NOT BAD KHAMA! Billiat shines at AFCON and surely Europe must be next

TIME TO LEAVE THE COMFORT ZONE: Khama Billiat

SUNDAY afternoon in Gabon was not just about Zimbabwe holding highly-rated Algeria to a pulsating 2-2 draw, it was also about Khama Billiat finally getting the recognition he deserves.

The 26-year-old from Harare stands just 1.7m tall, at 5ft 7in, barely two inches taller than Lionel Messi, who needed growth hormone therapy. But Billiat has long been a talent as impressive in Southern Africa as Leo was in Argentina at half his age.

A product of the local Aces Academy in Harare, Billiat left CAPS United before he even played a professional game, spotted by the Ajax scouting network in Cape Town. He played 83 games for the club, scoring 21 goals alongside another huge talent, Thulani Serero.

But while Serero went off to Amsterdam, Billiat tried out with Lokomotiv in Moscow before accepting a new post closer to home: he went to Mamelodi Sundowns in 2013 for a reported fee of R10m, still a PSL record.

And when Pitso Mosimane arrived to steady the Masandawana ship, Billiat began to thrive. He scored 8 goals in 2014-15 and 12 last season as Sundowns broke the Stuart Baxter/Kaizer Chiefs stranglehold on the championship twice in the last three seasons.

While a huge fuss is being made of team-mate Keagan Dolly - Sundowns were allowed to push his contracted buy-out from around R10m to over R20m by the PSL’s Dispute Resolution Chamber - there can be little question Billiat is the bigger deal.

After a fantastic start to AFCON 2017 against Algeria - he ran out of steam a little in the second half in Franceville - Billiat was the talk of the tournament.

Two fantastic runs saw him denied only by the goalkeeper, but it was a peach of a volley midway through the first half - which damn nearly broke the crossbar - that provided the perfect Billiat moment.

Sammy Kuffour, the sometimes comic SuperSport analyst, was shaken in to coherence. He said: “Billiat is the complete player. He has pace. He is small so you don’t know what to do with him. He should be in Europe already. I’d love to see him at a big club. He is a great African talent.”

Of course, Sundowns could probably get the DRC to block any potential admirers as the European clubs queue up after AFCON, where the scouts flock like flies.

But in truth, like Dolly, Billiat should have been gone ages ago. There is talk of disciplinary problems - he was late to arrive at the Zimbabwe pre-Afcon camp - and he certainly has a comfortable life in Tshwane.

But after winning the PSL twice and the African Champions League this season, any further dalliance would be pointless.

Sundowns did all they could do delay Bongani Zungu’s move to Portugal. They’re doing the same to Dolly. Compatriot Knowledge Musona has already advised Billiat to escape his Gauging comfort zone.

The player himself says: "I would love to go and play in Europe but I will see. If I don't go to Europe I am still happy at Sundowns.”

That’s not enough. Football is a short career. Sundowns fans won’t like it, but Khama, it’s time to make the leap of faith. Faith in your own ability.

MATCH-FIXING IN ITS PUREST FORM: why Zimbabwe's scandal will create waves in South Africa

IMPLICATED: former Swallows coach Ian Gorowa

SOMEWHERE in Zimbabwe this morning, there is a bloke called “Ben” who must be a very frightened man.

Ben is the only name we have for the “whistle-blower” who has lifted the lid on the latest Zimbabwean match-fixing scandal, revealing a web of deceit which reaches deep in to South Africa’s PSL.

At least seven players at four South African clubs were offered payments in February this year. As far as we know, none of those approaches were reported to SAFA.

So what do we know about Ben? We know he gets on well with lots of professional footballers north of the Limpopo River. He’s probably a former professional footballer, and might have reached the lower ranks of agents and coaches.

We also know, thanks to the remarkable tales run in the Zimbabwe Herald this week, that “Ben” is well connected with ZIFA officials who are no strangers to such shady shenanigans.

There are other names too. A South Africa-based Italian (who may look Asian) called “Chief”, who is reputed to be related to the legendary match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal from Singapore. I believe this man is a former South African agent with links to the rapidly disappearing giant Moroka Swallows.

Then there’s former ZIFA chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya (“Mutha” in match-fixing circles), former Moroka Swallows coach Ian Gorowa (“Ian” who was also a caretaker manager at Mamelodi Sundowns) and the infamous Edzai Kasinauyo (“Kazma") who used to play for Swallows and Ajax Cape Town.

The named players? George Chigova, the Polokwane City goalkeeper who just last month won Man of the Match against Kaizer Chiefs.

Chigova was allegedly paid $15 000 and Polokwane defensive midfielder Lebogang Motumi got $10 000 in a deal to lose against Bidvest Wits, currently second in the PSL. On January 22, Rise and Shine - having beaten SuperSport United 4-1 the previous weekend - lost 5-0 to the Clever Boys with James Keene scoring a hat-trick.

AmaTuks goalkeeper Washington Arubi is named too, though he vehemently refused to take money off “Ben” and “nearly assaulted” the whistle-blower.

However the approach - apparently including team-mate Partson Jaure - was never made public.

Bloemfontein Celtic ‘keeper Patrick Tignyemb and defensive midfielder Lansthene Phalane are also implicated, which might help to explain Siwelele’s worrying slide down the PSL table.

There is also mention of Chippa United defender Mbuyiselo Sambo, who apparently agreed to help lose a game against Free State Stars.

This is not rumour-mongering. Zimbabwean police have evidence of $400 000 payments made to a South African bank account, they have SMS and WhatsApp messages between the fixers.

From the makers of AsiaGate, when copies of the Zimbabwe team-list were routinely burned and players - still unpunished - contrived to lose all over the world, there is little doubt the sequel is far more serious for South Africa.

But my tweets about this affair have been ignored by SAFA and the PSL, not to mention their talkative Communications Directors Dominic Chimhavi and Luxulo September, the man who continues to deny us crowd figures for games in South Africa.

Mlungisi Ncame apparently travelled to Harare last week to view the evidence pertaining to the PSL. He’s SAFA’s “Head of Security” though we have not heard a word from an organisation run by President Danny Jordaan, who doubles up as major of Port Elizabeth these days.

Clearly, this is serious. Some kind of response should emenate from SAFA House or Parktown. Just look at this extract from "Ben" in his statement to ZIFA: 

“I eventually met Rushwaya at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton. She was with three men of Asian extraction, one of them called “Chief” who lives in South Africa.

“Rushwaya said she wanted to start a sports betting business focusing mainly on the South African ABSA Premier League and the Zimbabwean Premier Soccer League.

“She wanted to employ me because of my close association with Zimbabwean footballers based inside and outside South Africa. I was to distribute cash payments to footballers to compromising their performance for the benefit of the betting cartels.

“The first footballer I approached (Feb 2, 2016) was Washington Arubi who currently plays for University of Pretoria in South Africa with a view to persuade him to compromise his performance in the forthcoming match against Free State Stars.

“Upon broaching the subject with him he vehemently refused and even threatened to assault me. He then immediately reported me to (goalkeeping coach) Tendai Tanyanyiwa who threatened to call the police. I only escaped by fleeing the scene.

“I’m in possession of WhatsApp Messenger text messages which I exchanged with Rushwaya following the rejection of our offer by Arubi. I attach, hereto, a copy of those text messages as Annexure ‘A1-A-6’.

“At all material times I was liaising with and co-ordinating my role with Edzai who, after my escape from University of Pretoria, contacted me (Feb 4, 2016) through mobile number +27725702427 by sending a text message at 11:19 hours demanding the return of the money I had been given to give to Washington Arubi.

“Further I communicated with Edzai (Feb 17, 2016) on the same number after he had directed me to a meeting which was to be attended by Ian Gorowa.

“He assured me that Ian was very knowledgeable of match-fixing and had a relationship with many players since 1996.”

There is much discussion about fixing the upcoming AFCON qualifiers between Zimbabwe and Swaziland: “It was agreed that the first player to be approached would be Tatenda Mukuruva.

“We convened another meeting (in Sandton, Feb 29, 2016) which was attended by Rushwaya, Gorowa, ‘Chief’, Edzai and myself. Gorowa indicated that we target Mukuruva the goalkeeper.

“We had three players who were supposed to ensure that Zimbabwe would lose by a two-goal margin. In the event that Zimbabwe scored, the compromised players had to ensure that Zimbabwe lost 3-1 with an obligation to concede a penalty and receive a red card.”

It’s a statement that cannot be disputed. Match-fixing in its purest form. We wait SAFA’s response with some trepidation.

If you wish to use this story in your publication, please credit me and link to @nealcol on twitter. No charge.

VIDEO AND WORDS: Willard Katsande: the unsung hero on his key role in tonight's MTN8 final

BOOM! Willard Katsande scores against Pirates

WILLARD KATSANDE could well be the anonymous workman at this evening's MTN8 final against Orlando Pirates in Durban. But don't be deceived. Even on a bad day he plays a huge role in the Kaizer Chiefs machine, unbeaten in NINE games so far this season.

To me, the 28-year-old Zimbabwean is head-and-shoulders ahead of his PSL rivals as "the destroyer" and eminently capable of doing better than, say, Mikel Arteta as Arsenal's defensive midfielder given his form over the last two years under Stuart Baxter. So often the unsung hero, he is the man coach Stuart Baxter NEVER rests.


The Soweto Durbsy (as I'm calling it) could even be decided by "Salt 'n Vinegar" (Willard's was a famous brand of potato crisps in this country), having scored the only goal in the Soweto Derby in front of 90,000 at Soccer City earlier this year.


"It was incredible to score my first goal for the club in THAT game, but for me, I'm not promising to score in Durban. My job is to break down the opposition attack, to give the defence balance. That's what I'm focused on.


"To score is a bonus for me, my job is to help Kaizer Chiefs win the game."


A response typical of the man.


Nominated on the three-man shortlist with Sbu Vilakazi (Bidvest Wits) and Alje Schut (Mamelodi Sundowns) as Player of the Season last term, Katsande says: "That was the highlight of my career, I will cherish that memory.


"When you are growing up as a player, it is a dream to play for a club like Kaizer Chiefs, the biggest club in Africa. As a youngster I played for Gunners in Harare and we beat Al Ahly. But now my life is a dream.

"The only disappointment at the moment is that Zimbabwe were knocked out of the AFCON qualifiers by Tanzania earlier this year. Preparation for international games in Zimbabwe needs to be fixed."

Final words: Willard's SMS this morning

On the thorny subject of discipline - I used to called him Cardsande for his ability to pick up cautions - the typically modest but always crisp Willard response is: "I am learning. Tinashe Nengomasha recommended me to Kaizer Chiefs and he is the one who tells me: work on your interceptions. You don't always have to make the tackle if you intercept.

"You have to be 100 percent sure you are going for the ball otherwise they are going to book you. I am working on that!"


The full Willard Katsande interview is available below. You can see me change from Orlando Pirates shirt to Kaizer Chiefs at around 10mins. I am neutral on the Soweto rivals. But on this I have bias: Willard Katsande is the kind of bloke who makes you happy to do your job.


Watch him carefully today at the Moses Mabhida. Watch the work he does. How many times he himself gets clobbered but gets up smiling. All youngsters should watch and learn.

SOCCERBALLZ! my innovative football show on www.ballz.co.za with Mark Fish airs every Thursday from 9am-11am. See Ballz' Youtube 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.

OH MY GORD! Is this the way ahead for Bafana Bafana after the four-letter word that is CHAN?

Three unwise men: Khune, Mbalula and Igesund

Faster than Itumeleng Khune’s speeding Minnie, more devastating than a Bernard Parker own goal, more dangerous than Willard Katsande’s underpants: the aftershock of South Africa’s ball-numbing defeat against Nigeria’s third team last Sunday has crushed our national spirit.

I warned before the third edition of the “La Orange Championnat d’Afrique des Nations” that CHAN could become a four-letter word for Bafana Bafana head coach Gordon Igesund, fresh from that rousing friendly win over world champions Spain.

(And I have said repeatedly that, given our THREE dodgy Bernard Parker penalties against Mozambique, Mali and Nigeria, the name “Cheetahs” might be a worthwhile alternative for embattled SAFA president Danny Jordaan, desperately trying to persuade new sponsors to back his hapless crusade.)

But Gordon wouldn’t listen. Instead of entering a competition for home-based players fraught with danger modestly, he told us: “I don’t want to sound arrogant and say we’ll win it, but we will go all the way.”

He told us "my training sessions are like World Cup finals" and his players got "goose-bumps when they pull on the jersey". What a lot of BOLLOCKZ! that was.

Before that must-draw battle with Nigeria he told us “Playing for a draw is a dangerous thing for any team to do. My philosophy has always been to play to win” and he promptly put out a team with a single striker and five midfielders.

For all sorts of reasons my initial burst of #ingordwetrust tweets have turned to #gordonout; CHAN was a greater disaster than the World Cup (this one and the last) and AFCON2013 combined. It was an absolute farce in terms of selection, tactics and public utterances.

Danny Jordaan, sharing a forum with me on SAFM last week, said the SAFA technical team – which uniquely features two ladies – will decide Igesund’s fate when he submits his CHAN report with FAILED emblazoned across it next week.

And as we watched Zimbabwe and Nigeria surge in to the last four of CHAN, the inevitability of change has sunk in. My telephonic exchanges with Igesund’s son Grant and his ever-present agent Mike Makaab have been about as pleasant as a Katsande challenge laced with Joey Barton’s boots.

What I believe to be the obvious truth is derided by the Igesund camp as “ridiculous”: I have no proof that Thabo Nthethe, the mediocre Bloemfontein Celtic centre-back who was the only ever-present in the CHAN back four, has some sort of privileged role. I cannot say with court-satisfying certainty that Itumeleng Khune’s ankle injury was far too convenient. Or that Igesund and Makaab’s efforts centring on win bonuses before the tournament amounted to undue pressure on SAFA.

The Sunday Times this morning suggested Igesund was urging the players to go on strike, Igesund said "it's a normal procedure to discuss bonuses" while Jordaan insisted "the issue was sorted out in Zambia at COSAFA in June".

But I can say this. Two coaches – Carlos Queiros and a local PSL boss – were called immediately after the Nigeria defeat. Others from Europe have been sounded out. I have the names. Some stunning, others workmanlike.

And Gordon’s reign, which started with such optimism (particularly from me), has dissolved in to a gritty argument involving ethics, integrity, threats and truth. It should be about football.

If Pitso Mosimane got the boot for picking his favourites after a home draw against Botswana, how do we defend Gordon Igesund? While our Sports Minister lamented our “bunch of useless losers” Igesund said he was “at peace with where I am” and Jordaan was scampering about trying to put the blame for an inexplicable failure on development, rugby-playing schools, Apartheid’s legacy and a lack of qualified coaches.

As I said right from the top. CHAN failure at the first hurdle was devastating for our game. This wasn’t a failure on penalties in the AFCON quarter-finals or a deeply ironic Parker own goal in Ethiopia. Without those three Parker penalties, CHAN would have been a diski disaster.

When the SAFA technical team meet “soon after the CHAN final” to discuss the future of our game going in to qualifiers for AFCON 2015 in Morocco, Jordaan said “we have to make sure we are walking the same path with our national coach”.

After the World Cup with Iran, Queiroz will be available to walk that path. So will experienced PSL coaches like Gavin Hunt, Steve Komphela, “Sir” Clive Barker and Amajita’s Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba.

Perhaps the best solution is a combination of a top foreign coach – Nigeria’s Steven Keshi and Zambia’s Herve Renard (now with Sochaux in France) have also been mentioned as winners of the last two AFCONs – in conjunction with a top local.

Whether any of these characters can combine to save our pride (and satisfy Nike, the new technical sponsors) nobody can be sure. But they’d be hard-pushed to do worse than the incumbent over the past fortnight. For me, the key is Igesund's refusal to talk to me since I challenged him on the Thulani Serero groin injury affair. He simply won't justify himself, on air or off the record. A sullen refusal to deal with the issues suggests he has no answers.

As our Sports Minister so rightly said: “We must never wake up to this again.”

 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!

PS: This from SAFA president Danny Jordaan on South Africa's possible name change today: "We play Lions, Tigers, Eagles and Elephants. And we come with Boys Boys." 

One mediocre question for Mike Makaab: Who best represents the future of South African football: Thabo Nthethe, 28 or Siyanda Xulu, 21?

Getting shirty: ProSport International CEO Mike Makaab

MEDIOCRE. Definition: Moderate in quality; ordinary. See synonyms at AVERAGE.

[French médiocre, from Latin mediocris : medius, middle; see medhyo]

Thank you Mr Dick Shunary. So when I said last Saturday that I was shocked the “mediocre Thabo Nthethe” had been selected to play for South Africa ahead of Siyanda Xulu, I was a little miffed when THIS turned up, publicly on my twitter  timeline from Mike Makaab: “I'm surprised at your comment about Nthethe Neal!”

Yup, five days after the event, Makaab chose to chew me out because I’d described Nthethe as average. Born in Bloemfontein, the 28-year-old is a seasoned PSL defender for Bloemfontein Celtic with 15 caps for Bafana Bafana. I have no beef with Makaab’s client or his enduring role with the Siwelele.

I explained the tweet was aimed not at damaging Nthethe but to illustrate my surprise at the decision not to use Siyanda Xulu at centre-back, given that – like the controversially expelled Thulani Serero – he had been flown in (business class, at a cost of over R60,000) from Russia for what might have been a vital World Cup qualifier against Botswana.

Against Nigeria, the centre-back pairing of Nthethe and Tower Mathoho had been picked apart. Xulu hadn’t even had a call from Bafana for that high-powered Madiba birthday friendly, I spoke to him on my Ballz radio football show BOLLOCKZ and Siyanda was mystified by the lack of contact.

Xulu is 21, he moved from Mamelodi Sundowns to FC Rostov last year. At the end of last season he was voted man of the match twice as his unfashionable riverside outfit survived relegation in the high-powered Russian League.

This season, Rostov are sharing second place and a month ago Xulu marked the world’s best-paid player Samuel Eto’o out of the game in a 1-0 win over Anzhi Makhachkala, the oil-rich giants from Dagestan.

Xulu told me how “Sam looked a bit frustrated about not getting a goal” and was roundly praised for his performance in a match which ultimately led to the dismantling of Anzhi’s multi-billion structure and the departure – on a free transfer – of Eto’o to Chelsea last month.

So when Xulu arrived in Durban to find he was consigned to the bench (along with Kamohelo Mokotjo, 22, from Dutch Eredivisie leaders PEC Zwolle) I was fairly surprised. Hence the "mediocre" tweet.

Curiously, Makaab’s ProSport International clients featured. Nthethe - whose Celtic have conceded 10 goals in four games this season - and goal-scorer Bernard Parker both took their places in the side with Parker captaining a VERY mediocre Bafana against Zimbabwe four days later.

Makaab, still in public on my timeline, then pointed out that Andile Jali, another of his clients, was also omitted from the starting line-up. But of course, the Orlando Pirates midfielder came on as a substitute, neatly fulfilling the needs of any player hoping for a move to the UK, where work permits are only handed to those who have played 80 percent of their nation’s competitive fixtures.

And I remember my surprise when Gordon Igesund, another of Makaab’s clients, picked Thamsanqa Gabuza from Golden Arrows for his first squad to play Brazil last year. And there was another of his men, Thanduyise Khuboni from the same club, who appeared a permanent fixture for Bafana during Pitso Mosimane’s turbulent reign.

Unfazed by this apparent good fortune, Makaab - who I respected as a player, coach and agent until this point - then asked me: “Are you suggesting something about selection of the team? You say you're not afraid to speak, so say it - I have nothing to hide.”

 So there it is. Makaab himself has asked the question: does South Africa’s biggest agent play a part in the selection of the Bafana Bafana team? I made no such suggestion. I would never dream of doing so having supporting Gordon Igesund throughout his topsy-turvy, mandate-mangling reign in charge of our beloved Bafana.

Igesund has enough problems on his hands without his agent getting involved in “putting journalists right” for passing mild opinions.

My question (and one you should feel free to answer on www.twitter.com/nealcol or by commenting below) is this: Does the future of Bafana revolve around the 28-year-old Nthethe from Bloemfontein Celtic or the 21-year-old Xulu in Russia?

I think I know the answer to that one.

I have asked Mike if he will appear on BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za this week, it airs every Thursday from 10am-noon. He has my number. 

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

 

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

Chiefs on a high, Pirates at a low: but don't be fooled by pre-season friendlies

Inside Knowledge: Musona scored on Sunday and
has shrugged off injury concerns as "cramp"

ON the face of it the South African domestic football season got off to very different starts for the two Soweto giants over the weekend.

At Orlando on Friday night, the Pirates were unable to breach the spotty Leopards defence in a disappointing 0-0 draw which saw new striker Lennox Bacela fail to score against the very ordinary Congo champions.

At Loftus Versfeld on Sunday, Kaizer Chiefs lifted the Gauteng Cup with a rip-roaring 4-1 win over Bloemfontein Celtic – and Knowledge Musona scored the third on his return to the club on loan.

The social networks made a meal of football’s long-awaited return. Roger de Sa was widely lampooned as a coach in crisis after his too-little-too-late decision to resort to two strikers as the Buccaneers desperately attempted to get their African Champions League Group A challenge off to a winning start.

But Stuart Baxter, after a first season which saw the AmaKhosi lift the PSL and Nedbank Cup double, could do no wrong as his side demolished Siwelele – Willard Katsande scored with a curling cross and even rarely-glimpsed Kaizer Motaung Junior slipped on to the score sheet at Loftus.

De Sa was left desperately defending his decision to put the unloved Ndumiso Mabena on ahead of Zambia’s blockbusting Collins Mbesuma late on Friday night. I texted Roger just after half-time suggesting he should go with two up front, calling for my namesake to add firepower.

Instead, we got Mabena amid widespread twitter fury with De Sa explaining: “Mabena is in much better shape. Collins was off with Zambia’s national team so he got to our pre-season training later than the rest. He’s not a small guy; he carries a lot of wait.

“He could only play a half in our friendly in Lesotho. He was poor, he was out of touch – no disrespect to him but we tried again during training last week and we have to select on what we see there.

 “Mabena and Bacela were the two strikers we went with because of what we saw in training. I couldn’t pick Mbesuma simply because he scored 20 goals five years ago!”

On the result itself, De Sa lamented: “We created plenty of chances, I’m happy with that, but we are disappointed, we deserved a win after that second half.”

Baxter, on the other hand, was glowing: “Considering it’s so early in the season, I thought we were excellent at times. It was a decent performance, we worked hard.

“I was particularly pleased to see Morgan Gould play like that – he’s only about 75 percent fit. He's had two one hour spells in the practice games that we played. It was a good work-out with the Carling Cup to come next weekend.”

Yes. The Carling Cup. That bizarre, glitzy friendly where the fans decide. Could be interesting.

Depressed Pirates fans should consider this: they made the Congo champions look very ordinary and with Group A’s Egyptian giants Al Ahly and Zamalek playing at a neutral Red Sea resort on Wednesday, their Champions League campaign is far from over.

For celebrating Chiefs fans, perspective is needed. The Gauteng Cup – like he Carling Cup – is a mere pre-season detail.

These early warning shots are not decisive. A long season lies ahead. Wits and SuperSport United are building furiously. Let’s not judge anything – or anyone – just yet.

KNOWLEDGE MUSONA was carried off on a stretcher during his goal-scoring debut on Sunday but he confirms: "It was nothing, just cramp. I'll be fine - but I do need to work on my sharpnessl.

"The fans were awesome, it' great to be back."

"I thought we played really well for a pre-season game but we have plenty of work left to do/"

You can listen to BOLLOCKS! every Thursday, 10am-noon on www.ballz.co.za or read "Neal and Pray" every Tuesday in The New Age.

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Musona coming back to South Africa? Not to my Knowledge!

Thirst for Knowledge: But Musona will be staying in Germany

IF there's one man who can get South African football lovers all shook up, it's an educated guess on the transfer window destination of Knowledge Musona, the Zimbabwean sharp-shooter who leapt to prominence as a youngster with Kaizer Chiefs two years ago.

In this week of matriculation results, perhaps we should call this phenomenon a “Thirst for Knowledge” as the AmaKhosi, Buccaneers and Msandawana fans claim an imminent signing.

Currently plying his trade in Germany – where he is on loan with FC Ausburg after signing for 1899 Hoffenheim in 2011 – the social networks are abuzz with rumours of a return to the PSL today.

Sadly, I can report that there was no real Knowledge behind those whispers. I spoke to his agent Mike Makaab this morning and he assured me: “There’s no truth in those rumours at all. He’s a 22-year-old making his way in Europe. He will stay and fight for his future in Germany. There have been absolutely no talks about coming back to South Africa.

“Knowledge is fine in Germany, I don’t know where these reports came from.”

I think I can explain that. The uncertainty arose with the arrival of former Germany defender Stefan Reuter as the new boss at Ausberg last month.

The former Bayern, Juventus and Dortmund right back, who played 69 games for his nation, took over from Jürgen Rollmann at the struggling Bundesliga club during the current mid-winter break.

With Ausberg on a meagre nine points after 17 games, they are level with rock-bottom SpVgg Greuther Furthe, the newly-promoted club that nearly signed Mamelodi Sundowns’ Zimbabwean striker Nyasha Mushekwi at the start of the season.

Reuter, a pacy defender known as Turbo during his playing days, arrived promising a clear-out and Musona looked an obvious target.

According to http://www.bundesliga.com/en/liga/clubs/fc-augsburg-1907/kader.php Musona, after a debut goal in the 2-0 German Cup win over SV Wilhelmshaven, has gone 737 minutes without a  Bundesliga goal.

With Reuter signing South Korea striker Ji Dong-Won on loan from Sunderland,  Ausburg now have SIX strikers – with Musona curiously listed as a midfielder.

Makaab accepts Musona needs to show Reuter what he can do when the Bundesliga resumes on January 19. Fortunately for Knowledge, his national side narrowly failed to qualify for AFCON 2013 in South Africa – they lost in the play-offs to Angola, going out on away goals – and the latest news from Zimbabwe is that they may withdraw from 2014 World Cup qualifiers through a lack of cash.

With the nation still recovering from the AsiaGate match-fixing scandal, ZIFA vice-president Ndumiso Gumede is quoted today saying: "There is no money to pay for travel expenses and other incidentals. We have decided not to engage in any international matches unless the government chips in with financial assistance."

The association is currently R40m in debt with president Cuthbert Dube and a company called Mbada Diamonds keeping them afloat with cash hand-outs after an opening qualifying defeat on the road to Brazil against Guinea was followed by a draw with Mozambique. Zimbabwe are due to play Egypt in late March.

Musona’s Amakhosi days have become the stuff of legend. He joined the Chiefs from Aces in Zimbabwe having not played a Premier League game in the land of his birth.

As a teenager, he was a super-sub in 2009–10 season and won PSL Club Rookie of the Year award. The next season, he scored 15 goals in 28 league games to win the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot.

Amid a general thirst for Knowledge, agent Makaab chose a five-year deal at 1899 Hoffenheim over Serbian giants FK Partizan and Scottish champions Celtic as the preferred European destination.

Hoffenheim paid R13m to Chiefs and Ausburg have, in turn, paid Hoffenheim R1m to take him on loan this season. Common sense tells us Knowledge will have to repay that fee with some goals in the second half of the season. Or he really could be back in the PSL next season.

Super show for Twickenham, Pharoahs knocked off their pyramid. Just what global sports fans needed

STUART BARNES, the often cynical former England fly-half and Sky rugby analyst could hardly believe what he was seeing.

As the wonder of the Crusaders 44-28 victory over the Sharks unfolded in front of 35,094 ex-pats and bemused Londoners at Twickenham last night, Barnesie enthused: “This may be the first Super rugby clash in the northern hemisphere, but after this, let’s hope it’s not the last.”

Barnes, usually so caustic on rugby matters, is not alone. Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder agrees. He said: "If the powers that be decide they would like to see other Super 15 games here that would be good for our sport."

And how. We saw 80 minutes of scintillating rugby between the Christchurch side denied a home venue by last month’s earthquake and Durban’s never-say-die Sharks. An epic first half dominated by the Kiwis, a wonderful comeback from the South Africans... and a final, victory clinching try for the land of the long white cloud.

And of course, we witnessed the perfect boot of Dan Carter, the greatest kicker in the century-long history of the great All Black tradition. He scored 22 perfect points, including one of the nine tries, in 62 minutes before limping off, his heart no doubt filled with memories of that earthquake, which he felt shudder the walls of the changing room at Rugby Park in Christchurch on 22 February.

Over 160 people died that day. Yesterday’s match was as much as a sporting contest can do to pay tribute to those unfortunates. Sounds trite, but you can’t deny the gut-wrenching feeling was there for all to see at Twickenham yesterday.

Wonderful stuff. And every one of the tickets sold will see £5 go to the Red Cross Earthquake Emergency Fund.

And all that after seeing South Africa’s footballers clinch an historic 1-0 victory over Egypt the night before, ironically at Ellis Park, the home of South African rugby.

Just what global sports fans needed really, after witnessing South Africa choke against New Zealand on Friday and England fail by a mere 10 wickets against Sri Lanka in the final cricket World Cup quarter-final on Saturday.

World champion Sebastian Vettel’s start-to-finish victory in the opening Grand Prix of the season in Melbourne, with Lewis Hamilton second, was hardly epic. England’s 2-0 Euro 2012 victory over Wales on Saturday was predictable, as was Brazil’s triumph over Scotland by the same score on Sunday.

But for me, this was a weekend dominated by two great moments. The manic screech of the commentator as Katlego “Killer” Mphela’s 93^rd minute goal hit the back of the net to end the six year reign of the Pharoahs, seven-time African champions.

And the roar of “Beast” in West London every time the Zimbabwean-born Springbok prop Tendai Mtawarira got involved at Twickenham.

Fine moments. And I full expect Wednesday’s first World Cup cricket semi-final between India and Pakistan to add a few more.

Who the hell is Neal Collins (nealcol on Twitter)? See www.nealcollins.co.uk.