VILAKAZI GETS HIS BIG MOVE and the South African transfer window finally gets a deal worth shouting about

NOT JUST A CLEVER BOY: Sibusiso Vilakazi finally secured his big move

"Bidvest Wits FC are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement with Mamelodi Sundowns for the transfer of Sibusiso Vilakazi to Mamelodi Sundowns for an undisclosed transfer fee as well as the transfers of Cuthbert Malajila and Mogakolodi Ngele to Bidvest Wits FC."

And there it is, the announcement we've been waiting for throughout another dodgy South African transfer window, another bleak mid-winter for our game.

Amid the usual chaos of free signings and false rumours comes the three-man deal I predicted weeks ago: Sibusiso Vilakazi, for so long South Africa’s premier midfielder, has gone to champions Mamelodi Sundowns just as they approach serious heights in the Africa (though he's cup tied, and won't be part of that).

And in return, the selling club Bidvest Wits get two quality KaboYellow players: proven Zimbabwean goal-scorer Cuthbert Malajila and  Botswana’s lively Mogakolodi Ngele. Three international players, three exciting moves.

Amid the unseemly scramble for free agents and cheap discards, I was clinging to Bernard Morrison to provide the boost the PSL needs, his often delayed R3m deal from AS Vita was a shining beacon as Kaizer Chiefs, Chippa United and Baroka FC flew in flocks of freebies.

Even worse, Orlando Pirates cast a bleak shadow over the integrity of our game when they signed Justice Chabalala, Sello Japhta and Ayanda Nkosi from Free State Stars along with their assistant manager Bradley Carnell.

Pirates, run by ageless PSL chairman, Irvin Khoza, raided Bethlehem and had all three players signed up less than 24 hours after the ANC’s MEC for education in Gauteng Panyaza Lesufi had announced he was going to buy Ea Lla Koto in his frantic bid to get a team not called Moroka Swallows back in to the top flight.

History shows the move never happened. The R55m from “a consortium of fans” was pie in the sky for both Swallows and Stars. Khoza pretended he didn’t know much about the deal but French boss Denis Lavagne must now resume pre-season training without his assistant and three of his top players.

That raid by the Pirates left me all at sea, a bit like their apparently free sale to Chippa United of three top South African youngsters Menzi Masuku, Thembinkosi Lorch and Maselaelo Seanego. Absolute madness.

We had Cape Town City scrambling around for “another 10 players”, Chippa and promoted pair Baroka and Highlands Park naming whole teams of free signings and SuperSport United drafting three free Kaizer Chiefs rejects. Utter chaos, not a confirmed transfer fee in sight.

But Sunday’s transfers between the Clever Boys and Masandawana have swept away my cynicism.

While Chiefs continue their search for ANYBODY from Chicken Inn to Mozambique to replace the 20 players kicked out by Bobby Motaung after the end of last season, Pitso Mosimane and Gavin Hunt, the nation’s two top coaches, have been shrewd and worked hard for their men, like two European masters playing chess.

Vilakazi, a former PSL player of the year, has wanted a move for two years. Still just 26, the Soweto-born star has played 21 times for Bafana Bafana, scoring four. The move to Tshwane could be just the rebirth required for one of South Africa’s top talents, playing next to Keagan Dolly, Leonard Castro and Khama Billiat will bring out the best in him after two quiet seasons.

PROVEN GOAL-SCORER: Cuthbert Malajila

Alternatively Cuthbert Lifasi Malajila, 30, over-shadowed by the CBD in Pretoria, will get the opportunity to strike alongside James Keene and kick-start his goal-scoring career which featured 8 goals in 17 games for Zimbabwe.

And Botswana’s Ngele, 25, so impressive at Platinum Stars, will get a regular start under Gavin Hunt as he builds on 15 games and two goals for Botswana.

With Sundowns winning in Algeria and Egypt during the off-season, Pitso Mosimane’s men can only get stronger, while Wits, second last season, will be up there again, especially with Darren Keete now signed on a free from Belgium to fight for the goalkeeper’s jersey with the impressive Moeneeb Josephs.

There’s still plenty of time before the new season - the PSL won’t even kick off until after the Olympics, though we still await the full fixture list, a month later than normal - so Chiefs and Cape Town City could still surprise us with some quality signings.

Like crowd figures, South African transfer fees are carefully guarded secrets. It's hard to assess who has done the best business in a nation where the PSL executive are happy to sell top flight clubs for less than their annual bonus.

But from where I stand, Masandawana, the Clever Boys and SuperSport United are patiently building title-threatening squads while the others fiddle among the discards. 

And for cashless, ripped apart Free State Stars, how can anything other than relegation loom? The White Sangoma has spoken.

Guest writer Lettuce Mathebula: Why Vilakazi MUST LEAVE Wits to further his career

THE R15m QUESTION: Lettuce Mathebula

Our THIRD guest blogger is the fabulously named Lettuce Mathebula (@lettucemtititi on twitter), who says he is: "A diehard supporter of football and an upcoming writer who one day want to be a professional writer especially writing about the sport I dearly love...Football."

Lettuce - also known as Hasani - is a Kaizer Chiefs, Barcelona and Manchester City fan. But we can forgive him for that... 

Sibusiso Vilakazi is arguably the best player in the country and because of his unwavering exceptional performances week in and week out many teams has came knocking with an effort to lure the industrious midfield-cum striker away from Bidvest Wits.

As the things stands Bidvest Wits are not willing to let their precious player leave and if they had to do so it will only come from a convincing price from whoever wants to sign the 25-year-old Bafana Bafana international.

I strongly believe it's high time Sibusiso Vilakazi make a move away from Bidvest Wits,  I don't care much where he will go to, it can be Orlando Pirates,  Mamelodi Sundowns or Kaizer Chiefs but it's time to make a move.

An opportunity to move to greener pastures to many footballers comes once in a footballing career and should an opportunity be missed it may happen that it does not present itself once again.

Villa has done so well at Bidvest Wits and I don't think there's anything more that Villa can still achieve at Bidvest Wits and that's another reason why I believe a change of environmental might be what Sibusiso Vilakazi needs at this point in time.

A R15 million price tag on Vilakazi by Bidvest Wits is just a way to say we don't want to sell him and that might not be a right decision by Bidvest Wits as far as Villa's footballing career is concern.

I'm a fan of footballers who are always willing to take new challenges as it gives them an opportunity for to grow as footballers as they tend to learn new things in different environments.

I'm appealing to Sibusiso Vilakazi to make a move now because it may be now or never for him. I believe Villa can even do better in one of the big three teams or even if it means going to Europe let it be, as long as Sibusiso Vilakazi make a move...

THE CAMEROON GOAL THAT NEVER WAS: Unbeaten Shakes does it again, despite refereeing blunder in Libreville

NO GOAL! The referee clearly has his arm raised for Cameroon goal

GOOD OLD SHAKES! He’s done it again. A 1-1 draw against African footballing giants Cameroon in Gabon? That’s not bad. Not bad at all.

And as the picture above shows, the Cameroon goal should NEVER have been allowed. Porto’s 22-year-old Victor Aboubakar struck his sixth-minute free-kick brilliantly, but the referee clearly had his arm up indicating an indirect free-kick, having penalised Themba Zwane  - harshly I felt - for “foot-up” and dangerous play.

Though goalkeeper Brilliant Khuzwayo came under fire for not getting to Aboubakar’s effort, the Kaizer Chiefs stopper should have simply let the ball go in.

Khuzwayo, diving to his left, came under fire for letting the ball “go right through him” as SABC analyst Deshi Bhaktawer (a former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper just back from coaching Atletico Kolkota to India PSL glory) put it. But was he aware the free-kick was supposed to be indirect and moved late?

Despite that injustice, and a difficult first half in general (the SABC struggled too, losing the satellite signal for much of the first 45 minutes when an Outside Broadcast truck lost a generator), Mashaba’s half-time team-talk seemed to work wonders in Libreville.

And as they did in last Sunday’s farewell friendly against Zambia, the substitutions worked the magic. Though the SABC coverage lacked information on replacements, the anonymous Bernard Parker was taken off during the interval for Wits’ impact sub Sibusiso Vilakazi.

As last season’s PSL player of the year showed Sudan in Shakes’ opening Group A qualifier game: Vilakazi knows how to change a game.

SuperSport United’s Thuso Phala came on for Andile Jali, who took a knock in the first half, after 68 minutes and Kaizer Chiefs’ Mandla Masanga came on for Zwane after the equaliser, with ten minutes to go.

And suddenly the Les Lions Indomptables looked remarkably domitable. Captain Dean Furman appeared to have more room – he may play for Doncaster Rovers in England’s third division, but he is as fit as a fiddle – while Phala found width and gaps began to open up.

Vilakazi’s equaliser in the 76^th minute was a thing of beauty, as he controlled on the edge of the box, beat one... then two... defender and fired home. BOOM! The unbeaten run was secure once more.

Phala nearly created a second, his left foot opening up the flank and unsettling the now-limp Lions. And by the time the final whistle blew, the crowd in Libreville – limited to 5000 by the Gabon FA – knew South Africa were the only likely winners.

Afterwards, Mashaba said: “We’d like to thank Cameroon for this training match, but as I’ve said, there are no friendlies between nations. They were determined. My boys did well. Now we just have to sort out first 10-20 minutes of the game.

The Unshaken: Bafana boss Ephraim Mashaba

"When we are in possession we look smart, running off the ball. We need to work on finishing. It’s going to be critical. After we got back to 1-1 we had two or three good chances to finish up. We need to work on that. We’ve got to compete."

Mashaba, who has a final pre-Afcon friendly to come on Wednesday against Mali, confirmed the suspension of Reneilwe Letsholonyane and Tower Mathoho for the opening game in Mongomo against Africa’s top-ranked side Algeria and said: “Tonight we had to try other players, new combinations."

With Belgian-based goalkeeper Darren Keet flying out after the game to visit his pregnant wife (he'll be back on Monday), Mashaba survived yet another test of his credentials with aplomb. But as we’ve said before, the man is a born survivor.

Captain Furman said: “We got off to the worst possible start but in the end we were disappointed not to win it. We showed terrific character.

“It was a good strike for their goal but we kept believing. We've got to believe. We’ve grown again today against a good team, we played some lovely stuff.”

Though Gloria Brown’s unorthodox commentary and the SABC’s signal failure might have ruined the game for some, Mashaba knows Cameroon – ranked 9^th in Africa – were hanging in at the finish against South Africa, a modest 12^th on the continent.

There are tough times ahead. Algeria are Africa’s No 1, Ghana are ranked 5^th and Senegal 8^th. But on this showing, with Rivaldo Coetzee and Tyson Hlatshwayo forming a reasonable centre-back pairing at the first attempt, Bafana won’t be easy to beat when the tournament kicks off next weekend.

Shakes set a target of 5 points from Group C and laughs off the “Group of Death” tag. He says he’s “not there to make up the numbers” and insists continental conquest is a possibility. Suddenly that healthy optimism is looking eminently reasonable.