The season of Senzo: South African football begins the long, difficult struggle to return to normality

The final farewell: Orlando Pirates players sing for Senzo

This will be the season of Senzo Meyiwa. And not just for Orlando Pirates, whose grieving players so memorably sang him to his resting place at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.

It will be all about Senzo, the Bafana Bafana goalkeeper shot in his prime. No matter how long the Kaizer Chiefs unbeaten run guns on; no matter how Sundowns and the AmaKhosi do in the African Champions League; no matter which club steps forward to claim the Telkom KO and Nedbank Cup. Whether the AFCON championship goes ahead in Morocco or not.

Every sad step of the rest of this summer will be played against the backdrop of enormous loss.  The senseless nature of his death and the sudden departure of a 27-year-old who did not concede a goal in four AFCON qualifiers under Shakes Mashaba makes that inevitable.

With Orlando Pirates scheduled game tonight (Tuesday) against Platinum Stars called off and the Bafana Bafana squad announcement delayed until tomorrow, we have not yet become accustomed to the hole left by the striker-turned-custodian who left uMlazi with borrowed boots aged 13.

Tomorrow Danny Jordaan will announce an amnesty on illegal guns, with the promise of a statue outside SAFA House erected from the melted-down weapons. National coach Mashaba will name a new No1 and captain from a pool featuring Belgian-based Darren Keet, experienced Wits University No 1 Moeneeb Josephs and SuperSport United’s forgotten man Ronwen Williams.

Personally I think Shakes, as is his custom, will go for the unexpected and call up Kaizer Chiefs stand-in Brilliant Khuzwayo, the man who replaced Itumeleng Khune, for the game against Sudan on November 15; a clash moved to the Moses Mabhida in honour of Meyiwa.

Find the killers: fans at the funeral

As for Pirates, when they resume their campaign in the Telkom KO semi-final against SuperSport on Saturday, they have two alternatives Brighton Mhlongo, 23, or Philani Zikala, 31, to fill Senzo’s golden gloves.

Mhlongo has the Meyiwa feel to him: nine years in the Pirates structure, a couple of appearances in the first team behind Senzo and Fatau Dauda over the last year, a spell with FC AK three years ago.

There are reports of SAFA and the PSL allowing Pirates to sign a contracted goalkeeper outside of the transfer window due to the extra-ordinary nature of events last week. But goalkeeping gems are rare and risky, especially when you have a popular back-up like Mhlongo, who appeared to lead the singing for Senzo while God wept His slow, sullen drizzle over Durban on Saturday.

From the little we’ve seen of him, he looks like the right man rather than Zikalala, the former AmaZulu stopper who has yet to don the jersey. Former Pirates coach Augusto Palacios, the head of development at the club, reckons: “Brighton learned a lot from Senzo and he’s played for South Africa’s Under 23s. I don’t think they need to sign a new goalkeeper, Mhlongo can do the job.”

Those are the first stages of a nation’s rehabilitation: Senzo’s replacement at national and club level. Next, we will ease our pain by discussing how BafanaBafana and Orlando Pirates are coping without their Captain, our Captain.Will they come roaring back as a tribute to their departed team-mate or struggle with the weight of their loss?


I chanced across the Orlando Pirates players at King Shaka Airport after the funeral and shook hands with a bemused Vladimir Vermecovic. He knows how hard the task of rehabilitation will be. The loss of a player due to injury or suspension can unbalance the best of teams: to lose their captain and goalkeeper under these circumstances is a blow few clubs ever have to deal with. The Buccaneers themselves will measure the grief on the field as a further step forward.

Then comes the Mandisa versus Kelly debate as the estate (including the much discussed BMW X6) is carved up. The apprehension and charging of three suspects (or the failure to do so) and the debate over gun crime in Mzanzi. The naming of academies, stadiums and streets after our fallen hero. The gun-metal statue, which I think would be an eminently suitable memorable.

It will be a long and difficult road to recovery for football-speaking South Africa. Nobody doubts that. But what we can do without are the trolls, the jokers, the fascists who chip away at the whole sorry saga.

How a man like Gareth Cliff, a popular Idols judge who proclaims himself a "new South African" can sit watching a ceremony of such deep sorrow and think of tweeting: "Who is paying for this massive funeral" is entirely beyond me. Such a thought, let alone a public sentiment, betrays a deep malaise in South Africa, even among the so-called liberals. A deep misunderstanding of the dominant culture, cruelly surpressed for so long under Apartheid.

It wasn't the question which irked, it was the timing. The airport lounge I was sat in reflected the two camps quite brilliantly. The real Mzanzi watching the singing, the sadness, the who ceremony with deep respect and sadness, the old South Africa frowning, questioning, angry and confused.

But generally the nation has come together to commemorate the death of Our Captain. That in itself offers a glimmer of hope in a nation divided rather than united by sport, race and crime since the heady days of Nelson Mandela’s post-democratic Rainbow Nation.


The likes of Steve Hofmeyr, Dan Roodt and apparently even Gareth Cliff and his paler friends no longer rule this country or dictate its mood. The vast majority are stunned and saddened by Senzo's sudden death. The mourning has begun, the recovery is in progress, we unite in anger and celebration. Let’s try to carry on that way.

  

A shortened version of this story appears as my Neal and Pray column in today's www.thenewage.co.za.

CAPTAIN, OUR CAPTAIN Words on the tragic murder of Senzo Meyiwa

Senzo Meyiwa is gone. Shot dead by a coward on Sunday night.

• 
  

  SENZO MEYIWA is dead. There is no gentle way to say that.
  
  According to police, he was shot from behind while trying to protect Kelly Khumalo, the mother of his child, at her Vosloorus home at around 8pm on Sunday night.

  
  

  Hit in the chest, he was dead on arrival at Botshelong Hospital.

  
  

  Those stark facts have cast a terrible shadow over South Africa, a nation already infamous for horrendous murder rates and rampant crime.

  
  

  The football world remains in shock. Dean Furman in England, Darren Keet in Belgium and all the Bafana Bafana players were reeling as the news broke. Devastated was the common word.

  
  

  Captain, my captain. The man who saved two penalties at a blacked-out TP Mazembe, the goalkeeper who grabbed Itumeleng Khune's armband for Shakes Mashaba. Gone. 

  
  

  Unbeaten in his four AFCON qualifiers since Khune's injury, Senzo will never concede another goal.
  
  

  
  

  Shakes was at the hospital on Sunday night, desperately consoling hardened professional footballers trying to come to terms with the bleakest of news.

  
  

  He was 27. At the peak of his powers. On Saturday he was out there in the Orlando downpour with water up to his ankles. His farewell game? A crucial 4-1 win over Ajax Cape Town, coached by Roger de Sa, the man who gave him the Orlando Pirates No1 jersey which he rarely relinquished.

  
  

  It's the sudden nature of his departure, the utter shock which will not allow us to shrug off this particular crime statistic in a nation accustomed to horror.

  
  

  On the social networks, the South African police immediately offered a R150,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the three-man gang who perpetrated the act.

  
  

  Bring back the death penalty, roared the tweeting nation. The cowardly thug who shot Senzo in the back will not get away with culpable homicide and a short sentence. 

  
  

  We can be sure of that.

  
  

  As for the Soweto Derby on Saturday, it no longer matters. Perhaps 90,000 at Soccer City will turn South Africa's biggest game in to a memorial to the Pirates No 1.

  
  

  Perhaps it should be postponed. Few can think football after such a tragedy. Let alone play 90 minutes.

  
  

  There is no consolation. But I have this picture of Meyiwa turning up at the Pearly Gates on Sunday night.

  
  

  In my mind, he's got his gloves on. He looks St Peter squarely in the eyes after stopping his final shot on this mortal coil.

  
  

  And he says simply: "We will never let them win. Never."

  
  

  Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!
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Australia 1-1 South Africa: good result, but no need for a hero's welcome

Scorer: Ayanda Patosi

Gordon Igesund, take a bow. You failed at AFCON, you didn’t qualify for the World Cup, we were a laughing stock at CHAN and lost 5-0 to Brazil. But in Sydney yesterday, Bafana Bafana confounded Brazil-bound Australia.

A 1-1 draw against the Socceroos is not going to spark a hero’s parade at Oliver Tambo International but with New Zealand to come this week, it wasn’t a bad result given the circumstances.

Blitzed by withdrawals and heading towards the end of his contract, South Africa’s head coach gave Australia the worst possible send-off to the World Cup next month. They are drawn in something of a Group of Death with Chile first up, followed by the Netherlands and champions Spain, who haven’t lost a major tournament in three attempts.

If they can’t beat Bafana, with Thabo Nthethe and a grieving Tower Mathoho at the back, they are unlikely to get much out of that trio.

At this point, a special mention for Mulomowandau “Mouth of the Lion” Mathoho. While his multi-capped Kaizer Chiefs team-mates chose to take a holiday rather than representing the nation, our Tower chose to travel to Australia and when his cousin died he stayed to play in Sydney – he will return home today for the funeral.

That takes some guts. And Mathoho showed plenty of that as the Australians dominated the early exchanges. Senzo Meyiwa – watched by habitual No 1 Itumeleng Khune (he confirmed as much to me on twitter) – made six saves in the first 20 minutes and the Orlando Pirates stopper was excellent if unorthodox throughout.

His one mistake came just after Ayanada Patosi’s excellent curling goal for Bafana. Caught by a looping cross, he forgot just how high little Tim Cahill can jump. Bang, 1-1. Everton will confirm Cahill can confound with his head, despite his lack of height.

There was barely time to take a breath between the two goals which marked this final friendly for Australia. But there was plenty of time to take stock of Igesund’s new-look Bafana.

The stupid row with Igesund over Thulani Serero’s injury appears to have been forgotten. The Ajax Ere Divisie winner flew all the way Down Under and shone in midfield, where he will anchor South Africa’s engine room long after Gordon departs.

With Thuso Phala of SuperSport United and Mamelodi Sundowns title-winner Hlompho Kekana quiet, Serero got through a lot of work – and took a look of heavy challenges – but emerged unbowed.

Igesund said: “The journey starts now. This is a competitive bunch of players, they will go places. 

"SAFA’s vision is to be No 3 in Africa and among the top 20 in the FIFA world rankings and these boys will play a major role in the realisation of that dream.

"This tour will mark the beginning of a new era in South African football.

“I am very excited with what I have seen from them in the few days we have been together. They are eager to learn and want to leave a lasting impression.

“I now hope to take this momentum to New Zealand and if they produce the same form, we will enter the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on a high. I have massive belief in this squad. The players have the right attitude, are talented and they know what they want.”

But let’s not fool ourselves. This was a good result for Bafana but not a great performance. Too often the ball was wasted in midfield, possession was lost far too easily – and despite the muscular efforts of Bournemouth’s Tokelo Rantie, there was no sign of a revival up front for South Africa’s blank-shooting strikers.

What we did see was that the great “legends” of Bafana – who spectacularly failed to achieve qualification for the World Cup despite Ethiopia being docked three points during qualifying – are not badly missed.

There is depth in South African football. And we have young talent like Siyanda Xulu at Rostov, Peterborough’s Kagiso Nthle and AmaTuks Buhle Makhwanazi still to come.

So there is light at the end of the Bafana tunnel, whether Igesund departs when his contract expires in August or not. But for Australia? I won’t be betting on them in Brazil!

Lucky and Senzo with Robert Marawa: The MetroFM interview every Orlando Pirates fan - and South African - must read

Home safe: Senzo Meyiwa and Luck Lekgwathi with Rob tonight

It's not something you do too often as a football writer. But Robert Marawa's interview with Orlando Pirates captain Lucky Lekgwathi and goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa tonight on MetroFM was just too good to miss.

Here it is, the chat with Lekgwathi, sent off in the first half of the troubled African Cup of Nations clash at TP Mazembe in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the heroic Meyiwa, who saved TWO penalties to ensure their survival. The 1-0 defeat ensured progress to the group stages on a 3-2 aggregate win.

With the game blacked out in Lubumbashi, we discover some of the unseen details, the fear of poisoned juice at the hotel, Lucky being forced to stay in the dressing room, Meyiwa's faith in God... and how they only discovered the match hadn't been televised afterwards!

With tears and prayers aplenty, this is how it went:

Lucky: “They welcomed us well, the ambassador was there, we had a safe trip. The hotel was nice, we didn’t have to share rooms! I reckon five star, serious. Nice hotel, it was okay.

“The coach called us for a morning swim. We had to leave hotel at 12noon. Three hours in the stadium! We had a meeting at 11am, we ate. We asked for juice. They said it was finished.

“So we said, we’ll have water. Then they brought juice. We said, don’t drink it. The jug wasn’t sealed. You don’t know what they put inside the juice three hours before the game.

“We just drank water, we went to the stadium. Bottled water from the hotel. Sealed. We went to the stadium. There were police to escort us. Okay, we were singing.

“Roger said we must just forget the supporters. Back to the changing room. The opposition were showing arrogance.

“We started to play. We played very well to start. After 35 minutes, keeper played a long ball. I was in front of Mobutu. He kicked me from behind. The referee ran up and gave me a red card. I asked him why, he just said “kwa kwa”.

“But the players said they would die for me after I’d been sent off.”

Over to Senzo Meyiwa: “Once we got to Lubumbashi, we saw how the supporters are treating the “foreigners”. The hotel was okay. Made some phone calls, sleeping along. Then the issue of the juice, we suspected it was poisoned. We drank water.

“Went to the stadium, they showed us respect the supporters. There was one bang on the bus. We said “hey what’s going on” but it was okay. They gave us the treatment we deserved. They could see we were being robbed.

“What I can say, the referee can be on their side, but God said nothing will change. That gave us strength to make South African supporters proud of us.

“It was not a red card for Lucky. Not even a yellow. He was tackling Lucky. I thought he might give him a coaching, a yellow, but straight red.

“PENALTY NUMBER ONE: that was not a penalty. I told myself, let me do it for the country, for Orlando Pirates supporters, for the country, for the team. We’re in the Congo, we’re doing it for the nation. I told myself: I will do my best.”

Lucky: “After I was sent off I took a shower, then I wanted to go back and watch. They said no. There was a lady who said to us, it’s going to be tough. An old mama. I thought what she said to us.

“So I’d been told I can’t watch. When they told me we won, I started crying. They said Senzo saved two penalties. Juuuus!

“I said, you know what, we won the game because of God.”

Senzo: “They were wearing black and white. I thought they were supporting Orlando Pirates! When you’re playing away games, there’s not as much pressure. You can do anything you want and then you go home.

“I was doing everything. I was not scared of the supporters behind my back. Even the guy, before he kicked the first penalty, I could see myself saving it.

“How did I guess right? Eish, I don’t know. I stood behind the line. So there was no chance of a retake. I just stand there, watch this guy, then I tell him straight: “YOU WON’T SCORE”. He was laughing, I said it again.

“And then I made the save.”

“SECOND PENALTY: I caught it, I could see they wanted to follow up. Before the second one, a yellow card. When they were busy fighting with the referee. I was alone at the goal post. I said: “God, you want us to fail this thing? Please God, give me POWER. I believe in you.

“It was towards the end of the game. And then I cried. God came to me, he said “I know you, you’ll do it.

“The captain, who plays in the national team, he took it this time. He was scared. I go to him. I shout. He saw I was crying. He thought: “This keeper’s mad eh?”

“I thought “come to me” and I managed to save it. I said: YEEEEEES!

“It was one of those penalties where he stopped before he took it. I didn’t even move.

“You know, God was inside me. That was not Senzo Meyiwa. God himself was in me. He saved my team, he saved the nation, he made the nation proud of me.”

Marawa: “I can see the tears welling up in your eyes right now.”

Lucky: “You know what, I was with Rudolf Bester. I told him to close the door of the dressing room so I couldn’t hear them score.

“I was praying, crying, Please God! But before we left South Africa, the old mama, I was playing for her. 

Before we left, on the Wednesday, there was a pastor who played for us in Orlando. The Pirate ladies gave me a certificate for “the best captain ever”. They were there, it was a surprise at a lunch.

“The pastor prayed. He said this is for the captain. It was a big motivation for the younger players.

“Thanks to the Orlando Pirates ladies. May God bless them.

“We thought everybody was watching us in Lubumbashi! After the game, they told us the game was not televised, I heard from the girl sitting next to me!”