Cup but did manage to orchestrate a 3-2 win over Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs and Wednesday's 1-0 win over Amazulu puts them level on points with leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who suffered a third consecutive 0-0 draw despite having 26 efforts on goal against Golden Arrows.

But on the social networking sites, the talk is of Leal’s pay-off. Did he or didn’t he? Did Ntsele, the spin doctor, lie to the fans on air?

So I called Ntsele, the master communicator. No reply. Left a message, sent a text. Then he called back.

And he couldn’t have been more certain. Ntsele told me: “In the absence of real news, fantasy and fiction seems to prevail. I can categorically tell you Leal was not paid to leave Orlando Pirates.

“The man wanted to walk away. We would not pay him to leave under those circumstances. It’s not just unlikely, it just wouldn’t happen. You are asking me for the truth, you want to tell the fans what is happening: There it is, straight from the horse’s mouth.

“I am a director of the club, I would know if we paid off Leal for the remaining two and a half years of his contract. I can categorically say we didn’t.”

So Ntsele is emphatic. But so is The New Age. The black-and-white clad Ghost are confused. But there is a solution.

The problem here seems to be the immense salary offered to Leal when he mysteriously took over from the record-breakingly successful Krol.

Ntsele admits there is a question over the remaining five months’ money paid in advance to Leal – his first year’s salary in a three-year contract. Ntsele says they won’t be claiming that back. Simple mathematics will tell you five times R350,000 comes to R1,750,000. That’s pretty close to R2m.

To pay off Leal for the remainder of his contract would have amounted to far more than that, just under R10m.

With the fans baying for the truth and claiming Ntsele lied on MetroFm, it’s just possible both Baloyi and Ntsele are perfectly within their rights. No, Leal did not get paid off R9,800,000 for the rest of his contract. But yes, the over-paid Brazilian will be following his wife back to Brazil with nearly R2m after barely seven months in the job.

There, sorted.

Oh, and on the subject of a new Pirates manager Ntsele is equally forthright. With Nigeria's Sampson Siasia being roundly touted for Leal's job, Ntsele told me this morning: "Look, we haven't even started talking about a permanent coach for next season. I can reconfirm Palacios will be in charge until the end of the season.

"Of course, Orlando Pirates is a huge club. We are being approached by all sorts of people, from all over Africa, Eastern Europe and beyond.

"You can expect agents to leak names to newspapers but we won't even be thinking about the new appointment. That's the truth."

But then there is the thorny problem, much like last season, of what happens if Palacios, against all the odds, wins the title now that he has put his trust in Tokela Rantie up front alongside Benni McCarthy, a dynamic duo which seems to work. Surely they can't get rid of the championship-winning coach two years on the trot?

Was Palacios listening when I wrote this abuot Rantie last October? http://www.neal-collins.blogspot.com/2011_10_01_archive.html

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.”