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In the early days, SA football was blessed with an array of talented playmakers. Buses, trains, taverns and all hangout spots were filled with chatter and excitement with the talents of Jomo Sono, Ace Ntsoelengoe, Ace Mnini, Heel Extension Mkhari, Teenage Dladla, Professor Ngubane just to name a few. At the height of Apartheid, those players used to bring relief and a little joy to our people’s lives. Stadiums would be sold out long before Kickoff, just for fans to see the tsamaya, shibobo, Jomo Sono standing on top of the ball, beautiful football and goals.
Come the 90’s Apartheid came to an end, South Africa came out of international isolation and Fifa unbanned them. A more professional league called PSL was formed, with that came the era of Doctor Khumalo, Shoes Moshoeu, Teboho Moloi etc. The football was beautiful, goals flowed and Bafana Bafana were crowned African champions with Doctor Khumalo one of our chief playmakers creating the killer goal for Mark Williams.
That was the best era for SA football, because we managed to qualify for our first WC in France, our players also got chances to go play in Europe and South America. That was the best era even for the PSL, with top scorers getting 20+ goals. With on field success, comes coaches from Europe, South America and even Asia with them comes their ideas and methods of how football should be played. Only a few coaches like the late Theodore Ted Dumitru (RiP) from Romania, truly embraced SA football and married
it with success, other coaches came with structure and discipline.
While Ted Dumitru embraced the SA playmaker, as seen with his success at Sundowns and how he allowed Scara Ngobese to express himself while contributing to Chiefs title charge, most coaches sucked the creativity out of our football. Firstly by moving the playmaker away from CM/10, to a wide position for a more defensively disciplined player and then finally benching him for a more defence minded wide player.
With that has come the decline of SA football, from qualifying comfortably for tournaments, to failing to qualify for tournaments and holding the unwanted record, of being the first hosts to bow out of the WC group stages. The league has also suffered with less than 5 players breaching the 20 league goals mark since 2010. While Europe embraces magicians like Neymar, SA football continues to mock skillful players saying they are fit for the circus and adding more defensively inclined players, playing defensive
systems.
There’s a ray of hope and it’s being led by South Africa’s 2nd division (GladAfrica Championship) clubs breed of young coaches. Disciples of the late Ted Dumitru the likes of Simo Dladla, Sipho Dlangalala while he was at Tuks and Dan Malesela at Chippa United have embraced SA football philosophy and brought back the playmaker and style. There’s also a revolution brewing at Chloorkop, with the trio of SA coaches Rulani Mokoena, Steve Komphela and Manqoba Mnqithi bringing back the old Mamelodi Sundowns style of shoe shine and piano, with Themba Zwane and Gaston Sirino leading an orchestra and Rivaldo Coetzee playing as a deep lying playmaker.
Whether this revolution is just a false dawn, or it’s something permanent only time will tell.
FootballTshepo Out
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