Destined for the top: A brief history of South Africa's new Technical Director Neil Tovey

CONTINENTAL CHAMPION: Neil Tovey in 1996

NEIL TOVEY in 1981? Skinny teenager. Great shot. Good engine, could get up and down, box to box. Rarely lost possession. Won his first South African League title when he was still a teenager.

Neil Tovey today? South Africa's most qualified coach. Has done the rounds. Has had his share of personal challenges. Still has much to offer.

When he was announced as the South African Football Association's new Technical Director on Saturdayaround 5pm, the old nostalgia kicked in. I first came across Neil on the training ground outside the now-demolished New Kingsmead in Durban 35 years ago.

He was a year younger than me but made me look like a novice at training on a ground which now lies buried beneath the new Moses Mabhida Stadium. I'd generally fall over when he went one-on-one with me. At the time, Neil Tovey was an 19-year-old just pushed in to professional football by a chap called Clive Barker. He made the transition to the paid ranks with barely a blink.

Neil’s big brother Mark was the frightening one back in 1980. He had a big job with Puma, handed out the kit and barked when I lost possession. Though my primary role was as a football writer at the local newspaper, the Natal Mercury, I played for Durban City’s reserves while the blue-and-white hooped first team dominated the early years of non-racial football in South Africa.

My first year in Durban after university was quite a season for City, a team established in the old white NFL by Norman "Silver Fox" Elliott in 1959. Incredibly, smooth manager Butch Webster and his diminutive coach Barker created a side to match the NPSL giants from Soweto and they won Abdul Bhamjee’s newly founded NFL in 1982 (when we used to play football throughout the winter) against all expectations.

Paid peanuts and held together by a huge Scottish defender called Andy Stanton who worked as an advertising executive on week days, the Tovey brothers were integral in Barker’s plans. Sometimes they played one behind the other in central midfield, though both contributed goals. Neil could shoot from distance, Mark was the terrier mopping up. Both could play a mean through ball. A chap called Kevin Mudie got most of the goals.

City, with tiny crowds and no funds, went on to win a second successive title in 1983 before Barker led a mass-break-out to Umlazi’s gold-and-black Bush Bucks in 1984. Under the astute eye of Lawrence “Big Bear” Ngubane, the cunning mixture of City champions with talents like Daniel Ramarutsi and Mlungisi “Prof” Ngubane went on to win the championship in 1986.

By then, older brother Mark was the centre-back, Neil was more of a midfielder. He was tall and slight, and had followed Barker from local amateur club Juventus, based on Durban’s Berea.

But Neil emerged from the shadow of his big brother with aplomb in 1996, when he captained Barker’s Bafana to the African Nations Cup on home soil, a triumph rich in post-democratic fervour and Rainbow Nation unity. Now 34, Tovey was now a veteran, anchoring Kaizer Chiefs and the national squad from centre-back with the captain's armband now an immovable feature.

When he retired in 1999, aged 37, Tovey had played 341 games for Chiefs and 52 for Bafana Bafana. He smoothly transitioned to player-coach in the latter days of his playing career at Chiefs and went on to boss Mamelodi Sundowns, AmaZulu, Hellenic, Mpumalanga Black Aces and, most recently, Thanda Royal Zulu.

In 2011, when I was working in Abu Dhabi, I tried to get Tovey a job in the lucrative (but not particularly strong) United Arab Emirates Pro League, and after a recent health scare (he’s fully recovered) there were fears his greatest days were behind him.

But Saturday’s announcement of Tovey as South Africa’s new Technical Director came as a welcome relief. Since Ephraim Mashaba was handed the Bafana job nearly a year ago, Danny Jordaan had been promising a Technical Director to help Shakes, not known for his tactical acumen and clearly struggling to keep things together.

Tovey and Steve Komphela were the only qualified South Africans to do the job. Danny Jordaan and I agreed on that a year ago. But with Tovey doing television work and Komphela engrossed in pushing Maritzburg United to their highest PSL finish, movement was slow. SAFA’s technical committee chief Nataschia Tshiclas told me week after week: “We are still looking.” I waited week after week, month after month, for Tovey to ride to the rescue as Bafana struggled through AFCON and the COSAFA disaster... culminating in the awful 0-0 home draw against Gambia a fortnight ago.

With various foreign names bandied about, the appointment of Tovey – who scored top marks when taking both his UEFA A and Pro badges - is another welcome local appointment for South African football. I phoned him on Saturday during the Orlando Pirates game and he was quick to re-assure Mashaba: “I won’t be telling Shakes what to do. It’s going to be a tough job. I can't just go in there and tell people what to do.

“There are so many areas for me to look at, I don’t even know if I’ll be going to Mauritius for the second leg of the CHAN qualifier. I don't think that's a priority in my new role.

“I won’t be getting involved that much in the national side. That’s not the job. It’s my task to make things easier for Shakes. To work in the background, on development. My main task, as I see it, is to ensure younger players coming through to the national team.”

SAFA's R65m plan for a new Technical Centre south of Johannesburg will give Tovey a base for his empire; his grasp of modern UEFA techniques will soon begin to percolate through our game. As long as he can work with Mashaba, surely there's a long-awaited improvement on the cards for Bafana Bafana.

The Bafana Bafana verdict: disappointing but not disastrous. AFCON 2015 is not over. Yet. KEEP HOPE ALIVE!

Ace in the pack: Oupa Manyisa after scoring in the 1-1 draw against Senegal

LET’S GET THIS STRAIGHT. The 1-1 draw against Senegal on Friday night was NOT a disaster for South African football. It was just another disappointment for the football-speaking nation to swallow.

It could yet prove to be a mere blip on the road to the AFCON final, though the Senegal equaliser felt more like a barricade to progress in a tournament which is there for the taking.

Having been told by then-unbeaten coach Ephraim Mashaba that the Group of Death was not a problem, things haven’t quite gone according to plan. Shakes targeted a five-point haul but already that is beyond us and when he insisted on packing “for six weeks” we were fooled in to thinking qualifying from Group C was a mere formality.

It’s not. It never was. Let’s get those qualifying permutations out of the way to start with, to avoid a repeat of the dancing at Mbombela four years ago:

South Africa need to beat Ghana, or they go OUT. That much is set in stone. SAFA, on their official facebook page, claim “a big win in the final game” on Tuesday could still see Shakes top the group. That, I’m afraid, is simple misinformation which went uncorrected for hours after I pointed it out.

In truth, the best we can do is second – if Senegal beat Algeria. If they draw, South Africa are out on head-to-head with the Desert Foxes as both will have four points. If Algeria win their final game – also played at 8pm on Tuesday – it goes down to goal difference with Senegal, who will also have 4 points. I suspect 2-0 might do it.

It’s never a good thing to go in to the final group matches in a tournament with the other two teams just needing to draw but Shakes remains upbeat: “We still have a chance, we are not out of the tournament yet,” he said “If we’d taken our chances we could have scored six in both games. We have played well in this tournament, we can still surprise you with our last game.”

Captain Dean Furman, faultless on the night, said much the same: “We go in to every match believing until the final whistle. That’s the way we’ve played this tournament.

"We take a lot of confidence from the two games, results didn't go our way but other teams struggled to live with us."

That’s true. At times Bafana have looked capable of competing with the best on the continent. Friday night was very similar to the opening 3-1 collapse against Algeria in Mongomo. Just as Rivaldo Coetzee went off injured after 23 minutes against the Desert Foxes, so Thulani Hlatshwayo went off complaining of double vision against Senegal after 25 minutes.

Then came the South African goal and huge hope just after half-time. A lovely finish from Oupa Manyisa just inside the far post made it 1-0 after 46 minutes – Ace’s first goal in 23 games for Bafana had the nation believing.

But once more – influenced perhaps by the loss of another centre-back - Mashaba failed to make changes as the Lions of Teranga came roaring back. Goalkeeper Jackson Mabokgwane came for a deep cross… then changed his mind. Tower Mathoho, otherwise faultless, could only look on as the huge Kara Mbodji, Anele Ngcongca’s Belgian club-mate, headed home. If Mabokgwane had stayed on his line, it would have been a comfortable save.

At 1-1, South Africa should have thrown everything forward, looking for the win. Risky? Sure. Mabokgwane made a lovely save in the dying minutes to emphasise the nature of that gamble. Mashaba, making text-book changes just after the hour-mark, turned to Bernard Parker for that final push.

And that was the alarming part. Bafana looked happy with a point for those final, edgy minutes. Tokelo Rantie never changed pace. Furman and the struggling Jali stayed fairly deep. The urgency, the desperation to win it, just didn’t happen, which is unusual for a Mashaba outfit. Senegal looked happy to settle for the draw, understandably.

Shakes, as the legend Linda Buthelezi said last week, is an old-fashioned coach. Africa’s Sir Alex Ferguson perhaps, with his goalkeeper shuffling and refusal to bow to public opinion, that classic refusal to slap down big name players like Thulani Serero – our only Champions League star – and Kamahelo Mokotjo, who picked up yet another assist for FC Twente in the Ere Divisie last night.

WORTH A LOOK: Moses Nku, www.twitter.com/chili_m2 offers THIS Bafana "forgotten eleven": Khune (capt), Mphahlele, Jele, Mashamaite, Masilela, Mokotjo, Mahlangu, Claasen, Patosi, Erasmus, Serero. I'd add Orlando Pirates' Lehlohonolo Majoro, Rostov's Siyanda Xulu and Buhle Makhwanazi of Wits to that list.

Shakes, who clearly hadn’t been briefed on what has to be done on Tuesday night to qualify, issued the normal platitudes: "Well done to the boys. We have created more chances than our opposition in both games. In the first game we lost in the dying minutes. Today we scored and couldn't consolidate - we gave it away.

"I think our biggest problems are regaining possession when we've lost the ball - we find ourselves wanting - and not scoring with the chances we've created. We should be top and the top scorers. We'll work on that. I'm happy and proud of the team."

Sadly, the nation will struggle to be proud of a team with one point at the six-foot-under end of the Group of Death. What Shakes needs is what Danny Jordaan promised me six months ago. A modern, well-qualified Technical Director. Somebody to push possession football, assess goalkeeping methods and smooth over rifts with big-name foreign players, Mashaba’s glaring weakness when he was fired from the same job a decade ago.

The SAFA president also claimed Mashaba would spend time with FIFA’s top man Gerard Houllier, the former Liverpool boss who is now the world’s top technical advisor. There is no evidence of that as he rushes about assisted by inexperienced Thabo Senong, 34, and yes-man Owen Da Gama. There are times when the Bafana bench doesn’t appear to be watching the game, they’re so busy rubbing heads and gesticulating.

But these are the normal problems. Nothing new. Much the same could be said of previous South African coaches, who progressed beyond the AFCON group stages in 2013 but failed to get past Ethiopia and in to the World Cup play offs.

Shakes, beaten just once in 12 games, will point to an impressive record in his latest spell in charge of Bafana. His quest to fulfil SAFA’s “Vision 2022” has been put on the back-burner with older players dragged in to the squad for Equatorial Guinea. But he has certainly revived Bafana’s fortunes and his passion cannot be questioned. His team talks, as I’ve said before, are terrifying and generally useful.

If the magic happens and Bafana make it to the quarter-final, anything could happen. Shakes, beset by Itumeleng Khune’s injury on the first day of his reign and Senzo Meyiwa’s tragic murder, could thrive in the knock-out stages. The man has always had the ability to confound the critics.

And for all that has been said and done about selection, four goalkeeping changes in four games and a lack of tactical acumen, we can - must - still hope for a brighter future for Bafana. Starting on Tuesday night at 8pm in Mongomo.

And as for the “sack Shakes” campaign? Forget it. He’s the cheap but sensible option. As I’ve said all along. Now where’s that Technical Director, Danny?

It's Bafana Bafana time: the nation awaits Shakes Mashaba's high-noon announcement

Striking surprise: leading scorer Ndumiso Mabena

Shakes Mashaba will name his first Bafana Bafana line-up tomorrow at Cape Town Civic Centre at high  noon. And we have ABSOLUTELY no idea what his 23-man squad will look like.

The new South African national coach opens his AFCON 2015 campaign with Sudan in Khartoum on September 5 and Nigeria in Cape Town on September 10. But for a host of reasons, his preparations for these two vital international clashes carry the flavor of a hastily packaged pick and mix.

This is Bra Shakes THIRD spell in charge of Bafana and he has spent much of his time since his unveiling last month with the Under 20 AmaJitas.

He didn't appear at his own naming ceremony because he was on a four-game tour of West Africa with the young ones who have dominated the last decade of his coaching career. He won two and drew two on that trip… and then produced a creditable 1-1 draw in Cameroon last Saturday as he missed another chapter of domestic football at home.

At 63, Mashaba has the experience to overcome such problems. But does he have the back-up? Two weeks ago Danny Jordaan, the SAFA net president, told me a Technical Director would be named "in a week" to help Mashaba through what promises to be a turbulent reign.

We were also promised the names of Bafana's back-up crew. As I suggest last week, Shakes will probably name Gordon Igesund’s No 2 Serame Letsoake and his AmaJitas deputy Thabo Senong as his assistants tomorrow.

But here we are, naming the first squad… and there is no hint of a Technical Director and still no confirmation of who will assist Mashaba in the task of reaching Morocco next season.

And apparently he's going to carry on looking after the Under 20s for their return leg against Cameroon bang in the middle of his preparations for Sudan and Nigeria.

We have to believe that Shakes can cope with all this. We retain blind faith in a man who has been in charge of kids - and Lesotho - since he was suspended and sacked for ignoring South Africa's foreign-based stars when he was last in charge in 2004.

All that is acceptable. Clearly Mashaba was the sensible option with Carlos Queiroz demanding a sabbatical and $17m a year and Patrick Kluivert only ever a distant possibility in a short-list that was never really more than a wish-list for SAFA.

Now, ranked 69 in the world, South Africa go in to SAFA action against reinstated Congo, unbeatable Nigeria and unknown Sudan STILL without a proper foreign scouting network saddle with a coach who has watched precious little live PSL action a month in to the new season.

Incredibly, when I started discussing Mashaba's options of this squad on twitter yesterday, I was lambasted for telling the man who to pick. I'm not. It's advice. An opinion. I'm just hoping he's paying attention to the adults rather than the kids this week.

Clearly, Itumeleng Khune has been in imperious form and MUST retain the No 1 jersey (and captain's armband) despite the need for a clean-out. Kaizer Chiefs have played five, won five so far this season. And another of the golden oldies from Gordon Igesund's reign has also impressed - Reneilwe Letsholonyane looks like a new man this season.

With Bernard Parker and Simphiwe Tshabalala injured, Mashaba can safely omit a couple of the other old faithfuls… Thabo Nthethe, Kagiso Dikgacoi and Teko Modise are surely not the future either.

Mandla Masango at Chiefs and the unloved former Orlando Pirates striker Ndumiso Mabena at Platinum Stars have both shown considerable early season form - presumably Mashaba has caught up with that on video.

He'll need to look at Pirate Oupa Manyisa and the two Georges, Lebese and Maluleka too while Sbu Vilakazi's form at Wits needs examination, as does Buhle Makhwanazi since his move from AmaTuks.

And of course, in Holland, Kamohelo Mokotja is getting rave reviews at FC Twente while Thulani Serero at Ajax came on for the last 13 minutes over the weekend. Mashaba had Mokotja in his AmaJitas, we assume he's aware.

In England, Dean Furman is doing okay but Doncaster Rovers are now in the third tier League football, Kagiso Dikgacoi at relegated Premier League club Cardiff City is "carrying a knock" and former Pirates striker Tokelo Rantie remains a bit-part player at Bournemouth.

But will any of these players feature? Gordon Igesund used one of our football internet sites to keep himself up to date with Bafana's foreign stars. Mashaba has no foreign scouting network, no way of knowing how Siyanda Xulu is doing after his foot injury at Rostov in Russia or how Ayanda Patosi is playing at Lokeren in Belgium.

I hear Kagiso Nthle, the 20-year-old Peterborough full-back, picked up a groin injury last week. I keep up to date with Andile Jali's career at KV Oostende largely through twitter.


Is Mashaba doing the same? Does he phone these guys, talk to their coaches, or deal with agents? When he's hardly seen a live PSL game all season? What happened to the SAFA plan which would have seen Bafana's record cap-holder Aaron Mokoena installed as our foreign scout, with contacts around Europe?


But again. the fears are outweighing the hopes. Sudan are no great Shakes, apparently. Nigeria's Steve Keshi is doing his usual will-he-won't-he dance with the Super Eagles. And Congo didn't really deserve their reinstatement if truth be told.


If Shakes comes out tomorrow and names 23 unknown kids or decides to field the entire teenage contingent at Ajax Cape Town, who can blame him? After all, it's all about Vision 2022 at SAFA. Perhaps by then we'll have a Technical Director!

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