The Bafana masterplan for 2018: This is the word of Gord

The way ahead: Igesund and squad

No point in being clever here. I'm just going to quote Gordon Igesund when it comes to the "2018 South African Masterplan" he unveiled to the SAFA technical committee on Friday morning.

Everybody I've spoken to said it was one of the most impressive presentations they'd seen in the game. A real, long-term plan for Bafana Bafana. Farouk Khan, a man who knows a thing or two about football development, described it as “something I’ve never seen from a Bafana manager before.”

We had a long talk with Gordon on SportsTalk on Talk Radio 702 and Cape Talk 567 with Udo Carelse. There's no point in me adding my comments.

IT'S THE WORD OF GORD

"It’s actually very simple, I had to put through a proposal suggesting the right way for us to go. 

“We had five players in our squad who played for the South African youth teams. The great football teams in the world have 22 of their 23 who progress through the Under 19 and Under 21s.

“This is the way we have to go with our squad. Our players have to be trained and programmed to play the system the way the national team plays.

“We have to do much, much better with our development. The Under 17 and Under 19 coaches have to buy in to our senior system.

“We’ve been through difficult times. We’re trying to get a quick fix sometimes, we’ve had so many national team coaches.

WINGLESS WONDERS

“The World Cup coach we had didn’t have wingers. The next coach wanted to play another way. The style, the system is changing too much. We have to buy in to a system we can identify with. For the next six years we have to stick to a certain style. The coaches must teach our players to use that system, that style.

“So when you get a player from the Under 23 team to the national team, he will fit in completely.

“Development can’t be done in one year. It takes 10 years, 15 years. The kids don’t have enough time to adapt. We really have to apply our minds, make sure we stick to this philosophy for the next ten years.

CONTRACT KILLER

“A week ago I was supposed to sit down with the president of SAFA but I ended up in hospital with an appendix. I’m not in a big rush to sign a new contract. I’m getting huge support, the new contract will happen.

“Indications are that it is exactly what they want. It will be no problem.

“I want a team that squeezes the opposition. We want to play 4-3-3 with three strikers, one very attacking midfielder. Against Mali we were outstanding, and Morocco. We had more possession, more attacks than any other team in the competition.

“We have great youngsters coming through, Mahlangu, Furman, Serero. This is not something new, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates play like this. Possess it, move forward quickly, don’t give it away. The blueprint is out there, as time goes on, people are going to be able to identify South African football.

“This is not a Gordon Igesund brand of football. This is South African. Like you can identify Dutch or German football.  We’ve got to hone it, play attractive football.

“We have to identify players too. We had a bit of a problem. Too many similar players up front. We have to develop it in our Under 17 team, show a striker how to play with his back to goal.

“We were the highest scoring team in our group at AFCON, not bad for a team that couldn’t score goals before the competition.

“You can’t expect to score goals if you only push forward three or four times in a game. For a team that hadn’t won in years in the AFCON, we changed things. That’s where we want to get to.

 IS IT IN THE GENES?

“High pressure. Sprinting. Stop, start. But we weren’t fit enough. I realised that was our problem. Our players have the fitness to run the Comrades Marathon but not the anaerobic fitness, the stop-and-start ability to keep going.

“That’s not naturally in our make-up. The short stuff. The 10m sprints. We’re not genetically built for that. It’s something we have to learn.

“We’ve been out of world football for far too long. We need to get it right from an early age.

“Our youngsters have to be able to play this way, a pressing game. Against Mali, we started to tire, we weren’t tight… they scored. And they won on penalties.

“We can produce world class players again. Look at our history. In the Confederations Cup, we held Spain. We’ve played the top teams in the world.

“The last 10 years or so, there’ve been so many changes. Too many short term fixes. Whether Gordon Igesund or Joe Soap is in charge, we have to develop our philosophy, work on that.

“In ten years from now, we’ll see a huge difference. Anaerobic training from a young age. Dean Furman and May Mahlangu, both playing in Europe, ran 15 and 16km in a match. Most only do 12km. And they were able to do 50 to 60 sprints, local players could only do 10 or 20 sprints.

“Tactically, we can’t play a squeezing game with our local players. We have to start scientifically get our players to a level of fitness. From an early age.

ON THE SAME PAGE

“Our junior coaches, our Under 17 and Under 21 coaches, we all need a common goal. Spain, Portugal, Germany… their squads, of the 23, each had 22 who had come through Under 17, Under 21. Each trained to play a certain way.

“My squad had 14 players who have never seen a South African youth team.

“We need to have the best coaches in there, people who have played football, know the game, able to work.

“Whether it’s me or somebody else, as head coach, I need to tell all the other coaches how we’re going to do it. For Under 20, for Under 23.

“Then all of a sudden we’re on the same page. This is hugely important.

“I’ve only just unveiled my master plan. I can’t reveal it all. There are a lot of names I’ve mentioned, people I’d like to work with. I know the coaches of want, of course I do. But it’s a bit early to name names.”

And there it is. In tablet form. The word of Gord.

This article appeared as my Neal & Pray column in The New Age this week. You can follow me on twitter at @nealcol, watch me on eTV Sunrise and eNCAnews every Monday - or simply go to www.702.co.za every night of the week, where I produce SportsTalk with Udo Carelse.

Keshi and Nigeria: There can only be one winner

Where Eagles Dare: Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi

STEPHEN KESHI. Mastermind. Just when you thought Nigeria could go no further against the Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations quarter-finals, he wheels out the master-plan and surges to AFCON 2013 glory.

And just when you thought he’d be focused on the Confederations Cup in Brazil, he bashes off a resignation letter to the Nigerian Football Federation and announces his fiendish plot live on air.

Classic.

He had everyone running around pulling their hair out. Until this morning when he calmly told Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi he’d had another think and would stay in charge of the Super Eagles.

Presumably after he had explained how he wants to remove all those who plotted against him in the build-up to South Africa 2013 – and exactly what kind of package/car/retirement plan/medical scheme he wanted to go forward with.

The right honourable Mr Abdullahi called those “certain assurances” as the smoke cleared this morning.

This is no ordinary bloke. A winner on the field for his nation in 1994, Keshi spent time preparing for the big one with foreign forces Togo and Mali before he turned his eagle eye on the coveted double of playing and coaching in an AFCON triumph for his homeland. Only Egypt's Mahmoud El-Gohary had ever managed it before.

Right now Keshi is so far ahead of the men who tried to sack him before the 2-1 win over Cote d’Ivor he’s in a different time zone.

In England we’d call this a willy measuring contest. More polite cultures – like the USA where Keshi has spent a lot of time since playing for Sacramento in 1996 - might refer to such extravagant gestures as “strategizing” with a z.

In simple terms, Keshi is bigger than anybody in Nigeria at the moment. He has the trophy, he has broken the drought, he has knocked back the knockers.

Of course, he could have gone home, had a chat with the powers that be and simply agreed a new package. But this way, calling Nigeria’s bluff while he was still in Johannesburg, Keshi arrives in Abuja as an all-conquering untouchable.

He didn’t just see off Africa’s footballers, he has utterly destroyed his detractors. For now.

In a vast nation riven by all kinds of rivalry - particularly between supporters of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan - sporting success can be a useful tool.

One widely quoted source this morning “close to the president” revealed: “Yes, it is very true that Keshi resigned his position as coach of the Eagles. That he confirmed to us. It was quite alarming given the complaints he brought up. There were a lot on things going on that the nation didn’t know.

“He informed us about backlog of salaries, his official car that has only been on paper since he took office. Even in South Africa, money was an issue. It is appalling but the key thing is that Keshi has calmed down and has agreed to continue as the coach of Nigeria.”

But he was never less than calm. By revealing how he’d been sacked before the quarter-final, how his fumbling federation had already booked tickets home before taking on Drogba and the Toure brothers, he has gone 2-0 up and we’re deep in to ego-injury time.

And then there were those classic quotes after the quarter-final triumph: “I don’t have anything against white coaches. Just those that are carpenters at home and coaches in Africa. “

Presumably a pale imitation had already been lined up by the Nigerian federation before their self-esteem started flooding back. But that is guesswork, as is the name of the possible replacement.

Then he was at it again after the emphatic 4-1 semi-final win over Mali in Durban: “If José Mourinho, gets a call from a rich team, he goes. I'm here for now, but if God grants me this AFCON, we'll see if there's anyone out there who wants me.”

That Keshi has now become the first African (South Africa’s Clive Barker could dispute it, but that’s another debate entirely) to win AFCON since Cote d'Ivoire's Yeo Martial in 1992 is a perfect epitaph to his bold outbursts.

Africa, perhaps the world, lies at his feet. Nigeria were never going to accept a public relations stunt like resigning to sports host Robert Marawa, despite his apparently regal status.

Nigerians at home and diasporically around the world honestly believe Keshi – with a little help from Emmanuel Emenike, Victor Moses and man of the tournament Jon Obi Mikel – could take these Jolly Green Giants to Confederations Cup contention and have the World Cup wobbling.

A Nigeria which has tried 19 coaches in 19 years since their last AFCON victory in 1994 simply could not allow Keshi to walk away. And he knew that.

STOP PRESS: THIS FROM KICKOFF.COM:

NFF President Aminu Maigari says he has not spoken to Stephen Keshi since the coach announced his shock resignation on Monday evening.

"I was as surprised as anybody else to hear that he had resigned because I never saw a letter from him. I employed him and there are processes in place for doing things.

If he wanted to resign, he should have shown me respect by informing me the proper way,” Maigari tells KickOffNigeria.com.

Despite Keshi having met with Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi into the early hours before agreeing to rescind his decision, Maigari said he had not spoken to the coach.

"I haven't talked to him. If he has something to tell me, he should come and tell me."

Abdullahi, however, said he spoke to Maigari before going into his meeting with Keshi. All three are on the same chartered flight taking the team to Abuja, but Keshi and most NFF officials avoided each other all the way to boarding.

Abdullahi admits that some friction remains, but says there will be time to resolve all that.

"This is not the time for that. For now we have resolved the issue and he will be staying. After the reception we will sit down and sort things out. Obviously, there are certain things that weren't handled properly, but we will have plenty of time to sort them out."

PLAYING CAREER

1979       ACB Lagos           10           (1)

1980–1984           New Nigeria Bank            42           (4)

1985       Stade d'Abidjan                13           (2)

1986       Africa Sports      22           (2)

1986–1987           Lokeren               28           (6)

1987–1991           Anderlecht         99           (18)

1991–1993           RC Strasbourg    62           (9)

1993–1994           Molenbeek        40           (1)

1995       CCV Hydra           20           (1)

1996       Sacramento Scorpions   16           (3)

1997–1998           Perlis FA               34           (4)

International

1981–1995           Nigeria 64           (9)

Coaching

2004–2006           Togo

2006–2008           Togo

2008–2010           Mali

2011       Togo

2011–    Nigeria

Could these be the reasons behind Bafana Bafana's slow start at the African Cup of Nations?

Host of a chance: Gordon Igesund's Bafana Bafana

TONIGHT South Africa play Angola in a match which will go a long way to deciding their fate at the African Cup of Nations.

They have two injuries - Kagiso Dikgachoi and Lerato Chabangu - and seriously wounded pride after that yawn-a-minute display against Cape Verde in the AFCON-opening 0-0 draw last Saturday.

The fact that Angola and Morocco also failed to score a goal between them at the National Stadium two hours later means everyone starts from scratch tonight. No goals, one point each, two games to play.

Bafana Bafana kick-off at 5pm. Morocco play Cape Verde at 8pm. After the Proteas snatch defeat from the draw of victory against New Zealand last night near the Big Hole, the nation desperately needs a boost.

If Bafana draw, which is fairly likely given recent displays, I have an awful feeling Angola will beat the volcanic Verdians in their final match on Sunday to qualify with Morocco, clearly the best team in the weakest group.

Tonight we hope for a miracle. That a side unable to score against a young Norway, a pedestrian Algeria and a land of 4,000 square kilometres of lava will be able to produce their first goal in 270 minutes.

Gordon has tried every combination from his front four of Tokelo Rantie, Katlego Mphela, Leohonololo Majoro and Bernard Parker. With Benni McCarthy and Siyabonga Nomvethe both injured, Gordon can hardly be accused of picking the wrong strikers.

I produce SportsTalk on www.702.co.za every night now with Udo Carelse. On Monday night we spoke to Gavin Hunt, the tough-talking Sir Alex Ferguson of South African football. He coached SuperSport United to three successive PSL titles around the World Cup and was short-listed for his mate Gordon's job four months ago.

Here's his take: "The Cape Verde game was like watching paint dry. I daren't phone Gordon to find out what's going on. I feel sorry for him. Half the players look like they couldn't be bothered.

"Siphiwe Tshabalala looks like he need a long holiday. On a Mauritian island. With a one-way ticket. He needs a break for football. He's not been at it for a while. And Thusa Phala's okay but he's like a fireman isn't he? Always putting it out."

At first sight, these are simply Gavinisms. But Hunt is not one for the glib. He's right. Bafana have looked a little bit off for a while now. I talked about it with Redi Tlhabi this morning. I explained how much I hope they get it right tonight.

But then I gave her the points below, as a guide to why South Africa's best players just don't seem fired up right now. Here they are. The possible reasons for failure - not excuses, not an off-putting attack on the team. Just the bare facts as I understand them:


1 On December 22, Bafana beat Malawi 3-1 in a friendly which led to the resignation of the Malawian coach. For that the players are supposed to earn R40,000 EACH (figures of NOTHING for a friendly defeat, R20,000 for a draw and R40,000 were revealed to Udo on SportsTalk last night by SAFA communications manager Dominic Chimhavi last night).

2 They were due to be paid that sum (plus a further sum for the preparatory camp before the game) two weeks ago. Last night Chimhavi told us they would be paid ON THURSDAY. AFTER TONIGHT’S GAME. He said: "Don't worry, we pay our employees." But two weeks later and AFTER the big game Dominic?

3 Tonight Bafana play the biggest game of some of their lives. Defeat against Angola will mean another crushing elimination on home soil, just like the World Cup... only worse.

4 According to my source, the players are deeply unhappy about this situation. SAFA announced the team had agreed to play without bonuses “until the latter stages” in fact, they were told there were no bonuses. That a discussion over remuneration will take place “maybe next week”. Dominic insists NO basic sums have been decided yet, even thought the tournament has begun.

5 A few weeks ago the City Press confirmed rumoured fears about SAFA’s finances. City Press reported the national football association have lost R56m in the first four months of the current financial year. They lost over R100m the year before. SAFA’s chief operations officer shrugged it off as “a cash flow problem” and has not returned my requests for an interview. I believe SAFA finances are in an awful state, just two years after hosting a World Cup.

6 I am also told two players were robbed at the Elangeni hotel during the build-up to the Malawi game. No report was filed, the robbery was hushed up because “the hotel is good to SAFA”. The two players involved lost cash, all credit cards, mobile phones and expensive watches amongst other things.

7 SAFA deny this. Dominic, who seems a nice bloke, emphatically said last night on SportsTalk that he was not aware of any robbery. That he had been in the same hotel throughout the Malawi camp before Christmas. But there was one. Ask Thuso Phala. Dominic, like the rest of us, was clearly not informed. Three weeks before AFCON Bafana were ROBBED at a luxury seafront hotel. And the team is staying at the Elangeni as we speak. Is it any wonder the lads aren't looking their best on the park?

It’s tough to motivate a side that is not, in their view, being sufficiently remunerated. Steven Pienaar, the Everton star and our only world class player, ended up out of pocket when he came over to play for Bafana. He retired shortly before this tournament. Others feel the same.

Gordon Igesund is trying to put out a competitive side tonight. He is doing so with one hand tied behind his back. Whether we like it or not, footballers are doing a job. They are not amateurs playing for the love of the game. YES, they care about the shirt, YES, they want to win. But proper payment and reward, as we all know, doesn't half help.

The boot is on the other foot: goalless Gordon finds himself in Pitso's shoes

Remember when: Gordon Igesund celebrating a goal, circa 1872

Suddenly Gordon Igesund finds himself in Pitso Mosimane’s shoes. And they’re not very comfortable. By Wednesday evening, he'll have his own footwear. Question is: will they be flip-flops or stillettos?

The awful goalless draw against Algeria after a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Norway’s unwanted youngsters was “very Mosimane” but excusable. A pair of meaningless, friendly slippers.

Gordon reassured the nation: “We are improving. You haven’t seen my best side yet. We are hard to beat and we will score goals,” just a week before Saturday’s big kick-off at the rechristened National Stadium.

Then, like Pitso, Carlos Alberto Parreira and a cast of hundred haplesscoaches before him, Igesund was entirely incapable of raising the game for the opening clash against minnows Cape Verde.

Awful. Embarrassing. Toothless. Boring. And those were the polite verdicts. The government has apparently declared all goals in South Africa “national key points” until the AFCON final at Soccer City on February 10. But that's okay, none of us have seen one in nearly 300 minutes.

Ghana and that famous medic Dr Congo shared four goals between them on Sunday to lift a tournament which started with that record goal drought on Saturday - but that is not enough for soccer-mad fans in the host nation.

Forced to endure traffic jams, ticket scares and bus disappearances in the build-up, what did Gordon offer to console the fans after his side’s drab opening? “My players froze up. We can’t afford to play like that again. The nerves got to them and a lot of players were hiding.

“They are very disappointed but we win together and we lose together. With Angola and Morocco drawing 0-0 too, we are now all on an equal footing in Group A. Let’s see how we can rectify the situation.”

Very Pitso isn’t it? The initial knock-kneed approach has morphed in to a genuine mistrust of the media, and if really thinks those two goalless draws on Saturday are good for Bafana, he’s fooling himself.

The scenario is this: South Africa draw against Angola on Wednesday, Morocco will crush the vocal Verdians. Then we’ll draw against Morocco in the final game – remember Gordon’s words after Algeria “we are becoming difficult to beat” – but Angola will then polish off the volcanic islanders to qualify with Morocco.

And that will leave an unbeaten South Africa waving goodbye to another tournament despite their privileged position as hosts.

Nobody wants that to happen. Gordon least of all. Even Pitso, wiping the smile of his face somewhere in Mamelodi or Chloorkop, doesn’t want that to happen.

Gavin Hunt, the SuperSport United coach who won three successive PSL titles and was short-listed for the hottest seat in South Africa outside of Nkandla, doesn't either.

He appeared on our new show SportsTalk on www.702.co.za this week and told presenter Udo Carelse: "I feel sorry for Gordon. Some of his players look like they couldn't be bothered. Siphiwe Tshabalalala needs a long holiday on a Mauritian island. With a one-way ticket. The guy needs a break from football.

"And Thuso Phala is okay. But he's a fireman. He's always putting it out."

Now only victory against Angola tomorrow night offers Gordon the chance of redemption.

And the last flickering flame of hope lies in these words: “We have to move on. We can’t harp on about Saturday. Football is a funny game (many English coaches have resorted to that one over the years) once we score a few goals and get the country buzzing, I believe we can go all the way.”

Wednesday evening, Gordon gets the chance to remove Pitso’s shoes and wear his own. Whether they will come back to kick him up the bottom remains in doubt.

To hear podcasts of our new show go to: http://www.702.co.za/podcast/podcast_sportstalk.asp.

In Gord we trust: Igesund, one of our finest players, approaches the toughest test of his coaching career

In Gordon we trust: Igesund enjoying  another cup of coffee

IT is a little-known fact that Gordon Igesund, currently sitting in the hottest seat in football, was one of the best players of his generation in South Africa.

Walter Rautmann, the Austrian who coached AmaZulu with some success twenty years ago, recalls: “Gordon and I worked together as coaches at several clubs, I love the guy. Great coach. But as a player? He was the best I ever had.”

It was Walter who helped move Igesund, then 25, from African Wanderers to his native Austria in 1981. After banging them in for Durban City, Durban United, Highlands Park, Umlazi Bush Bucks, AmaZulu and Wanderers, Gordon moved first to Grazer Athletik-Sport Klub and then to the big time with Vienna’s FC Admira Wacker Mödling.

It was there, playing in the UEFA Cup, that the man with the Norwegian ancestors scored 25 goals in 76 games. Not bad for an unknown South African during the Apartheid years.

Rautmann remembers it well. His call was not solicited, nobody asked him to provide backing for the under-pressure South African coach on the eve of what promises to be a torrid African Cup on Nations.

But Walter, known variously as “King of the Zulus” and “Mr Fitness” in a long coaching career in this country, wanted to reassure us all: “Gordon knows what he is doing.  I know this man, we have worked together. He can win this thing”

Amid the searing critique of his Bafana side after the 1-0 loss against Norway in Cape Town last week – a defeat which cost this pundit his hair in a televised shearing on eTV Sunrise after a public promise – the reception surrounding the 0-0 draw against Algeria in Orlando on Saturday was equally scathing.

But Gordon remains on track. He knows his stuff. Take away his ability as a player and examine his background as a coach. He won the South African title with a record FOUR different clubs, has won silverware with FIVE.

And of course, just last season, he revived a relegation-bound Moroka Swallows and took them to within a Benni McCarthy goal of denying Orlando Pirates their second successive treble. Without him this season, they are back among the strugglers.

Now is NOT the time to examine Gordon’s credentials. To call for his scalp as we head towards Soccer City and the opening game against Cape Verde Islands on Saturday at 6pm.

I had lunch with Gordon at the team hotel in Monte Casino last week. He liked the shaven head forced on me by his side’s defeat and remains remarkably upbeat despite the huge pressure being heaped on him and his squad for their lack of pre-tournament goals.

His upbeat comments after the Norway and Algeria friendlies have earned ridicule in some quarters, but he dashed out to the car park after lunch and assured me: “Look Neal, I haven’t even let them see my best side yet. That is yet to come.

“We will score goals. I’ve got the four best strikers available in Tokelo Rantie, the PSL top scorers Bernard Parker and Lehlohonolo Majoro and of course, Katlego Mphela. I’ve got Thulani Serero at 85 percent right now, but he will be 100 by Saturday.

“We’re playing well, man. We’re hard to beat. I still believe we can do this.”

Having limited Algeria, Africa’s second-best side, to a single shot on goal, he will hear no critique of his centre-back pairing of Buccaneer Siya Sangweni and the articulate Bongani Khumalo either.

Khumalo is plagued by detractors who suggest his well-modulated English somehow stops him from being a gritty defender. But Gordon knows full well: “So many of the fans out there are ruled by which club they support. But come the kick-off, they’ll all get behind us. I know they will. I know I have done all I can do.”

He has. On Saturday we will find out if "all I can do" is good enough. Will be play two strikers? Preferably Rantie and Majoro with Mphela as an impact sub? Will he play Serero and May Mahlangu in an attempt to provide forward momentum in a midfield hamstrung by ponderous defensive psychology?

We will soon see. But for now, IN GORDON WE TRUST. Until Saturday. And beyond...

TUNE in to www.702.co.za from anywhere in the world to listen to SportsTalk, which I now produce on Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape Talk with presenter Udo Carelse EVERY NIGHT except Saturday. Monday to Thursday, 8-9pm. Fridays and Sundays, 7-9pm. Call us 011 883 0702 and I'll get you on air!

Gordon’s coaching career

1995                   African Wanderers

1996–2000           Manning Rangers

2000–2001           Orlando Pirates

2001–2002           Santos Cape Town

2002–2006           Ajax Cape Town

2006–2008           Mamelodi Sundowns

2008–2009           Maritzburg United

2009–2010           Free State Stars

2010–2012           Moroka Swallows

2012–                  South Africa

Gordon’s titles 

• 1996/97 PSL champion (Manning Rangers)
• 2000/01 PSL champion (Orlando Pirates)
• 2001/02 PSL champion (Santos)
• 2000 BP Top Eight Cup winner (Orlando Pirates)
• 2006/07 PSL champion (Sundowns)
• 2007 SAA Supa 8 winner (Sundowns)