A Lesson To Young PSL Players...

There is a great football movie currently out simply called, The Class of 92 which documents the football careers of six special players that came out of the 1992 Manchester United youth teams and went on to be world stars. For those of you who are Man United fans, you will know that those players were David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and Gary and Phil Neville. Even if you're not a Manchester United fan, it's well worth a watch if football is in your heart. It's goose-bump stuff from start to finish.    Having followed the careers of all these players, with almost all being massive heroes of mine, I knew everything there was to know about them already. Well I thought I did… You see what many of us never get to witness is what happens leading up to actually stepping onto the pitch for the Manchester United senior team for the first time; the journey that gets you there and the fine line that exists between those that made it, and those that didn't.   If I asked you (even those who consider themselves huge Manchester United fans) who George Switzer, Lenny Taylor, Andy Noone and Raphael Burke was, I doubt you would be able to tell me.    Raphael Burke was considered one of the most naturally talented players in the youth set-up at Manchester United in the early 90's. He was a wing wizard, considered better by some than the young Beckham, Scholes and Neville brothers. But not one person reading this column knows who he is. And having listened to his story, it's a huge lesson to our younger players in the PSL today. Why did Burke not make it? There are a number of reasons that will be pointed out, but above all, he didn't respect the game. Above all, he thought that talent alone would see him through. Above all, he was content with what he had achieved, and thought he had made it before he actually made it.    Speaking to a journalist from the British website, The Independent, Burke said of the ones that made it – the Nevilles, Beckham and Giggs - "What I remember most was the hunger of those lads that made it. It really has to be a burning passion in you if you want to succeed. I have read somewhere Gary [Neville] saying that he gave up his friends because he just wanted to be a footballer. I didn't have the hunger at the time. It's best I am honest about it because otherwise you end up blaming everyone else. Some teenagers just don't have the maturity to realise what they have. David, Nicky, Gary – they had the maturity to realise this was a precious chance at United."    It immediately made me think of an interview I once conducted with, arguably South Africa's greatest player of modern times, Benni McCarthy, who, when I asked him why more talented players from the PSL didn't make it big overseas like he did, simply replied, "When players here (South Africa) sign for Chiefs or Pirates they think they have made it. They ain't made shit." Benni went on to explain that many players in South Africa stop doing the things that got them to the top of the South African soccer food chain, not realising that it was then that they needed to put in even more effort to make the next step – to keep on getting better.   Of the great players that have played in the PSL, how many of them do the rest of the world know about? Maybe a hand-full? And let's not even talk about those who lit up the PSL, even for a short while, only to fade away into obscurity: your Jabu Pules, your Mkhanyiseli Siwhahlas and Masibusane Zongos. As we look at the PSL today and see the next generation of youngsters coming through – the Morne Nels, Bongani Zungus and Keagan Dollys – I hope they don't think they have made it just yet. I hope they don't see the PSL as 'The Promised Land'.  Because the drop from almost making it and falling into the abyss that is football obscurity is a very long and painful one.    Raphael Burke went from being on the brink of world stardom to working in a fruit and veg stall when he left Man United. He recalls, "After that (leaving Man United) I worked in an office and then on a fruit and veg stall. I had to get up at 5am to start work – you think to yourself, 'This is the real world!' When I watched the 2002 World Cup, I had played or trained with most of that England team..."   Now, a youth coach at Bristol City, Burke uses his own story to encourage youngsters and remind them of the great opportunity they have with football. Speaking to the Bristol Post in the UK he reminds kids of this lesson. "There are three sayings which I teach the kids. The first is that hard work mixed with talent will produce great results. The second is hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. So, if you've only got hard work you can still achieve something because you're going to be disciplined and dedicated. And the last saying is that talent by itself produces little."   I can't say it any better.    Shapa Clint