Football's such a funny game. The one moment you are a hero and the next you are a nobody... or vice-versa.
This came to my mind after rumours emerged that Roger de Sa and Orlando Pirates could be singing Let's Kiss And Say Goodbye soon, following their 3-2 loss to Bloemfontein Celtic on Saturday evening. It was a cold night in Orlando for the Buccaneers faithful, but the hot seat became even hotter for De Sa. And you've got to feel for the man. Not so long ago he was hailed as the man to take Bucs to the Promised Land, and the team came within an inch of conquering Africa, succumbing to Ah Ahly and not least a bit of magic from Mohamed Aboutrika in the final of the Caf Champions League.
During the team's travels into Africa, which De Sa admitted turned him into a stranger to his dog when he came back home, he was christened 'Roger de Star' and was given a lot of love by the black and white-clad community. But now a loss to Platinum Stars in the Telkom Knockout final this weekend could sound the death knell for the former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper.
To illustrate my point further, you need to look no further than the situation of Pitso Mosimane at Mamelodi Sundowns. 'Jingles' has a love-hate relationship with the club's supporters, who are sometimes at the receiving end of his tirades. Remember the incident where he signalled to them to 'use their brains' after Teko Modise scored, in the 2-1 loss to Platinum Stars in the Telkom Knockout quarter-final last season? The fans had been on Teko's back for most of the game and Mosimane saw the goal as the perfect opportunity to let them have it.
Since then he has had a rocky relationship with Sundowns' hard-to-please fans, but seems to be slowly but surely winning them over. They are top of the table, playing an attractive brand of football and, most importantly, grinding out results. There are no more chants of, 'Fire the coach! He talks too much!'
There are many more examples of how quickly things can change in football. Lerato Chabangu is one such. Two years ago he was in the doldrums, struggling to defeat his booze demons, and all it took was a chance from Gordon Igesund to turn things around. Now 'All You Need Is Love' is back with a bang, is a regular in the national team and keeps bending those free-kicks into the back of the net.
Such a funny game... football. But that's exactly what we love about this beautiful game, isn't it?
Catch you on the rebound!
By: Lunga Adam
Follow Lunga on Twitter: @Lunga110
