Guest writer Thilixxo on how Kaizer Chiefs will defend their title... and why Jomo Sono must step down

BE MY GUEST: Thilixxo

ABOUT MY FIRST GUEST WRITER:

Thilivhali Daniel Nekokwane Nemulalate calls himself "@thilixxo" on Twitter. I've been putting my stories here since before the 2010 World Cup; nearly 1m people have clicked on this site. So I thought somebody else should have a go - somebody with quite a story to tell,  and who loves football as I do.


Thilivhali was born in 1974 September 26, in Venda, Limpopo. He studied and completed his matric there and moved permanently to Johannesburg in 1992. He says: "I did my tertiary studies in Technikon SA. I am a football fanatic and die-hard Kaizer Chiefs fan since 1981. I engage in lot of football discussion but never wrote a published article.

"My facebook page is Reverend T D Nemulalate and I discuss no soccer in it. I am a Pastor. I am in a relationship and have 3 children. I never played professional soccer, though I was very much involved in rural soccer development when still residing in Venda."



I know there are lot of hot topics football fans, especially SA Football followers, would love to engage in. Showboating, the "Pitso Mosimane and Shakes Mashaba spy saga", whether Dean Furman failed overseas, Tefu Mashamaite’s big salary cut, season tickets, empty stadiums and many more are dominating the headlines at the moment.

Such issues have clouded our most interesting start of the season discussion: WHO WILL WIN THE LEAGUE?

There are other competitions like TKO, Nedbank Cup and MTN8. But we all know the big one is the PSL. A coach will be forgiven for not winning any of the cup competition, but will be fired and criticized for not doing well in the PSL.


If you ask Jomo Sono right now what his goal for this season is, he will tell you it is to remain in PSL. Now the big questions are WHO WILL WIN PSL and WHO WILL BE RELEGATED?

My predictions have nothing to do with which team I am a supporter of. And it is my opinion and everyone has his or her opinion. You are welcome to discuss my predictions. \

TITLE CONTENDERS 

Bidvest Wits: If there is one thing that Gavin Hunt has mastered over the years, it is how to win the league. Gavin has a system and he sticks to it. He never plays to please the eyes of the supporters. His teams are direct and stick to basics.

I have also noticed that he is able to get players to play for him, making him a very good motivator. And at Wits he has now built a very balanced team strong at the back and midfield.

The strike force is a suspect but I have realized that he will be asking his midfielders to quickly get into the box to feed off the big Namibian, Henrico Botes. This is one team that will win lot of games by 1-0. And Botes will get a goal here and there.


Supersport United FC: favorites to win the league according to most soccer pundits, and the recent capture of Bafana Bafana's Dean Furman has just fuelled those predictions.

SSU will also be helped by the fact that they have managed to keep the majority of the players from last season.

Beside Furman, they have brought back Bongani Khumalo from England; they also have signed players from Oceania who have already impressed. Jeremy Brockie from New Zealand will certainly continue banging in the goals. It will take time for the defense to gel but with keeper.

Ronwen Williams they have someone who will bail them now and then when they are gelling. Most importantly, in Gordon Igesund they have a coach who has won most league title in SA with different teams. He certainly knows how to win the league. They will have to deal with inconsistencies of last season under GI though if they want to be counted up there end of season.


Mamelodi Sundowns: surprised us all by not going into the market the way we are used to this season. It is clear they have realized that chopping and changing has been their biggest downfall.

I doubt Sundowns have kept one coach for 3 seasons in the last 10 seasons, I stand to be corrected. That shows the change in attitude in the management. Chiefs secret last 3 seasons was to stick to the same team and I think Sundowns has adopted the same attitude.

The only challenge they face is to find the replacement of Alje Schut as he offered more than just defending. Sundowns has the strongest strike force in Mashed, Malajila, Laffor and their midfield of Modise and Kekana gets goals now and then.

Their only downfall this season will be the news starting to come out about the boardroom and training ground disunity.


Kaizer Chiefs: The major change at Naturena is surely the appointment of Steve Komphela to replace Stuart Baxter as head coach. The departure of Tefu Mashamaite, who formed a formidable partnership with Eric Mathoho, will also be felt.

I believe the technical team has already noticed and are dealing with it. I believe Chiefs still need to sign another midfielder who can score goals, May Mahlangu in particular, then they can/will win the league. From what I have seen in last two games, the playing style hasn’t changed much. Playing personnel has enough experience to win the league, they have been there before. Once Chiefs start to put away those many chances they create, they will be unstoppable.


HOW THEY WILL FINISH:
Winner Kaizer Chiefs 
Runners up Bidvest Wits 
Third Supersport United 
Fourth Mamelodi Sundowns 



TOP EIGHT
I predict Orlando Pirates, MP Black Aces, Ajax Cape Town and Platinum Stars will complete the top 8 in no particular order. Pirates are still involved in the CAF Confederation Cup and it is negatively impacting on their domestic form.

They did not rest over the PSL break and fatigue can be seen in players. They have been hit by injuries lately, which could be the results of fatigue. They are also very inconsistent under Eric Tinkler. I tweeted sometime that Tinkler is in fact a better coach than I rated him, but he is not one to win big things yet. I think they will blow hot and cold the whole season.

When I think of Ajax Cape Town, I think of Arthur Zwane’s words, “Kids don’t win the league”. Again, for some reason, teams under Rodger De Sa do very well in first half the season and very bad after Christmas break. Only God Knows why.

One can only pray that Mpumalanga Black Aces coach Muhsin Ertugral will not decide to leave for family reasons or a better coaching job somewhere. Ertugral talks a lot about attacking like Africans and defending like Europeans.

From that you can already see lot of draws for Mpumalanga Black Aces. One thing you can almost guarantee for Aces is a final in one competition or even Gold in one. Ertugral does very well in that department.

Cavin Johnson has returned to Platinum Stars and will have to deal with the loss of players like Ngele and Mashabela who formed a backbone of the Dikwena he coached to 2nd position 3 seasons ago. Surely they will be very interesting to watch as Zongo and Makudubela are stylish players. But to do as well as a season before, they will have to sign proven goal poacher.


MID TABLE 
I predict Bloemfontein Celtic, Golden Arrows, Free State Stars and Polokwane City will complete that department in that particular order.

Yes, Celtic has started the season very well considering their MTN8 exploits. But as usual they will fade when the going gets tough. I see a lot of draws for them as Larsen is defensive coach.

Golden Arrows will play for survival and Serame Letsoaka still have to prove himself as a head coach. Having worked with GI, I think he has learned enough to do well and Ramagalela will prove to be a good buy.

Free State Stars are also coached by defensive minded coach and with a striker like Sekola still there, I see a lot of goal draws.

I still don’t understand why Polokwane City kept Kostadin Papic as coach. The man doesn’t know the word defence. Like P Stars, they will be very watchable. Expect lot of goals whenever they are in action. Draws and losses are orders of the day whenever PLK City is in town.

RELEGATION CANDIDATES 
Maritzburg United: They had a fairytale season last season, having qualified for top 8 for the first time in their history under Steve Komphela, who has since been snatched by Kaizer Chiefs. Mandla Ncikazi, new coach, will find the going very tough. The fact that they managed to keep most players and have good ones like Kurt Leintjies will help them survive the chop, even though they will be battling down there throughout.

Pretoria University: Having lost their first league game against returnees Arrows, it already looks like it will be a difficult journey for Amatuks. They have lost one of last season star players in Massa. There were rumors of selling their PSL status as the team is reported to be struggling with big salaries. The university management is worried that some players, who are students, earn bigger than university management and professors. It seems it is getting very expensive to run the team without a big sponsor.

Chippa United: don’t be fooled by their super performance against Kaizer Chiefs. Who don’t play well against Chiefs? And you don’t have to look further than their performance against Orlando Pirates. Where was that fighting spirit? Two loses and Chippa Mpengesi gets his gun polished, and that will be story of the season. Roger said they will not be push overs this time, well we have heard that before.

Jomo Cosmos: “We are back for good this time, we are” says Jomo Sono. Isn’t that what Jomo says every time Cosmos gets promoted? God Knows how many times. The squad has talent but it is clear Jomo has lost touch and his coaching tactics needs renewal. All local coaches in PSL understand modern football but not Jomo.

He is still somewhere in 1999. Cosmos once won only two games in whole season. I will not be surprised if it happens again this time around. Solution would be to get a coach and stepping aside by Bra J.

The great Euro2016 qualifying failure: SuperSport explain their embarrassing lack of live coverage

What we didn't see: O'Shea's late leveller for Ireland in Germany

Without only a brief comment, here's SuperSport communications manager Clinton van der Berg's response to my twitters last night, lamenting their lack of Euro2016 qualifying coverage on ANY of their multiple channels.

While Cristiano Ronaldo was scoring a last-minute winner to engineer Portugal's first win of the tournament and the Republic of Ireland's John O'Shea scored a late, late 94th minute equaliser against ailing World Champions Germany, SuperSport viewers were left in the dark once more without any explanation for the absence of coverage.


With no other high-profile live football on, their continued black-out of European football seemed inexplicable, after years of top rate coverage. Repeated pleas for a coherent explanation were met with a stony silence from @SuperSportTV and the usually responsive twitter account of my erstwhile pal Docky Dockrat.

Today I received a numbers of calls from Clinton, sports editor when I wrote British football for the Johannesburg Sunday Times a decade ago. The conversation was amicable. Clint said he had been met by "a queue of people" when he arrived at work talking about my twitters. I understood my frustrations but explained the Euro qualifiers had been offered "as a bundle" at considerable cost. Conditions had changed without warning, he said. After much deliberating, the company decided not to carry live coverage of the qualification rounds, though they will be covering the finals tournament itself.

I told him without knowing the cost of coverage, I was unable to judge whether SuperSport had taken a fair decision on the Euro qualifiers. I welcome the fuller coverage of AFCON qualifiers, but questioned the lack of live international football for which SuperSport has become famous continent-wide. SuperSport carries a lot of live cricket and rugby at varying levels, but for top level football to miss out seems unacceptable given substantial subscription charges.

I pointed out European visitors are always impressed by Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga coverage in South Africa - particularly the number of live games on a Saturday afternoon - but that failing to show live coverage of teams like England, Scotland, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Germany and Holland left a sour taste even here, at the tip of Africa.

Clint said he had an explanation and sent me this response via email... judge for yourself.

Hi Neal,

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to put across SuperSport’s side of things.

As I explained, SuperSport endeavours at all times to acquire top-quality content. We negotiated in good faith but had to walk away when the numbers got out of hand.

Our general statement follows.

Cheers,

Clinton

Clinton van der Berg  Communications Manager   E: Clinton.vanderBerg@supersport.com | W: www.supersport.com A: World of Champions Building | 137 Bram Fischer Drive | Randburg | 2194 | South Africa

SuperSport and football rights

SuperSport proudly broadcasts more football showcasing the world’s most popular leagues than any other broadcaster.

In the 2013/14 season this included:

380 Barclays Premiership games (250 live);

133 PSL, plus MTN8 (nine), Telkom Cup (12) and Nedbank Cup (17) matches;

115 Champions League matches;

85 Europa League matches;

175 La Liga matches; 

150 Serie A matches;

130 Bundesliga matches.

This volume and quality account for SuperSport’s status as the game’s preeminent broadcaster.

SuperSport also broadcasts the FIFA World Cup and the Euro competitions, the next edition which will be held in 2016.

SuperSport has also acquired the rights to friendly matches played by World Cup champions Germany, Holland and Brazil for the next three years and holds rights to the friendlies of various other major football nations.

SuperSport has recently decided to renew focus on African football. For the first time, SuperSport will be broadcasting a bloc of 50 Afcon qualifiers, plus the African Women’s Championship from Namibia featuring South Africa, Zambia, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Algeria, Ghana and Namibia. It begins this weekend.

This is in addition to SuperSport’s broadcast of all CAF football properties, including Afcon (the next edition which will be held in Morocco early in 2015) and the African Nations Championship (CHAN).

What’s more, the ongoing MultiChoice Diski Challenge will enjoy 41 live match broadcasts. The National First Division had eight live broadcasts in the recent season while there were 18 live broadcasts of SA Varsity Football

In all, 843 hours of football action was broadcast on SuperSport in 2013/14. Back to back, it would have taken 35 days to watch it all non-stop.

A typical recent week (August 13-20, 2014) saw 50 live games broadcast on SuperSport in 157 hours.

The current season will see SuperSport broadcast 1661 matches for a total duration of 2491 hours. This incorporates 27 different leagues and championships – more than any other broadcaster.

Live talk programming amounts to three hours per day on week days with an additional fan show on Saturday and Sunday nights for one hour following live matches.

SuperSport has not concluded acceptable commercial terms in a competitive market in respect of broadcast rights to UEFA qualifiers. We are, however, the only pay broadcaster which will broadcast the actual Euro 2016 tournament.

The job is done: Pitso Mosimane and Mamelodi Sundowns romp to the PSL title with a game to spare

Celebration time: Sundowns fans invade Loftus last night

IT'S done. And with plenty of Pitso panache.

For 45 minutes last night, Mamelodi Sundowns' championship charge looked like being a drab funeral march.

In the end, with coach Pitso Mosimane telling his men "nobody can stop us scoring goals" it had turned in to a rousing 3-0 triumph and another wwwwwwwwwwin in a triumphant streak nobody else could match.

After a post-match pitch invasion, coach Mosimane emerged to say: "It's amazing. I came here to help Masandawana avoid relegation... and now we are champions."

After a flat first half, we didn't have to wait long for the first Surprise - yes, that man Moriri getting the opener against hapless SuperSport United to begin the landslide in front of a huge crowd, enjoying free entrance to Loftus Versfeld for wearing KaboYellow.

Then came the fairy-tale moment. Teko Modise, the man who just missed out on the trebles at SuperSport United and Orlando Pirates, produced a visionary 35-yard effort to catch Ronwen Williams off his line. A cracking way to break the title jinx and install himself as firm favourite for the Player of the Season accolades after a third successive Man of the Match performance.

Afterwards Modise said: "We said at half-time we had to play another way. I'm glad to repay Pitso's faith in me. I've always been involved with him. He's very emotional. He's never won the PSL either. I lost for words... I'm just so happy."

Pitso Mosimane, now the first black South African coach to win the PSL, did a Jose Mourinho style run up the touchline in response to Teko's magic strike. The Tshwane fans finally had something to shout about. And all was well in a PSL world which had seen just one first-half goal in SEVEN GAMES.

At 2-0, it was all over. But Cuthbert Malajila capped it all with a third and despite Kaizer Chiefs beating AmaTuks 1-0 - a Killer Mphela penalty decided it - the seven-year wait for a Masandawana title was DONE.

Mosimane added: "Patrice Motsepe called me when we had drawn two games and we were 11 points behind Chiefs. He said I must relax. But I always said we would win this. Now I must call Roger de Sa and ask him how he got to the African Champions League final."

The AmaKhosi cannot begrudge Sundowns this title. Stuart Baxter's men had it all wrapped up amid a nine-match unbeaten run barely two months ago but they tailed off badly, just as they did last season when they hung on to win it from Platinum Stars.

Elsewhere, amid that second-half goal-rush, Golden Arrows finally fell through the relegation trap-door when they lost 1-0 at KwaZulu Natal rivals AmaZulu and Gavin Hunt's Bidvest Wits could only manage a goalless draw.

With their kick-off delayed 15 minutes to allow their yellow-clad fans free entrance, Sundowns finished their title triumph in glorious isolation.

Mind the gap: How it looked

Not since Screamer Tshabalala did it with Sundowns in the 1980s has the South African championship been won by an African coach. Pitso has talked of sweating blood, eating grass and shedding tears this season, and I for one loved every minute.

He has his critics after a difficult spell in charge of the national team but in truth his results with Bafana Bafana easily match incumbent Gordon Igesund's efforts.

For Mosimane and his billionaire owner Patrice Motsepe, the job is done. Dutch legend Johan Neeskens and a host of foreigners just couldn't get Chloorkop together. Pitso did. In style, with a game to play he has already broken the points record for a 30-game season.

A crowd invasion delayed the post-match interviews but who cane blame the long-suffering Tshwane fans after three years of Soweto dominance?

With 64 points already on the board, Pitso grinned: "Our last game against Maritzburg United on Saturday will be just another league game. Training like normal. We want to add to that record!"

BOLLOCKZ! my innovative football show on www.ballz.co.za airs every Thursday from 9am-11am. See Ballz' channel for our growing library of fascinating football interviews with the big names. 

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news and read my “Neal 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.

FULL LIST OF PSL WINNERS AND POINTS TALLIES on 30-game format

2002-2003: Orlando Pirates 61, Supersport United 55

2003-2004: Kaizer Chiefs 63 (highest), Ajax Cape Town 57

2004-2005: Kaizer Chiefs 62, Orlando Pirates 60

2005-2006: Mamelodi Sundowns 57, Orlando Pirates 54

2006-2007: Mamelodi Sundowns 61, Silver Stars 51

2007-2008: SuperSport United 54 (lowest), Ajax Cape Town 52

2008-2009: SuperSport United 55, Orlando Pirates 55

2009-2010: SuperSport United 57, Mamelodi Sundowns 56

2010-2011: Orlando Pirates 60, Ajax Cape Town 60

2011-2012: Orlando Pirates 58, Moroka Swallows 56

2012-2013: Kaizer Chiefs 57, Platinum Stars 56

EXCLUSIVE: how Majoro: a prisoner of his own footballing talent, was freed by the SAFPU

BOLLOCKZ! Lehlohonolo Majoro

Left out of the starting line-up, week after week. Forced to train alone at the Nike Football Centre in Klipspruit, Pimville. Not paid by his club, who refused to release him from a contract which ends in June. A prisoner of his own footballing talent.

That, in a nutshell, was the grim story of Kaizer Chiefs striker Lehlohonolo Majoro – and all because the 27-year-old Bafana Bafana striker had taken his career into his own hands, opting to join Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates rather than SuperSport United in a swap deal as his agent had agreed (or Mpumalanga Black Aces on a loan deal).

But then along came freedom and justice… in the form of South African Football Players’ Union president Hareaipha “Simba” Marumo and his all-conquering Disputes Resolution Chamber.

Marumo, speaking on my football show BOLLOCKZ! on www.ballz.co.za (see video below), made it very clear exactly why Lehlohonolo Majoro IS permitted to restart his career WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT.

Despite reports from some quarters – including the respected Mark Gleeson in the Sowetan newspaper – claiming Majoro would not be able to play for the rest of the season as he departed the AmaKhosi “by mutual agreement”, Marumo insisted: “Lehlohonolo is now able to join the club of his choice. He had a couple of problems with Kaizer Chiefs unfortunately. They forced him to train on his own and suspended him without pay.

Iron Hand Shake: Taken at the same time as this interview
took place, Majoro said: “I am pleased to have
 joined Pirates, a club with a rich and proud
 history. I want to tell the supporters
 I will don this jersey with pride and I look
 forward to making them happy in everything I do.”

“That was unacceptable, there are rules in these situations, it’s a definite breach of contract right there. The remedy was that he should go to the club of his choice and be paid what he is owed. With the understanding that he would become a free agent, we were able to come to a settlement.

“We represented Majoro as a member of SAFPU. Rule 28.4 is quite clear, if the Dispute Resolution Committee Rule 28.4 is quite clear, if the DRC makes a ruling on breach of contract, that player is a free agent.

“The Sowetan article talked about a player who came to a mutual agreement, outside the DRC. That player would not have the right to play for another club until the next transfer window or until his contract finished.

“In this particular case, a player can only be suspended with full salary if there has been a disciplinary hearing. Majoro’s case was a clear breach of contract.”

When I put it to him that South Africa football agents and club treat fans and some players like idiots Marumo added: “Thanks for raising that. There was NO AMICABLE AGREEMENT with Kaizer Chiefs. SAFPU believes clubs cannot treat players like this.

“There’s a disappointing culture in this country where players are treated as second class citizens. If a player has to train alone, his security is compromised. Anybody could have gone to Klipspruit and hurt Majoro.

“We want to encourage and call on the football clubs in the country to move away from this kind of treatment of the players. These are people who make football what it is. They must be treated with the respect they deserve, we have the responsibility to build this country, our kids look up to footballers.

“How we run the game is CRUCIAL to the future generation, they shape their thinking with heroes. We cannot just talk about being profitable, the legacy of the game rests in the dignity of the players. Nobody sees the wallet, they see the footballers.

“Players have to treat themselves as brands who can make a difference in South Africa. Then we can build a football culture we can be proud of.”

When I asked Marumo if the agent has the right to dictate where a player goes, Simba – himself a former African Champions League finalist with Mamelodi Sundowns – said: “Absolutely right Neal, the player employs the agent. He pays the agent. Some agents have issues with me. I’ve parted ways with agents in the past.

“The agent is my employee, on my pay roll. That’s the only way it can work properly. For young professionals out there: The agent works for the player, not the other way around.

“If a player feels his career will flourish at a club different to the one his player wants to go to, it’s his decision. It’s important the player makes the decision which will benefit his very short career.”

Marumo, a popular analyst who will be working for SuperSport at Ajax Cape Town this weekend, concluded: “Thanks for the opportunity to raise these issues. We are there for ANY player who comes for us.”

Today Dr Khoza offered this advice to his new striker on the Orlando Pirates official website: “I hope everything goes well for you here at the club. Do not try to go out to prove a point or be angry with people. Anger takes us nowhere.

“The late President Nelson Mandela taught us a great lesson. He never got angry despite everything he had to go through in his life. We cannot waste energy by getting angry and cause problems; instead, that same energy should be channelled into making peace.

“Angry people lose a lot in this life,” Dr Khoza continued. “This should be a new beginning for you and hope you make the most of this opportunity you have here at the club.”

Majoro responded: “I just had my first training session with the guys and it feels like home. I am thankful to the Chairman for giving me the opportunity to join Orlando Pirates. His words of encouragement are priceless. I will work hard to repay the faith everyone here has shown in me."

BOLLOCKZ! my innovative football show on www.ballz.co.za airs every Thursday from 9am-11am. See Ballz' channel for our growing library of fascinating football interviews with the big names. 

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal & Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

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

Bafana Bafana assistant coach Thomas Madigage dies in road accident driving to visit his sick mother

Tragic: Thomas Madigage and Gordon Igesund

THOMAS MADIGAGE is dead. The Bafana Bafana assistant coach, loved by all, passed away last night on the notorious 145km stretch of the R37 between Burgersfort and Polokwane on his way to visit his sick mother.

There is no easy way to convey news of that nature. Confirmation of Madigage's passing came at first light and the outpouring of grief on the social networking sites offers the first hint of just how popular the "man in the hat" was in this country.

SuperSport United chairman Khulu Sibiya said this morning: "I'm devastated. As a footballer, let me tell you, I still have great memories of him as a 16-year-old boy. I remember when we beat Kaizer Chiefs, he scored this amazing goal to win the BobSave.

"Thomas was just a pillar of strength. He was just complete. Off the field, what a perfect gentleman. He would never pass somebody without greeting. We have lost a perfect human being.

"Thomas did not see a footballer. He saw a person. When we signed a new youngster, he would take him aside and find out how he lived. He knew every player's family."

Bafana Bafana captain Bongani Khumalo said: "I will forever remember and learn from Thomas. I am devastated by his loss which will leave a huge void in my life. My sincere condolences to his family and friends. RIP Tommy. I will miss you, but will never forget you and will do whatever possible to make sure your legacy endures on and off the field of play."

Wrecked: Thomas Madigage's car after the accident

Madigage hit an animal on the notorious stretch of road and died on the scene. My friend Lucy Magkopa, who lives in the area and travels there regularly, confirms that donkeys and cows often stray on to the road, unfenced for long stretches.

Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi of the Limpopo police said: "We can confirm that Thomas was alone in the vehicle. He passed away last night between 10pm and midnight. There was one car towing a caravan in front of him. That car managed to swerve and avoid the donkey but he could not. His car hit it."

Madigage was 41. Famous for his "lucky" ZCC hat and touchline celebrations, he was taken before his time, having recently returned from South Africa's Tuesday night 2-1 win over Kenya. Just as it appeared he was helping to create a side capable of doing the nation proud at AFCON 2013 next year, he has been taken from us.

In July, the SuperSport United assistant coach, who won three PSL titles with Gavin Hunt, was head-hunted by new Bafana boss Gordon Igesund.

Igesund said at the time: "I knew immediately who I wanted, it had to be Thomas. I called Gavin and he was reluctant to lose him. But I said it was for the country and he agreed. Thomas and I had a long chat about the hat! He's such a great guy."

While Igesund was too upset to talk this morning, Hunt said: “I’m absolutely gutted, absolutely devastated. We were more than work colleagues, we were great mates off the field.

“We spent hours and hours chatting about life; not even football, more about life. When he got the Bafana job he actually didn’t want to go. I said to him that he has got to do it. I do think that I pushed him over the edge to go.

“I told him it was a lifetime opportunity and I was so glad. If you look at what’s happened, that he had the opportunity to have a taste of it.

“He can rest well now. It’s just such a pity that he won’t be there for the Africa Cup of Nations in his own country next year.”.”

Madigage himself, typically self-effacing, said of his role with Bafan: “There were people with better qualifications who deserved this job more than me, but with the grace of God I have the opportunity to serve the nation and I am very thankful. We need the support of the country as this team belongs to every South African.

“I have had successful people around me - coaches like Shane McGregor Bruce Grobbelaar, Pitso Mosimane and Gavin Hunt – those are the people who have groomed me and allowed me to share my football knowledge with them.

“I also have to give thanks to the PSL for allowing me to apply my skills. SuperSport United deserve a lot of credit for giving a former player a chance to be on the technical team immediately after hanging up my boots because not a lot of clubs would have done that.

“I have known Gordon for 20 years and we have been on the opposite side of football teams in that period. We will be working together for the first time. I know he has great man-management skills and he has the ability to get the best out of his players. I know the players as I have been in the background and I know the mentality they have.

“We want to play winning football and we want to see results. We have a goal to at least reach the semifinals of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. We should just look towards the future.”

Football journalist Mathews Mpete told eNCAnews this morning: "I know he was on his way to visit his sick mother. To us he was one of those guys who didn't want to be at the forefront.

"On Sunday, when Gordon had a stomach bug, Thomas had to talk. He was so happy to have beaten Kenya. He was a religious person who would pray for you. He knew football, he would spend all night talking football until 3am, entertaining us, enjoying music.

"It's a sad day for South African football. People like Thomas Madigage cannot be replaced." 

Why the missus didn't get a look-in this weekend... and there's more to come

Court case to come: John Terry and Anton Ferdinand

SOME weekend for sports fans. Maria Sharapova wore a nice strappy frock and won the French Open. The television ratings always rise for the Russian beauty, along with many male members.
The much-hyped mens final between Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal will resume tomorrow afternoon due to rain with Djokovic attempting a comeback after losing the first two sets 6-4 6-3 2-6 1-2.
On the rugby pitch, England were clearly robbed 22-17 by Heyneke Meyer's uncertain Springbulls in Durban, where Kiwi referee Steve Walsh is due to be replaced by South African public enemy number one, Bryce Lawrence for the rest of the series (he said hopefully), New Zealand trounced Ireland, Australia were too much for Wales. Same old, same old.
The Canadian Grand Prix saw a SEVENTH different winner in as many F1 races this season as Lewis Hamilton used his fresh tyres to slip past double champions Sebastien Vettel and Fernando Alonso.
In Las Vegas early on Sunday morning, Manny Pacquiao lost his WBO welterweight title to Timothy Bradley after a highly controversial split points decision. There will doubtless be a rematch, otherwise somebody is going to have to take on Floyd Mayweather when he comes out of jail.
But all this is mere window-dressing on a weekend of footballing humdingers.
In Gaborone, South Africa's new caretaker coach Steve Komphela came in, changed nothing and, unsurprisingly, produced Bafana Bafana's 1,356th successive draw. Apparently this has to do with muti and unpaid songomas rather than Komphela's bizarre decision to stick with the men who curtailed Pitso Mosimane's international coaching career when they drew with Ethiopia. Phokeng hell. And that was just the headline.
With Gordon Igesund leading the hastily assemble SAFA shortlist ahead of Gavin Hunt, Neil Tovey, people's choice Shakes Mashaba and the now-unpopular Komphela, perhaps I should offer this: for many nations, two draws in two World Cup qualifiers is considered something of a coup. In Africa, where coups are common, we should consider a group containing the Central African Republic, Botswana and Ethiopia - who beat CAR 2-0 yesterday to top the group - a free air-ticket to Brazil in 2014.
One unkind Botswanan suggested South Africa, home of AFCON 2013 after Libya shot their president and pulled out, are adopting the "if you can't beat them, host them" philosophy.
This is unfair. South Africa, providing they don't panic and appoint a Serbian to lead the nation, will top their group. After that, with play-offs to decide the meagre five-strong African contingent in Brazil, it's a lottery.
And so to the European Racism Championship. Poland and the Ukraine have done their best to present their fascist face to the world, and when Holland's black players were subjected to racist chanting in their first public appearance, we suddenly realised Sol Campbell's Panorama investigation was more than a hatchet job.
Still, the shows goes on. After two nights of action, no games have been called off, no players have stormed off. Missiles were thrown during Portugal v Germany, but hey, they were hardly intercontinental or ballistic. This is, after all, the battle for Europe, not the world.
At SuperSport headquarters, or more precisely in the roofed garden behind Studio 6 in their Oak Avenue complex, I spent yesterday with the great and the good in the first of our weekly EuroZone series (every Saturday at 4pm, don't miss it, next week it won't start just as Botswana equalise).
The grand old man of football Terry Paine was there. He's been commentating on South African football since Sepp Blatter was a lad. Get him talking about Southampton's promotion to the English Premier League this season, and he's a laugh a minute. In great shape for a man of 73, he brightens visibly when talking about his 50-year-old column in the Southampton Evening Echo. Apparently Southampton - where he still holds the record for club appearances - invited him over to hand out the trophies after their epic rags-to-riches promotion season.
Then there's John Barnes, also part of the SuperSport crew for this Euro2012. He turned up two days late after being told halfway to Johannesburg that he needed a new passport. Barnesie is a great character. He may have missed the 12-minute Opening Ceremony in Warsaw flying backwards and forwards but he told me this joke: "Breaking news: There were incidents of monkey chanting during England's training sesson at Euro2012 yesterday, John Terry has been warned if he doesn't stop, he'll be on the next flight home."
On the more serious allegation that Rio Ferdinand has been omitted from Roy Hodgson's squad because of John Terry's impending court case over racially abusing Rio's brother Anton at QPR, Barnes says: "You have to respect Roy Hodgson's decision. When I said that in England, everyone accused me of supporting Terry. But I wasn't. I just said respect the coach. Personally, I think Rio is England's best centre-back. He should be there."
Terry Paine insists: "The FA have got involved here. They've told Hodgson not to pick Rio. Simple as that."
Also present? Bradley Carnell, who spent 12 years as a professional in Germany, lovely bloke, tells a good tale. The mad Italian Stefano Vigoriti, the knowedgeable Spaniard Ricard Fernandez and of course the beautiful presenters, Carol Tshabalala and Thomas Mlambo.
We get an hour on SuperSport3 every Saturday at 4pm. Might be worth watching.
The football certainly is. Plenty of incident in the opener, where hosts Poland were held 1-1 by Greece with two red cards and a sub-standard Spanish referee. Then the Russians, tipped by both yours truly and Ruud Krol (I had a quick chat with the former Orlando Pirates treble-winner before make-up) crushed the Czech Republic 4-1.
Krol was ushered out in a state of some distress after Holland's shock 1-0 defeat against unfancied Denmark tonight but I can console him with the news that Robin van Persie's boots have been found in Fernando Torres's blue-and-red kit bag.
After that, Cristiano Ronaldo and 10 other blokes in red tried to Germanate Joachim Loew's tournament favourites. Sadly, Mario Gomes scored after 70 minutes and CR7 had no reply. While all that was going on, Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick in Argentina's 4-3 win over rivals Brazil (fielding their Olympic squad in New Jersey, USA) to help us remember Euro2012 is NOT the World Cup. Many described it as the game of the year.
Today World and European Champions Spain were expected to crush an Italian side floored by match-fixing investigations. It ended 1-1. Mario Balotelli didn't wear his Ghanaian surname Barwuah on his shirt, Fernando Torres missed a couple. Habitual scorer Di Natale came on for Balotelli and scored with his first touch for Italy. Cesc Fabregas, the former Gunner now with Barcelona, replied within three minutes for a Spanish side which started without a striker. Spain held 1-1? They lost to Switzerland 2-1 in their WC2010 opener and went on to win it.
Croatia then crushed the Republic of Ireland, much to the chagrin of my late Irish bastard great-grand-dad Collins with Luka Modric writing his CV for that move to Manchester United.
Monday sees England take a pounding from Laurent Blanc's rebuilt France, unbeaten in 21 games, while Sweden versus the Ukraine is anybody's guess. I've got eNews at 8.15am in the morning, my New Age column to write, then my debut on Ballz Radio at 3pm.
The action just doesn't stop. But consider this. South Africa's cricketers go to England next week. There are two more rugby Tests between the nations to come. And then the Olympics in London. Stay tuned. And warn the wife.

Darren Scott is back. And this time he's got Ballz.

Breaking his silence: Darren and I at Centurion golf club

Five months after "the lowest point of my life" Darren Scott is back. And this time, he's got Ballz.

That's not bad spelling, it's the typically Darrenesque name given to Scott's new venture, a "visual radio" platform featuring four hours of sport and entertainment every day on your computer - and while you're on the move, for those lucky enough to have a smart mobile device.

When Scott and his new crew - drawn largely from Jacaranda's Just Plain Breakfast team - launched their Facebook page last week, they picked up over 5,000 followers in less than a week. Darren, who "nearly lost everything" after issuing a single racial insult five months ago, is battling back.

But it hasn't been easy. Scott, 48, went "pretty close to the edge" after using the K-word in an argument with a colleague at a drink-fuelled team-building session in Mabula on September 6 last year.

Scott and his Jacaranda colleague Africa Tshaoedi got together after the incident and made their peace. Africa had owed Darren money and had approached him several times at the bar before Scott lost his temper and let slip the worst word in the South African lexicon.

But the media wouldn't let him off the hook. His own employers, Jacaranda, appeared keen to make a monster out of the story.

Scott recalls: "The great disappointment to me was that we'd moved on. I'd already met with Africa and spoken to him. We'd shaken hands two days before the story was published. I apologised.

"When the story broke, I came clean, I admitted to my mistake. I went on John Robbie's 702 show and told the truth. I was destroyed by what I'd said. I even spoke to Prof Jonathan Jansen about my rehabilitation.

"Prof Jansen (famed as a conciliator after an infamous racist incident involving workers and students at the University of the Orange Free State) suggested a meeting with Africa. To put this behind us once and for all.

"I called Africa regarding this recently and the vibe between us is really cool. In fact I've spoken to Africa more since my departure than I have some of my former so-called "colleagues" (JustPlainBreakfast Team apart of course - they are great mates and we stay in contact regularly). Let's just say a high profile meeting with someone (unnamed but well known) and the two of us has been put forward and will happen soon.

But some critics will never be satisfied. Jacaranda issued a statement saying Scott had left his hugely popular breakfast show because of the incident; the face of rugby was forced to leave SuperSport a couple of days later, barely a week before the Rugby World Cup kicked off in New Zealand.

Darren admits: "The Supersport thing was the biggest, it affected me when they actually called. Jacaranda said I left because of the incident, but I was already sick and tired of working for unremarkable management, that's the bottom line, a plethora of things had happened.

"The departure of the respectful and talented Alan Khan to KZN left a massive void and the writing was on the wall even then, if not before that. I can't go in to all the issues with Jacaranda. I resigned, I wasn't pushed. Let's leave it at that.

"With Supersport it was a very professional, and very well handled process by comparison, handled by competent management. Although I am a radio man first and foremost, for the first time in my life I think I have missed the TV thing more than the radio, probably because I respect, and have the respect of, the management there.

"And most of my former studio and production colleagues have stayed in touch regularly and been a great source of support. Would I look forward to another return to Supersport if the opportunity arose; of course I would!"

So the flame is still there, fuelling the famous Scott creativity. But elsewhere the fire has eased. Darren no longer smokes and he has given up drinking too.

Looking a lot fitter than he did before Christmas, Scott says: "I haven't had a drink for eight days, I stopped Jack Daniels and all that stuff a long time ago. I did have a couple of glasses of wine sometimes with dinner, but that's stopped.

"And I've quit smoking! I thought it would be a battle since I quit on December 20th, but it's been easy - apart from the odd time when a glass of wine or two was being consumed. I must admit I did have the odd one on a special occasion, but now: no booze, no smokes! And I'm back in training!

"Funny, when I heard about Whitney Houston's death on Sunday, I realised I'm the same age as Whitney. It was the first thing that struck me, her first record came out when my career started at Capital Radio in 1984."

The new Ballz concept has created a storm on Facebook, and he's also just returned to Twitter. Scott explains: "I stopped doing Twitter the week of the "storm" because certain elements were using me as their poster boy.

"That's what's been hard about this whole thing ... because that's not me, not who I really am. It's been amazing how a few months of introspection, and the objective views of people who know me have put things into perspective for me over the last 6 months.

"The South African people are truly a very understanding and forgiving people - it's why we have managed to evolve from where we were to the vibrant democracy that we are today.

"Obviously you will still get those people that will never let you - or never want you - to ever forget or be forgiven.

"There's a guy in Cape Town, a bloke from a PR agency who contacted one of the Ballz shareholders recently, very concerned. He said "all the racists are now following Darren on Facebook". This was some bloke with an Afrikaans surname, like du Toit, I think it was.

"I asked how do they know these people are racists? Because there's quite a few Afrikaans names following Ballz now on Facebook? And not one comment or posting has had to be deleted, or fan banned for any racist comment or posting, so it baffled me that someone I had never met before was profiling people like this - simply because there were people with Afrikaans names on our Facebook page, they were automatically racist? I thereby assumed that he was profiling himself as a racist as well, because of his surname? Amusing, if it wasn't so sad."

So how low did Scott get when the story broke? "It was f***ing bad, hey. Very low. I had already been "diagnosed" with chronic depression before all of this - because of my workload and time spent with radio, TV and business, I had left little recovery time which left me in a state of depression which I didn't even realise.

"Only looking back, I can see it now, with the strain it was putting on my own emotions and demeanour, as well as my business colleagues and, most importantly, my wife and child. So this was something that could really have tilted me over the edge. I sank into a state of complete despair at one point.

"It was supposed to be the biggest four months month of my life, the World Cup was about to kick-off, I wasSuperSport's main anchor plus I had numerous other projects and bookings lined up - and, as it turns out, I earned not a cent. It put a huge strain on everything, very suddenly.

"I thought about emigrating. Getting out. I lost my businesses. Neal, I didn't earn a cent for six months. I had plans to launch a wellness clinic with a gym and a healthy food brand, all that went.

"I'd invested so much money in to those things, into infrastructure for the business. Suddenly, I wasn't earning a cent. I lost all that money, I never got anything back.

"My dad Harry came over from the States after 28 years and walked straight in to all this. I never got to the stage where I wanted to do something stupid like commit suicide but I got pretty low. I just got to the stage, after 27 years of effort, when I wondered what it was all about.

"The main thing was just that now here was this thing I was going to be seen as - and it wasn't me. I was powerless.

"But it's not right. I'd constantly sit there and think how this could have gone wrong - while I was a pariah in the eyes of so many, I was still helping people out that I had been helping for years in many cases. And they certainly didn't look at me any differently, despite the fact that they knew what had happened. It was that helplessness, I didn't know if I wanted to get back and do anything ever again."

When the storm hit, Darren's wife Sarah Kate and his son Mark, were in Durban. Things had not been great between them for while, as a result of Darren's downward spiral into a drink and lifestyle induced depression. Darren, by his own admission "fell apart" and went to stay in a nearby golf estate. He couldn't face his family and was worried he would lose their beautiful home near Hartebeespoort.

But, amongst the many people and friends "who knew me and gave unbelievable support and strength", it was former Springbok rugby player Ashwin Willemse who put Scott back on track. Darren recalls: "I was really bad. Drinking a lot. Didn't know what to do. I had moved out of my home - away from my wife and kid.

"Then out of the blue, Ashwin, a guy I had really just worked with and never really socialised with or had much more to do with other than that, called and came to see me where I was staying.

"After a good three-hour chat, he said 'Get your arse out of here and make things right with your wife and kid first and then accept what has happened, and get your life back on track. You have too much to offer to just sit around, drinking coffee, drinking wine, and feeling sorry for yourself'.

"I did! It was still tough, and still is at times now, and probably will be for a while, but it was the catalyst to turn my life around.

"It's weird, you ask when that was but I had no concept of time during that period. I realised it was November and I thought: where have the last three months gone? It's bizarre, it was all just a blur."

But then came the return home, and some normality began to kick in. Darren says: "Sarah Kate was fantastic. The one good thing about all this is what has happened for me on the family front. We had gone through a low patch, I pushed her away, the family and everything."

And though young Mark may not know it yet, he played a huge part in his father's recovery. Darren, a doting dad if ever there was one, said: "Mark has been the whole levelling factor. Somebody you can always default to in the bad times. He's just that person. When I'm with Mark, everything else fades away.

"I named him after my late brother Mark. He was five years older than me and died in a car crash in 1989. Mark was always my "go to guy".

"Like young Mark, my brother was somebody I could always turn to. When I ditched medicine for radio, my brother Mark was the guy who said: "I'll back you with the folks (when they go tilt!), just do it."

Darren and young Mark are something to behold. The bond is as strong as any this writer has witnessed. Scott gets that faraway look in the eye and says: "My brother and my son. The one person who looks at you the same before and after. That's what my brother was like. That's what my son is like. That's something the people who won't forgive or let go and the Jacarandas of this world can never take away, no matter how much they try and keep me quiet.

"Despite the fact that many think I owned shows like Boots and All (which I don't) and that the hosting of the rugby slot on SuperSport was my possession, I never felt I owned anything on television, so not doing the Rugby World Cup in the end was a blow, but I didn't feel I had been cheated in any way. Radio was my first thing.

"SuperSport affected me more than Jacaranda. I was really, really enjoying my time there, they handled the situation well. They didn't want me to go. They were furious this had all come out a week before the World Cup started, but in a nice way.

"They spoke to me like mates, with respect. I said I understood their situation, they were very understanding.

"My last tweet before packing it in back then was actually to say how chuffed I was that Neil Andrews was taking my spot in the anchor's seat during RWC! Then I packed in tweeting because of reasons already mentioned. Funnily enough, then my profile had just under 7,000 followers. When I got back on the "Tweet Train" I had over 14 000! Go figure! (@justPlainTwit)"

And the public have generally backed Scott too. He said: "You've got to say South Africa's black population are very forgiving. I've had a lot of judgemental white okes who have had plenty to say. But your general, ordinary people from all walks of life? Forgiving, understanding.

"People like Tich Smith (the former Natal wicketkeeper who now runs LIV village where they take orphans for adoption and fostering), took it upon himself to deal with my "situation" as a personal "crusade", he believed in me so much which has been so humbling. He himself was down and out at one time, in a very bad way once. He understood. He introduced me to Prof Jansen, who had been following the whole story from the start, and who really wanted to get involved and help. An inspiring man to say the least!

"It got to the point where I would have lost everything. House and home. To be honest it's still touch and go. I'm thankful that some people have been supportive. If I wasn't that lucky I would have lost everything.

"Then I was approached about this sports radio idea. But more than just radio .. we wanted listeners to be able to see what is going on in the studio, and out!

"The idea first came up a few years ago but it never got the support from the previous regime we had worked for. It's getting big in the US and Europe. We had this idea, kind of started thinking about it and I mailed a business plan to what turned out to be one of our now seven investors.

"We'd use the strength of what we used to do on Just Plain Breakfast, like the rugby panel, and our comedy skits, our pioneering syndicated sports content, our award winning team of the past four years, and our profile in sport broadcasting and our access to sports contacts.

"We've combined it all, they liked it so much, they decided to explore it. We never asked one investor to join - they asked to be investors when they heard the plan! And they're investing their personal cash.

"It's online radio, it's new territory. The whole digital world is growing. Content on demand. People no longer want to be told, or force-fed by broadcasting megalomaniacs on what they should be listening to or consuming, you have to give them options that they can choose themselves.

"All you do is go to the website, you listen live, and if you can't, you can access content any time of the day, we'll send it to you, it'll be an app on your phone, wherever you can access it, it'll be there for you to decide, and consume, in your own time.

"It's not just for South Africans, it's for anybody around the world. And it's not just sports results and interviews, it's debates, it's the rugby panel, comedy stuff, fun stuff. The kind of thing that got us 117,000 Facebook followers as Just Plain Breakfast and four years of successful syndicated sports content.

"How we're going to launch it, is by saying "YOU, the listener, turn us on!" we won't be launching, as in going on air, until we've got 10,000 Ballz followers on Facebook. Our 10,000th follower will switch us on.

"In a week, we went past 5,000. So if we hit 10,000 this week, we'll have to be ready, even if it's with a microphone plugged in to a lap top! NO, seriously, we'll be using teasers and promos of what people can expect to start with until our broadcasts (2-6pm, Monday to Friday) begin. Our website will be up and running this week. We plan to be fully operational by the end of the month and we have some damn exciting initiatives planned.

"It's not going to be the normal radio with the normal interviews and programming - it's going to be different and fun!

"Our aim is to produce four hours of sports, and lifestyle, and music entertainment. It's stuff we were given awards for on Jacaranda. 75 percent of it was linked to sport, but not all of it.

"You want songs? We've got Tanya, the Pink clone. Great singing voice. And Darius. We found them in a competition we did. As we did some of our now well-known voices and parody artists on things like Rugby Panel.

"Then we've got Simon Hill who does most of the voices for the rugby panel, and is a script-writing genius!

"We've already had 20 applications for various forms work in the new project, but for now it's just the six of us: me, Simon, my old comrade John Walland, ex-Miss SA and the sportiest one yet, Nicole Flint, and two of the most talented behind-the-scenes people media could ever want - SA's best radio producer two years in a row, William Scott, and the social media guru who got down to the final 50 in the worldwide search for Charlie Sheen's social media manager, Mazz!"

And the Facebook site is buzzing. The Scott magic appears to have stayed strong. The Ballz following passed Jacaranda's new breakfast show for Facebook followers on day one (2 000).

"We will also sell Ballz content to other radio stations, like we always have."

But Ballz. why? "I'll tell you why we called it Ballz. At Capital radio, when they did a revamp, they called one of their sports bulletins Ballz. It was just appropriate, a no-holds-barred programme that has "balls". It's not wallpaper - it's what we are! And you can say, we DO have Ballz!

"For those who thought I would never be back, I need a lot of balls to stick my head up again after what happened. And my supporters had balls too."

DARREN SCOTT will be writing a weekly column for Scoop! from next week. His Facebook page can be found at http://www.facebook.com/BallzVisualRadio.