Firstly, let me start by thanking all the Soccer Laduma readers for their unwavering support in buying the newspaper, reading my column and giving feedback from time to time. I really appreciate it and I know this is the sentiment shared by everyone at Soccer Laduma. We continue to strive to give you the best possible content we can, with a fresh perspective that you won't get anywhere else. Above all of that, it is already December and we all know that this is when most people get to spend quality time with their loved ones, put their feet up and enjoy the Christmas break. We have to please take caution in whatever we do. As much as this is time to celebrate, it is also the time we are most vulnerable to life's dangers and I'd like for all of us to be back here in January and carry on from where we'd have left off this month. Let me not make it sound like this is the last column for the year because it is not. We brace ourselves for what should be an interesting and entertaining Carling Knockout final between Stellenbosch FC and TS Galaxy at Moses Mabhida Stadium this Saturday. These are two of the in-form teams in the league and, if you look at their road to the final, they truly deserve to be in the final. I wish both teams everything of the best, as one of them is going to make history, and I just can't wait for the game.
Doc answers your questions…
Please don't forget to send your questions to editor@soccerladuma.co.za for now, until further notice.
Danny Moreo wants to know what can I say to the current Chiefs team and what measures do I think must be taken for them to deliver?
I was fortunate enough, as I mentioned on this platform before, to be granted an opportunity to address Chiefs players before the start of the season. I told them everything they need to know about playing for that massive brand and what I think it takes to succeed. As far as what measures need to be taken for the team to succeed, I think it is only fair to leave that one to the team. After all, I believe they are doing everything they can to get the required results. They work together on a daily basis, so it wouldn't be wise for someone to tell them what to do, from a distance.
Gavin Ryan is asking if the European coaches are not taking South African philosophy away from the players, with their coaching?
Honestly, football philosophy and identity is something we need to pay more attention to. When you have those in place, they dictate what kind of a coach you will be appointing. You are not going to employ a coach whose philosophy contradicts your club's, but if you have none, then you will take whoever is available and they will do things as they see fit.
Being Doc
I have learned not to take anything for granted, good or bad. Sometimes we encounter situations and think they are minors that will be dealt with easily, only for us to be left surprised. We have to embrace every situation and just give it our best. It doesn't matter what happens, you just control what you can control and leave the rest to take care of itself.
Coaches I've worked with: Boebie deserves more credit
I know my colleagues interviewed instructor Boebie Solomons in last week's edition of the paper and I'd like to give that man his flowers while he can still smell them in this week's edition. This is one of our unsung heroes and people don't acknowledge the man's input in South African football… in fact, even in the continent. Some of us have had an opportunity to rub shoulders and interact with this man, especially when it comes to football matters. We are so united and privileged to have this man grace us with his presence from time to time. To top it off, I'm not just talking about personal interaction but even conversations that have everything to do with our football. This is a coach who has done tremendously well for our football at club level, but his input was beyond that as he shaped the coaching industry in a significant waw. Some will remember him coaching Santos, Bidvest Wits and junior national teams, among others, and think that was all he's done, but I would like to believe one of his best contributions has been with the coaching education. When you look at his career and some of the players he produced and guided, you will be surprised because he developed and enhanced a lot of careers. He's never been a loud person but a rather humble and honest figure. Don't ever make the mistake of thinking he doesn't know how to stand his ground or drive a point across. When the need arises, coach Boebie will stand his ground and deal with whatever situation needs his attention. This is a very knowledgeable coach and I would like to believe that, given a chance, he can make a difference everywhere he was to be involved. This is one of the people I strongly believe needs to be utilised to get us back to where we belong as a country. Boebie is one of the best, in the same class as your late Clive Barker, Screamer Tshabalala, the late Styles Phumo, Shakes Mashaba and other former coaches. We tend to isolate, especially if people are not coming from the Gauteng province and think they don't deserve credit for their hard work and achievements. We need to acknowledge and celebrate people from other provinces as well because they are part of South Africa. I'd like to believe Boebie deserves more credit for the work he has done in the Western Cape and South African football at large.
There are a lot of quality players that have come from the Western Cape and some of those players left the country without touching the ball at professional level in our country. That speaks volumes about the quality of talent that people like coach Boebie have led and recruited. If we had proper structures in our football, people like Boebie would form an important part of those structures. These are people with a wealth of knowledge and experience that needs to be utilised. While he was still coaching, he gave a lot of youngsters a chance to make a name for themselves and he did the same in the junior national ranks. Like I said, I had the privilege of getting to know this gentleman on a personal level and it was an honour for me to learn from him. From my days as a footballer up to doing my coaching courses, he has always been one of the important people in my career and played an important role in enhancing my coaching talent. This is one of the coaches that, I feel, need to be acknowledged and celebrated in this country while they are still alive. I just want to thank him for being part of taking South African football development to the next level. He's done so with both the players and coaches. We are richer because we have him in our football. This man has coached and produced some of the top talents in the country and most of those players continue to make him proud, long after their retirement because they didn't just learn about football but life in general from this man. He was not just coaching minnows and anyone who remembers Boebie's Santos team will tell you what a difficult side they were to play against, especially at Athlone Stadium. There was never an easy game against them. I just hope that he will continue being involved in football because he still has a massive role to play.
Doc's memory bank: It was end-to-end stuff
I recall a game we played against Santos at Athlone Stadium and we didn't know much about that team. I think about 80% of their players were new to us, but come kick-off time, we immediately knew who and what Santos was all about. The stadium was packed to the rafters and Santos was so stubborn. Everywhere Kaizer Chiefs play, they are at home, but that Santos team didn't care about being overpowered in the stands. They didn't care about the fact that about 98% of the supporters in the stands belonged to Chiefs, they ran at us as if they were the ones with more supporters. They say a team is a reflection of their head coach and the way Boebie was issuing instructions to his team and encouraging them to have a serious go at us made us realise it was going to be a long afternoon. Musa Otieno Ongao, Edries Burton, Jean-Marc Ithier, Jerome McCarthy and others gave us hell! It was like a boxing match – we threw a punch and they countered, they threw a punch and we countered. It was end-to-end stuff and certainly one of the games I will never forget. We scored, they equalised, before taking the lead and then we equalised. They then scored the third goal and, again, we equalised. It was such a tense game and I must say they had a formidable side. After the game, we all agreed that Hellenic wasn't the only troublesome team in Cape Town. Santos earned our respect that day!
Doc's Friend Zone
Playing for Kaizer Chiefs exposed me to a lot of people and saw me build relationships that I would otherwise not have managed to do. That's how powerful football can be because we meet a lot of people through it and some of them become like family over time. Playing against teams like Santos made me realise just how much talent this country really has. The game I mentioned earlier was more than just the game. There was more to it than just the 90 minutes that we played. I managed to gain and make friends with a couple of Santos players. Duncan Crowie, McCarthy, Burton and many other guys from that team became my friends and we still keep in touch. I happened to share a dressing room with some of them at national team level and that took our friendship to the next level. Just look at how beautiful this game is! The friendships, understanding and the love that develops among opposition players is something to behold. The respect that they build from the game is amazing. Because of that friendship, McCarthy found himself at Chiefs and I happened to be teammates with Crowie at Bafana Bafana. Sport really does play a massive role in uniting people. Through sport, you get exposed to learn about other people's values and cultures, things you wouldn't know or even bother to find out about. I'm happy to have made as many friends as I have and that makes me respect football even more. I wouldn't have known so many people if it was not for football. I wouldn't be able to just pick up the phone and call anyone, for whatever reasons, if it was not for football. It was beautiful to share moments with these guys and, once again, had it not been for football I wouldn't have known the likes of Gerald Stober and many other legends.
