South African football is awash with opinions about what exactly is exciting football. There is no clear consensus on what constitute the elusive game model. The last few years have seen a plethora of different systems being hailed as exciting. The effectiveness of those has varied and so has their longevity.
For a few years, under Pitso Mosimane, Mamelodi Sundowns were the consensus “most exciting” team in the league. They moved the ball with purpose and precision, and they had a collection of the most exciting midfielders and attackers. Castro, Billiat and Dolly were part of an attacking trio dubbed CBD that scored freely. They had Teko, Zungu and Kekana controlling the midfield and supplying the forwards.
Even after CBD was dismantled with the sale of Dolly and the eventual departure of Castro and Billiat, there were always other exciting players ready to step in and continue with the exciting brand of football dished by Mosimane’s team. Themba Zwane, Percy Tau and Gaston Sirino, amongst others, stepped up to continue the dominance by Sundowns with football that was easy on the eye.
Mosimane’s exciting football did not detract from his ability to grind out results. As a serial winner, he knew how to get down and dirty and not worry about playing exciting football when it was necessary. Mosimane understood that he had to dominate teams to create chances and increase his team’s chances of winning. This resulted in the exciting brand of football being played for the majority of his Sundowns tenure. He also knew that it was not always possible to win with exciting and dominant football, and he adjusted accordingly when it was necessary.
In the same period of dominance by Sundowns we saw Bloemfontein Celtic, under Lehlohonolo Seema, play some enterprising football that endeared them to fans. With a shoestring budget because of the team’s dire financial situation, Seema earned the respect of football lovers across board with his team’s style of play. Dan Malesela also had his Chippa United play some of the best football in the league, where they looked to dominate possession and pass the ball around quickly with the likes of Thami Sangweni and Xola Mlambo dominating the midfield.
This season, Cape Town City, Golden Arrows and Bloemfontein Celtic have become fan favourites with their style of play. City’s midfield trio of Thato Mokeke, Thabo Nodada and Mduduzi Mdantsane has got fans purring over the football they orchestrate. This has transformed fans’ opinion of Jan Olde Riekerink. Derided as a plumber at the beginning of his tenure because of his team’s initial struggles, Riekerink has transformed his side into one of the most watchable teams in the league.
At Golden Arrows, Mandla Ncikazi has got his team playing some enterprising football with a talented group of players with low profiles like Gladwin Shitolo, Ntsako Makhubela and Velemseni Ndwandwe. The exciting midfield has complimented a solid defensive structure set by Steve Komphela.They press aggressively, move the ball with pace and are always on the move. No matter the result, there are no dull matches featuring Abafana Besithende.
John Maduka has taken over from where Lehlohonolo Seema left off at Celtic. He has continued with the enterprising football started by Seema that made Celtic the neutral’s favourite. The likes of Lantshene Phalane, Lucky Baloyi, Menzi Masuku and Siphelele Luthuli have ensured that Celtic can go toe-to-toe with any team in the league. They are quite inconsistent and seem to reserve their best performances for the top teams, but on their day, they can be a joy to behold with their style of football.
Benni McCarthy also seems to be building something special at Amazulu. They are great going forward, but are dogged by defensive vulnerabilities which ensure that their games are full of goals. The likes of Luvuyo Memela, Lehlohonolo Majoro and Xola Mlambo have found a second lease of life under McCarthy.
Besides Sundowns, all these sides have not won any trophies with their exciting style. Mosimane won with an enterprising style because he was given time to implement his ideas fully. The high turnover of coaches in the PSL means that style is often very low on the list of priorities for coaches who seek instant results to secure their positions.
In his last season in charge of Sundowns, Mosimane also strayed a bit away from the entertaining football his team had been famous for towards a more pragmatic and percentage style football to beat the resurgent and fast starting Kaizer Chiefs. This saw Hlompho Kekana play like an American Football quarterback by staying in the pocket and launching long balls to the forwards. The forwards would then play off second balls and use their superior talent to inflict pain on the opposition. The strategy worked as Sundowns reeled in Chiefs on the last day to win the domestic treble. But the exciting football not part of the success.
Fans immediately recognise the kind of football they deem exciting. The problem is that there are not many coaches in the PSL who worry too much about excitement. A vast majority of coaches only care about results, which means the PSL, although filled with exciting players, has very few teams playing them to their strength. Instead, coaches try to change these talented individuals into “robots” who follow instructions to the letter and have very little room to express their talents. This has rendered some teams in the PSL hard to watch.
When fans stumble upon an exciting team, they immediately adopt it as a second favourite. Right behind their very own, because it is a sporadic feat in the 16 team PSL to come across one that gets tongues wagging, in the same process, elevate our pulses.
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