Komphela hung, drawn and faltered. Step forward Gordon Igesund.

In Gord we trust: Igesund

We all knew silky-tongued Steve Komphela could talk the talk. Sadly, we now know he doesn’t quite walk the walk.

The Free State Stars miracle-worker had every opportunity to revolutionise the Bafana Bafana squad bequeathed him by the unlamented Pitso Mosimane after the disappointing 1-1 draw against Ethiopia at the Bafokeng Sports Palace nine days ago.

Instead, he barely tinkered with his starting line-up as the caretaker could only muster another desperately disappointing 1-1 draw against Botswana in the tiny University Stadium in Gaborone last Saturday.

I watched what I could of the match while preparing to go on air at SuperSport’s EuroZone garden in Randburg, and believe me Steve, you don’t want to know what Bradley Carnell, John Barnes, Ruud Krol and Thomas Mlambo had to say when I relayed the score to them. On hearing the final result, the old warhorse Terry Paine simply shrugged: “A draw with Botswana? It’s a disgrace.”

In Neal & Pray last Tuesday, like many other pundits, I offered alternatives to Komphela, a man I like and admire. Up front, I suggested Santos top-scorer Eleazar Rodgers or the recently-bereaved Thulani Serero, now strutting his stuff with Ajax Amsterdam. Instead, Komphela stuck with the alleged killer Katlego Mphela – fair enough, he struck against Ethiopia – and PSL top-scorer Siyabonga Nomvethe from Moroka Swallows, utterly ineffective a week before.

At the back, he refused to budge on the selection of non-playing Tottenham centre-half Bongani Khumalo while Bloemfontein Celtic’s impressive Mulomowandau “Tower” Mathoho was left with the cushion on the bench once more.

And in midfield, there was the mystery man from Golden Arrows, Thanduyise Khuboni, still starting ahead of Sweden’s player of the season May Mahlangu and Orlando Pirates dynamo Andile Jali.

Sure, Komphela dropped wounded Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Reneilwe 'Yeye' Letsholonyane for Buccaneer title-winner Oupa Manyisa and, just like Pitso against Ethiopia, he put on Sundowns match-changer Teko Modise for the struggling Amakhosi favourite Siphiwe Tshabalala after 68 minutes. Oh, and Tokelo Rantie took the 34-year-old Nomvethe’s place on the hour.

But essentially this was simply a rehash of Pitso’s mistakes. The team remained leaderless (I suggested bringing in Benni McCarthy, if only to issue threats from the bench) and toothless (only Morgan Gould’s head really threatened the Zebras).

And for those reasons, former Kroonstad schoolmaster Komphela, you can no longer expect to get the Bafana job permanently, no matter what happens in the friendly against Gabon at Mbombela on Friday. What exactly happened to the brave, new Bafana? Does the deadweight Brazilian Jario Leal still tell you who to pick? As I said on eNew yesterday morning, please tell me that ain’t so, Steve.

We had the normal Komphela platitudes afterwards: “We're not pleased,” “We are not happy,” and “The nation deserves better.”

But with Ethiopia beating the Central African Republic 2-0 to go top of the group, there can be no more mistakes. South Africa haven’t won a football game since November last year. Of the five names on the SAFA short-list, we know Gordon Igesund, the 55-year-old who has won the PSL title with FOUR different clubs, can change that after all that he has achieved over two decades in domestic football.

Having lost faith in Komphela, I can hardly turn to Neil Tovey, the 1996 Afcon-winning captain now managing Thanda Royal Zulu in the second division. Gavin Hunt could do the trick and said last week “I couldn’t turn down the Bafana job”, but he would surely fall out with SAFA’s bungling power mongers within a matter of seconds.

Shakes Mashaba, statistically the best international coach on the short-list after his run of 19 matches, 12 wins, five draws and two losses came to an acrimonious end in 2004, has suddenly emerged as the people’s choice after a rash of calls to Robert Marawa’s Metro Radio show last Thursday.

 And yes, he has all that it takes, despite failing to qualify for the London Olympics this year with the Under23 squad.

But now is the time for decisive action from SAFA. As their vice-president Danny Jordaan, the force behind the 2010 World Cup, said this morning: “We have dropped four points. It’s disappointing. If we lose the next game at home to the Central African Republic next year, we can say goodbye to Brazil.”

So say hello to Gordon Igesund. Moroka Swallows fans know it makes sense after his miraculous turnaround at Dobsonville last season. If anyone can get Steve Pienaar and his over-paid squad to fly, it’s Igesund.

This first appeared as my Neal & Pray column in www.thenewage.com on June 12. Since then, Igesund has topped a kickoff.com poll asking who should lead Bafana permanently: of the 3000 votes cast, there were 1,920 for Igesund (63.6%) with SuperSport's Gavin Hunt second on 334, caretaker Steve Komphela and Under 23 boss Shakes Mashaba tied on 328 in third. Thanda Royal Zulu's Neil Tovey, the 1996 AFCON-winning captain was a distant 5th with 3.5%.

Neal Collins is a South African football analyst who spent 25 years on Fleet Street. You can catch him on eNews every Monday morning a 8.15am and on SuperSport3’s EuroZone on Saturdays at 4pm. You can also follow him on www.twitter.com/nealcol orwww.nealcollins.co.uk. I'm on eTV Sunrise at 7.30am tomorrow, eNews at 8.15am talking Euro2012.

Why the missus didn't get a look-in this weekend... and there's more to come

Court case to come: John Terry and Anton Ferdinand

SOME weekend for sports fans. Maria Sharapova wore a nice strappy frock and won the French Open. The television ratings always rise for the Russian beauty, along with many male members.
The much-hyped mens final between Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal will resume tomorrow afternoon due to rain with Djokovic attempting a comeback after losing the first two sets 6-4 6-3 2-6 1-2.
On the rugby pitch, England were clearly robbed 22-17 by Heyneke Meyer's uncertain Springbulls in Durban, where Kiwi referee Steve Walsh is due to be replaced by South African public enemy number one, Bryce Lawrence for the rest of the series (he said hopefully), New Zealand trounced Ireland, Australia were too much for Wales. Same old, same old.
The Canadian Grand Prix saw a SEVENTH different winner in as many F1 races this season as Lewis Hamilton used his fresh tyres to slip past double champions Sebastien Vettel and Fernando Alonso.
In Las Vegas early on Sunday morning, Manny Pacquiao lost his WBO welterweight title to Timothy Bradley after a highly controversial split points decision. There will doubtless be a rematch, otherwise somebody is going to have to take on Floyd Mayweather when he comes out of jail.
But all this is mere window-dressing on a weekend of footballing humdingers.
In Gaborone, South Africa's new caretaker coach Steve Komphela came in, changed nothing and, unsurprisingly, produced Bafana Bafana's 1,356th successive draw. Apparently this has to do with muti and unpaid songomas rather than Komphela's bizarre decision to stick with the men who curtailed Pitso Mosimane's international coaching career when they drew with Ethiopia. Phokeng hell. And that was just the headline.
With Gordon Igesund leading the hastily assemble SAFA shortlist ahead of Gavin Hunt, Neil Tovey, people's choice Shakes Mashaba and the now-unpopular Komphela, perhaps I should offer this: for many nations, two draws in two World Cup qualifiers is considered something of a coup. In Africa, where coups are common, we should consider a group containing the Central African Republic, Botswana and Ethiopia - who beat CAR 2-0 yesterday to top the group - a free air-ticket to Brazil in 2014.
One unkind Botswanan suggested South Africa, home of AFCON 2013 after Libya shot their president and pulled out, are adopting the "if you can't beat them, host them" philosophy.
This is unfair. South Africa, providing they don't panic and appoint a Serbian to lead the nation, will top their group. After that, with play-offs to decide the meagre five-strong African contingent in Brazil, it's a lottery.
And so to the European Racism Championship. Poland and the Ukraine have done their best to present their fascist face to the world, and when Holland's black players were subjected to racist chanting in their first public appearance, we suddenly realised Sol Campbell's Panorama investigation was more than a hatchet job.
Still, the shows goes on. After two nights of action, no games have been called off, no players have stormed off. Missiles were thrown during Portugal v Germany, but hey, they were hardly intercontinental or ballistic. This is, after all, the battle for Europe, not the world.
At SuperSport headquarters, or more precisely in the roofed garden behind Studio 6 in their Oak Avenue complex, I spent yesterday with the great and the good in the first of our weekly EuroZone series (every Saturday at 4pm, don't miss it, next week it won't start just as Botswana equalise).
The grand old man of football Terry Paine was there. He's been commentating on South African football since Sepp Blatter was a lad. Get him talking about Southampton's promotion to the English Premier League this season, and he's a laugh a minute. In great shape for a man of 73, he brightens visibly when talking about his 50-year-old column in the Southampton Evening Echo. Apparently Southampton - where he still holds the record for club appearances - invited him over to hand out the trophies after their epic rags-to-riches promotion season.
Then there's John Barnes, also part of the SuperSport crew for this Euro2012. He turned up two days late after being told halfway to Johannesburg that he needed a new passport. Barnesie is a great character. He may have missed the 12-minute Opening Ceremony in Warsaw flying backwards and forwards but he told me this joke: "Breaking news: There were incidents of monkey chanting during England's training sesson at Euro2012 yesterday, John Terry has been warned if he doesn't stop, he'll be on the next flight home."
On the more serious allegation that Rio Ferdinand has been omitted from Roy Hodgson's squad because of John Terry's impending court case over racially abusing Rio's brother Anton at QPR, Barnes says: "You have to respect Roy Hodgson's decision. When I said that in England, everyone accused me of supporting Terry. But I wasn't. I just said respect the coach. Personally, I think Rio is England's best centre-back. He should be there."
Terry Paine insists: "The FA have got involved here. They've told Hodgson not to pick Rio. Simple as that."
Also present? Bradley Carnell, who spent 12 years as a professional in Germany, lovely bloke, tells a good tale. The mad Italian Stefano Vigoriti, the knowedgeable Spaniard Ricard Fernandez and of course the beautiful presenters, Carol Tshabalala and Thomas Mlambo.
We get an hour on SuperSport3 every Saturday at 4pm. Might be worth watching.
The football certainly is. Plenty of incident in the opener, where hosts Poland were held 1-1 by Greece with two red cards and a sub-standard Spanish referee. Then the Russians, tipped by both yours truly and Ruud Krol (I had a quick chat with the former Orlando Pirates treble-winner before make-up) crushed the Czech Republic 4-1.
Krol was ushered out in a state of some distress after Holland's shock 1-0 defeat against unfancied Denmark tonight but I can console him with the news that Robin van Persie's boots have been found in Fernando Torres's blue-and-red kit bag.
After that, Cristiano Ronaldo and 10 other blokes in red tried to Germanate Joachim Loew's tournament favourites. Sadly, Mario Gomes scored after 70 minutes and CR7 had no reply. While all that was going on, Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick in Argentina's 4-3 win over rivals Brazil (fielding their Olympic squad in New Jersey, USA) to help us remember Euro2012 is NOT the World Cup. Many described it as the game of the year.
Today World and European Champions Spain were expected to crush an Italian side floored by match-fixing investigations. It ended 1-1. Mario Balotelli didn't wear his Ghanaian surname Barwuah on his shirt, Fernando Torres missed a couple. Habitual scorer Di Natale came on for Balotelli and scored with his first touch for Italy. Cesc Fabregas, the former Gunner now with Barcelona, replied within three minutes for a Spanish side which started without a striker. Spain held 1-1? They lost to Switzerland 2-1 in their WC2010 opener and went on to win it.
Croatia then crushed the Republic of Ireland, much to the chagrin of my late Irish bastard great-grand-dad Collins with Luka Modric writing his CV for that move to Manchester United.
Monday sees England take a pounding from Laurent Blanc's rebuilt France, unbeaten in 21 games, while Sweden versus the Ukraine is anybody's guess. I've got eNews at 8.15am in the morning, my New Age column to write, then my debut on Ballz Radio at 3pm.
The action just doesn't stop. But consider this. South Africa's cricketers go to England next week. There are two more rugby Tests between the nations to come. And then the Olympics in London. Stay tuned. And warn the wife.

Euro2012 preview: Lionel Messi has a Czech mate

In Czech: Vaclav Pilar, Europe's answer to Lionel Messi

LIONEL MESSI has a Czech mate. When Euro2012 kicks off tomorrow night, all eyes will be on a 23-year-old called Vaclav Pilar when the Czech Republic takes on highly-fancied Russia.

Dick Advocaat’s Russia are among the pre-tournament favourites but the Czechs have qualified for every European Championship since the break-up of Czechoslovakia in 1993 – reaching the final against Germany at Euro96 with a side of shock troops that included Patrik Berger, Pavel Nedved and Karel Poborsky.

That record was under threat in October when they faced a play-off against England’s closest qualifying challengers Montenegro in Prague.

After a frustrating hour, it was Pilar who broke through with the first goal in a 2-0 home triumph to ease the passage of his nation, which at 18, is officially the same age as the new South Africa.

But it was playing for his club – the Czech champions Viktoria Plzen – that Pilar established himself last season as something of a European Messi.

Alongside the talented Petr Jiracek, Pilar shone as the unfancied Plzen finished third in a Champions League group featuring champions Barcelona and Italian giants AC Milan.

And when now-ex Barca boss Pep Guardiola picked out Pilar as the Plzen player who had impressed him most, the EuroMessi tag was neatly tied to his talented boots.

Since then, close pal Jiracek has gone to earn the big bucks with Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga - and Pilar is expected to make the lucrative leap to Engand, Spain, Italy or Germany soon.

But for now, the nation calls. Pilar says: "I don't think about my club fuure right now. I just fully focus on the Euro. But it would help me a great deal if I play well."

Still a relative international novice with nine caps, Pilar goes in to his first major tournament saying from the team’s training ground in Wroclaw: "I'm really looking forward to it. We're among the best 16 teams in Europe and my dream is to advance in the tournament."

Unlike World Cups, the European Championship rarely offers an easy game. After Russia tomorrow (8.45pm, live on SuperSport3 in South Africa), the Czechs have got 2004 shockers Grece and co-hosts Poland - who kick-off the tournament tomorrow night at 5pm (6pm in South Africa, also live on SuperSport3) to come in Group A.

Pilar says: "There are no easy opponents in this group or this tournament and I want to do all I can for the team to succeed. I haven't played many big games but I want to do my best."

While the Czechs may ease past hosts Poland - the lowest-ranked side in the tournament at 62 (that's six better than Bafana Bafana at 68) - to qualify with Russia, things will get no easier.

In the deadly Group B, Germany and Holland should emerge ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal and dogged Denmark.

Group C should see champions Spain through, with Croatia perhaps getting the edge over troubled Italy and unlucky Ireland.

England may just sneak past Sweden in Group D with France on top and co-hosts Ukraine at the bottom.

The final? How about the Dutch to end Spain's four-year domination of world football?

You can follow me through Euro2012 on www.twitter.com/nealcol, http://www.facebook.com/nealivorcollins, my Tuesday Neal and Pray column in www.thenewage.co.za newspaper and on Monday mornings on eNews and eTV Sunrise. And every Saturday I'll be on SuperSport3 with EuroZone at 4pm, starting this week. I've been asked to be controversial. Like a certain Mario Barwuah-Balotelli. Don't miss it!

When "What Can I Do?" simply isn't enough: the Pitso Mosimane story

The people have spoken: Pitso Mosimane

LIKE a character in a Nando’s advert, Pitso Mosimane could go up in smoke at any time, detonated amid a wave of drawophobia from a frustrated football-speaking nation.

The Bafana Bafana boss knew the writing was on the wall on Sunday night, after a yet another disappointing draw – this time a 1-1 stalemate against FIFA’s 138th-best country Ethiopia to open his first World Cup qualifying campaign.

Brazil 2014 seemed a long way off for all of us on Sunday night. For Mosimane, the 47-year-old from Kagiso, Rio de Janeiro may now be off the agenda after failing to win for nine games and pleading: “What can I do?”

Mosimane’s international coaching tensure could be barely more substantial than his 4-cap playing career for Bafana nearly ten years ago. Though I argued on eTV Sunrise and eNews yesterday that he should stay in charge for the second game against Botswana on Saturday, SAFA called an emergency meeting at their NASREC headquarters at 9am to discuss the future of the former Cosmos and Sundowns journeyman.
Eight hours later, Gordon Igesund had emerged as the favored candidate with Pitso back in Phokeng with the squad amid whispers of government intervention from Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula and Irvin Khoza on the warpath. Igesund is out of contract with Moroka Swallows at the end of the month and according to kick-off.com "negotiations are taking place" with SAFA.
As I write, that SAFA meeting is ongoing – perhaps his articulate assistant Steve Komphela is adding his input. By 11am, after 13 hours of dithering, SAFA had still failed to release anything official with a spokesman saying "there are procedures to be followed."

Komphela, the Free State Stars miracle-worker appointed by SAFA three months ago, may take over in Gaberone if Pitso goes up in smoke. The people’s choice, Igesund, remains in China on tour with his rebuilt Moroka Swallows but may still have time to take charge before Sunday. Gavin Hunt and Shakes Mashaba have also been mentioned. At least, as the social networks said yesterday, Komphela talks a good game.

And really, that was always Pitso’s problem. As No2 during the World Cup in 2010, he was friendly enough. But by the time he took over from Carlos Alberto Ferreira, the whispers had begun.

The non-qualifying celebrations after that infamous draw against Sierra Leone should have been the end of course. I remember asking a former team-mate and television analyst why nobody had told Pitso he needed a win rather than a draw to reach AFCON2012. He said: “I never speak to Pitso. Since he became Bafana boss he’s deleted my number from his phone and he never returns my calls.”

Since then of course, Bafana have failed to win again and again. Few were distracted by the non-payment of the sangoma who claimed to be responsible. And though South Africa produced a near-heroic final half-hour at the Royal Bafokeng Palace on Sunday, the winner just wouldn’t come after the alleged killer Katlego Mphela’s 77th-minute equaliser.

It was, to put it mildly, a Phokeng disappointment.

And Mosimane’s post-match efforts to justify his shortcomings were hardly glittering.

He said: “It is not for me to say whether I must stay or go. I don't even have to respond to what people say. The pressure is there and it will always be there. But we still have 15 points to play for, okay?

"Botswana won’t be easy but the team is fighting. It’s not as if we are losing. No, no, there is a little bit of integrity. We believe we can take three points in Botswana on Sunday.

"What can I do? The usual story happened, chances were created but we didn't take them. How do I sort out the problems of South African football? Siyabonga Nomvete has scored the most goals this season and I had him in the team.

“He scored 20 for Moroka Swallows. And we created chances, Hey! Let's have fair play. You see, in South Africa we don't want to accept reality.

“Things have not been going well for us since we won the 1996 Cup of Nations – but we still don’t change the formula. The world is catching up with us. We don't want to accept that we are not scoring goals. We don't want to accept that our development programmes are not good.

"It took Spain 80 years to win the World Cup, but they had to change. We don't change the formula yet we expect different results. Let’s be shrewd. Whether I'm here or not they will miss the chances.”

So we don’t know who will be Bafana boss in Botswana on Sunday (live at 3pm on SABC1). But here’s my suggested eleven to face the guns of Gaberone – with Nomvethe reduced to an impact substitute and Reneilwe Letsholonyane rested after a season marred by injury: Sandilands, Gaxa, Masenamela, Mathoho, Gould, Jali, Mahlangu, Pienaar, Modise, Mphela, Rodgers (or Serero if he's over bereavement).

Nomvethe or Sangweni: let's have Siyabongas all round for South Africa's Footballer of the Season, thank you

Siyabonga very much: Nomvethe receives
his award from Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula

THE row over the PSL Footballer of the Season award handed to Moroka Swallows veteran Siyabonga Nomvethe on Sunday night refuses to go away.

Orlando Pirates fans are adamant their own Siyabonga - Sangweni - deserved the ultimate accolade on a night when the 34-year-old "Bhele" won FOUR awards, picking up cheques worth R600,000 in slightly less than an hour. While prospective gamblers at the surrounding Gold Reef City were desperately prospecting for a few rands around them, South Africa's footballing fraternity were left open-mouthed as Nomvethe - fresh from scoring a hat-trick on his return to Bafana Bafana in a friendly against club side Impala Warriors earlier in the day - was forced to use his aching legs to get to the stage time and again.

Three of those awards were won without serious debate.

The R50,000 PSL golden boot, named after the late Buccaneer Lesley Manyathela, was a matter of mathematics. Nomvethe reached 20 League goals this season and ended eight clear of his rivals, including the 34-year-old Benni McCarthy.

He also scooped the R150,000 PSL Player of the Season accolade ahead of team-mate David Mathebula and Sangweni.

And a quick count of votes among his peers saw Nomvethe take the Player's Player of the Season cheque for R150,000.

But it was the R250,000 Footballer of the Season - awarded by Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula to the best player in all competitions, not just the PSL - that got the Ghost's goat.

While Nomvethe shone in the League and failed with coach of the season Gordon Igesund's Swallows in the cups, Sangweni played 28 League games for the Buccaneers, scoring vital goals against Bloemfontein Celtic and Golden Arrows in the title-clinching final two games.

He also played in EVERY knock-out match, where Pirates won the MTN8 trophy and the Telkom Knock-out, where Sangweni was voted defender of the tournament.

Just like last year, when Ajax Cape Town's Thulani Serero won the award - voted for by the 16 PSL coaches - ahead of Andile Jali, Augusto Palacios was making Ruud Krol-style waves.

Pirates' Peruvian caretaker coach - still not sure of his future next season - told kickoff.com: "I think our man deserved it on merit. Of course Sangweni is disappointed.

"I respect what Nomvethe did, but I feel Sangweni deserved this one. Sangweni was also a part of the national team throughout the season, so for me personally this was his award. 

"I don't dispute what Nomvete did, but Sangweni did well in ALL competitions."

And of course he's right. With seven goals in all competitions, the 30-year-old from Empangeni, whose younger brother Thamsanqa has just left Amazulu for Sundowns, did do the business.

But here's the problem. There were so many other prominent Pirates who did well in all competitions during another historic treble-winning season for the Sea Robbers.

Benni McCarthy, who won the ABSA-lutely stunning goal of the season for his overhead kick, also picked up the Telkom Knock-out goal and player of the tournament awards. And he produced the two late goals which won the title in Durban just over a week ago.

And then there's the captain, Lucky Lekgwathi who, at 35, scored what was eventually the most important goal of the season, the last-gasp effort which overcame stubborn SuperSports United a month ago.

The 35-year-old from GaRankuwa would have been my choice as South Africa's best player this season - but he wasn't nominated for ANY award on Sunday night.

Perhaps Sangweni's failure shows just how much talent the Pirates had on show rather than how much other Premier coaches dislike the black-and-white.

Sangweni himself, of course, showed no sign of discomfort. He told Soccer Laduma: “Nomvethe deserved the big award. Honestly, Bhele worked hard this past season - I’m happy for him, which is why I congratulated him and would like to congratulate him once again.

“I can’t blame anyone because those who selected him believed he was more deserving. We see things differently, as some people think I should’ve won the award but that’s how football is. I have no hard feelings about it because being nominated in almost every award means I did well and I’m happy about it.”

So Siyabongas all round it is. And for my money, Nomvethe's goal glut was THE story of the season. He scored more goals in percentage terms than Robin van Persie scored for "one man team" Arsenal, and the man from KwaMashu almost single-handedly propelled the Dube Birds from relegation fodder to championship contenders.

For that, Bhele deserved everything he got on Sunday night, which was a thoroughly enjoyable occasion.

But one last question: Where was the voice of the PSL, Robert Marawa of MetroFm, SABCtv and SuperSport? I know, but I'm afraid I can't tell you.

You can follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol or watch my regular Monday morning appearances on eNews and eTV Sunrise. And read www.thenewage.co.za every Tuesday for my "Neal and Pray" column.

Sundowns fall prey to Gavin Hunt and his little big guns... AGAIN

Breaking the dreadlock: Thabo September

It remains one of the great mysteries of football. How unloved SuperSport United just keep getting one over their illustrious Tshwane rivals Mamelodi Sundowns.
Today's 2-0 Nedbank Cup Final win for the miracle worker Gavin Hunt is a case in point. Sundowns put out all their stars. Elias Palembe, South Africa's highest-paid footballer. Teko Modise, twice South Africa's player of the year when he was at Orlando Pirates. Wayne Sandilands, the best goalkeeper in the country.
I could go on. And I should mention the fact that the Dutch legend Johan Neeskens opted to leave the alleged Killer, Katlego Mphela, on the bench once more as Sundowns oozed class in the opening minutes.
And Hunt? He had teenaged goalkeeper Rowen Williams as his last line of defence, Morgan Gould captaining on the verge of a move to a more affluent club... and the veteran Thabo September next to him.
Incredibly, the penny-pinching Matsatsantsa (The Swanky Boys, apparently) didn't just beat the Gauteng Brazilians, they crushed them. After spending last week moaning about the size of the R1bn five-year sponsorship deal handed by Vodacom to Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, the little guys proved once more than money can't match passion.
Clearly, Sundowns will feel aggrieved. Teko Modise, who left the Buccaneers just before their six-title spree to join the Brazilians, had his chances of ending that personal trophy jinx ruined by last-minute replacement referee Gabriel Sekopo's decision to send off Clayton Daniels.
At half-time, Robert Marawa's SuperSport analysts backed the team named after their broadcasting company, insisting Daniels had to go for denying a clear goal-scoring chance. Rubbish. Goalkeeper Williams and a further defender remained to be beaten when the foul was committed.
Interesting that. Sekopo was only named as the final official at 9am this morning. Zolile Mthetho was announced as the referee on Friday night but mysteriously lost his whistle.
The legendary Dutch master Johan Neeskens, who saw both his league and cup campaigns derailed this season, could barely muster enthusiasm before the match.
He told Carol Tshabalala his side hadn't prepared any differently for the final. Yet for the last two months they've been awful. He appeared dismissive, uninterested in offering his views to the fans. There was a chaotic moment after the red card when his efforts to throw on a substitute and change the shape failed to materialise amid much gesticulating.
Then, after the match, Neeskens said: "It was impossible for us after the sending off. It would have been a better final with 11 against 11. But that is the way football is here."
Sadly, SuperSport (their television interviewers rather than their players) failed to push Neeskens on that. Might have made interesting listening.
Still, after the sending off, Thabo September produced the first-half goal the final needed, thundering in to find a path past my goalkeeper of the season Wayne Sandilands as the man with the Rastafarian hairstyle broke the dreadlock with his first goal of the season.
SuperSport added a second through Kermit Erasmus - was he named after the Sesame Street character? - and it was game over.
Even adding a knock-out cup to the three successive PSL titles they won from 2008 to 2010 won't help SuperSport United's paucity of fans, outnumbered 5,000 to 20,000 in Orlando yesterday. The R6m winners' cheque won't help them to buy top stars.
The Brazilians, backed by billionaire mining magnate Patrice Mtsepe, will remain the megabucks option in the city once known as Pretoria. Hunt will continue to defy the odds.
And even the arrival of the alleged Killer as a second-half sub couldn't alter the balance of power. Modise said afterwards: "It was difficult for us after the sending off. It was a good season for me, but I've got nothing to show for it again. Hopefully things will change."
They certainly will. With Zimbabwean Benjani now available free from cash-strapped English Championship strugglers Portsmouth, Sundowns are sniffing. And that will allow Mphela to switch to Kaizer Chiefs and their new coach Stuart Baxter, the man who recommended Killer to Glasgow Celtic last year, probably with SuperSport captain Morgan Gould, though Sundowns could yet keep him in Tshwane.
And Neeskens, who failed to stop his team's dramatic post-Christmas slump after the 24-goal win over Powerlines in the cup, must surely be considering his future.
Hunt meanwhile will be trying to find a replacement for his key centre-back and leader Gould, just as he did in January 2011 when Bongani Khumalo went off to hibernation with Tottenham Hotspur.
The little man was close to tears afterwards: "That was a great performance. That's one thing this team has. Plenty of heart."
With that he was off to celebrate before tomorrow's PSL Awards ceremony at Gold Reef City, where he will challenge Gordon Igesund for coach of the season. Promises to be some do. And by then we will know where Gould's gold lies.
Ultimately though, this was a fitting climax to the South African season. Though Igesund's Swallows failed narrowly to edge out the Sea Robbers in the League, Hunt's men did the business.
As Thabo September grabbed his green Man of the Match jacket, it struck me - having refereed five Under 7 games this morning: I'm still in love with this game.

Moeneeb Josephs and Benni McCarthy: the facts. If you want the truth, ask Benni

Finders keepers: Khune and Josephs

BENNI McCARTHY has had a hard time this week. Surprising really. Last Saturday his two superb goals – a thumping header and a devastating free-kick – won the ABSA Premier League title for Orlando Pirates at a throbbing Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban.

But just when you thought Benni, who arrived back on these shores last winter after perhaps the most horrific West Ham career in history, was ready to be crowned a hero, here he is, tweeting: “Unbelievable how much stick I’m getting for Moeneeb pulling out of Bafana. Why do people hate so much? Just respect his decision please.”

Well, yes, of course we will respect the international retirement of one Moeneeb Josephs, the Orlando Pirates goalkeeper. In a statement released on Wednesday morning, the 32-year-old from Cape Town proclaimed: “It is with a heavy heart, and after careful consideration and discussion with both my family and manager, that I have elected to retire from international football with immediate effect.”

 “At the age of 32, keeping in mind the injuries that I have sustained, together with my desire to prolong my career, and considering the fantastic young goalkeepers in our country, I believe that it is the correct time to ‘step aside’.

“In addition, I have spent very little time with my family in recent years, and I believe this decision will give me the opportunity to do so.”

It’s that kind of moving, selfless explanation of his shock retirement from Pitso Mosimane’s World Cup qualifying squad which might reduce the average Ghostly Sea Robber to tears.

If… and it’s a big IF… you hadn’t read team-mate McCarthy’s quotes early on the same day.

Remember, Josephs made his Bafana debut against Zimbabwe in 2003 – but he’s only won 22 caps in the last nine years as Itumeleng Khune blocks the path to Pitso’s No1 jersey.

Even when he turned out against the Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe last year when everyone else was pulling out, “Slimkat” found himself dumped for the Nelson Mandela Challenge in Port Elizabeth at the end of February when Kaizer Chiefs stopped Khune returned from injury (not just any injury, he had four months with pneumonia and a “groin strain”) against Senegal.

With those facts clear in our minds, here’s what Benni told the Star’s Jonty Mark as the Buccaneers bus whizzed around Johannesburg showing off the latest Piratical haul of PSL, Telkom Cup and MTN Supereight trophies.

“Moeneeb is my roommate and he was asking me for my input, and I said ‘You are on your own, I don’t want to advise you, make your decision, and whatever you decide I am behind you’. When he explained his reasons the man just broke down crying.

“I tried to put myself in his shoes, and if I was in his shoes I would have done exactly the same thing. If I feel I am doing more than enough to at least earn a chance to be number one, and I am not being selected as the number one striker… I would pull myself out of the race as well.

 “You do everything possible to fight for the number one spot, but you know yourself you are never going to get the number one, because it’s fairly clear it’s Itumeleng Khune.

 “Khune’s a great goalkeeper who’s worked hard but you have to make it open for everyone to fight for the No1. It’s clearly not like that, it’s plain to see that the manager has his ideas of who is the No1, irrespective of other great goalkeepers around.

“So, in an act of frustration, you retire. It is better to continue to do what makes you happy, to play football, club football. I think it’s sad Moeneeb has pulled out of the national team, he’s an absolute gem. I hope people won’t hate him.”

Of course, with Benni’s quotes having appeared on Wednesday morning, the Josephs statement fell flat. It didn't help that "Slimkat" had blundered so badly for the Dylan Sheppard goal in their title-winning 4-2 against Golden Arrows last Saturday.
As a result, the social networks launched various assaults on McCarthy, suggesting he’d “persuaded” Josephs to quit his country, that he should keep his mouth shut and stay out of these things.

Benni, who often let Bafana down during his career in Europe, found himself under huge pressure – so much so that he volunteered to appear on Robert Marawa’s Thursday night live tonight on SS4 to set the record straight.

I’ll add those quotes later. But for now, let’s have a bit of sanity here. Benni didn’t lie. He simply outlined Moeneeb’s difficult situation and the reasons for his international retirement with far more honestly than Josephs’ statement did.

Benni, appearing on Marawa’s Thursday night live, made light his exclusion from Pitso’s latest squad. At 34 he was left out while another striker of the same age – PSL top scorer Siyabonga Nomvethe of Moroka Swallows – enjoyed a recall.

He chose instead to offer this: “Coming from a place like Hanover Park and to go to Ajax Amsterdam, such a great club, that has to be the highlight of my career.”

Then, asked if he influenced Moeneeb’s decision, Benni said: “I can’t even influence my own little kids! How can I influence an adult? Bafana has got nothing to do with me. I don’t talk about that to anyone.

“I’m always there to support. He came to tell me the situation. Moeneeb explained what happened and that was it.

“My advice? Whatever he decides, the team will stick with him. I didn’t say he did the right thing or the wrong thing. That’s not my place.

“He’s one of my closest friends in the team.”

Frank. Honest. Typical of Benni. Look, McCarthy doesn’t deserve criticism for revealing his pal Moeneeb’s agony. He deserves a medal. If you want to know the truth about South African football, listen to Benni. He tells it like it is.