The usual suspects: Africa's World Cup hopefuls head for the last 90 minutes of qualification with the "Big Five" favourites for Brazil

Brace yourself: Nigeria's Emmanuel Emenike

Nearly four years and an Arab Spring or two after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, it’s the usual suspects who are looking likely to qualify for Brazil 2014.

Nearly four years on, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Algeria – the five sides who qualified with hosts Bafana Bafana in the last global footballing saga – are once again the favourites to fill Africa’s ‘big five’ qualifying spots after the first legs of CAF’s unjust qualifiers.

Favourites Ghana don’t take on riot-ravaged Egypt until tomorrow night, when they play their first leg in Kumasi but Didier Drogba’s Ivory Coast and African Nations Cup champions Nigeria cruised to their expected first leg victories over the weekend.

Former Chelsea veteran Drogba scored the opening goal for the Elephants against Senegal with Lamine Sane then providing an own goal before another Chelsea old boy Salomon Kalou made it three in the 50^thminute.

Newcastle’s Papiss Cisse pulled one back for Senegal but it was Arsenal’s unwanted Gervinho, now playing in Italy for Roma, who pulled the strings for the Ivory Coast, playing a part in all three goals and setting up Africa’s top-ranked nation for qualification with a two-goal cushion.

The Cote D’Ivoire have gone 20 games without defeat in World Cup qualifying – they’ve won 14 and drawn six since a 3-2 loss against Cameroon in September 2005.

Nigeria coped reasonably well in Addis Ababa against South Africa’s Group A nemesis Ethiopia. The loudly backed home side, desperate for a first World Cup finals appearance, dominated early on and – after a goalless first half - deserved to go ahead in the 57^th minute through Behailu Assefa.

 But it was that man Emmanuel Emenike – who played for two years in South Africa five years ago with Mpumalanga Blacks Aces and FC Cape Town – who silenced the Walya Antelopes with an equaliser followed by a last-gasp penalty to secure a narrow away advantage before the return to Nigeria.

Game of the weekend came in Ougadougou where Burkina Faso saw off Algeria but gave away what could be two decisive away goals in a 3-2 win over visiting Algeria. The Burkinabians, finalists at AFCON in South Africa earlier this year, went 2-0 up through Jonathan Pitroipa and Djakaridja Kone.

Sofiane Feghouli and Carl Medjani made it 2-2 before Fortunate Dusseldorf-based Aristide Bance, who had a first half penalty saved by Adi Mbolhi, scored the winner from the spot after a highly-controversial 86^th minute handball decision. Algeria remain in pole position despite defeat though Stallions coach Paul Put insists: “We will go to Algiers with every intention of qualifying.”

Tunisia, only in the play-offs because upstarts Cape Verde fell foul of the rules, gave Cameroon a tough ride in Rades but couldn’t find a way past the Indomitable Lions’ French-based goalkeeper Charles Itandj.

With Chelsea’s experienced on-loan striker Samuel Eto’o returning for the umpteenth time after international retirement, Cameroon nearly snatched it through Peirre Webo. This one might be the tightest second leg of the lot, but Yaounde should be celebrating when the second legs are played in mid-November.

And what of South Africa? Held 1-1 by fellow-non-qualifiers Morocco in Agadir on Friday night, this from Dean Furman on Twitter sums it up:  “Solid showing for Bafana last night against a strong Moroccan side. Congratulations to the young boys making their debut. Hopefully the start of big things in the future.”

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 9am. See the Ballz channel on www.YouTube.com for our growing collection of interviews with the big names in South African football.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday inwww.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice!

EXCLUSIVE: Clinton Larsen on leaving Bloemfontein Celtic: I was NOT forced out. There was NO interference

Time off: Celtic head coach Clinton Larsen

CLINTON LARSEN revealed the full background to his shock resignation at Bloemfontein Celtic this week insisting there was “no interference” during his reign as head coach in Mangaung.

Larson left after the 4-0 TelkomKO defeat against Mamelodi Sundowns last weekend, insisting: “I have not made any decision on where I’m going.”

Talking on my football show BOLLOCKZ! on www.ballz.co.za (see video below), Larsen told me: “It was a long time coming, three to four weeks. To summarise the season so far, I was not happy as the head coach with the results we were getting.”

Former Orlando Pirates and Manning Rangers midfielder Larsen, 42, departs with his fanatically-followed Phunya Sele Sele a mediocre 11^thin the PSL and OUT of both the pre-Christmas knock-out competitions.

As frank as ever, the man who publicly berated referees for their “big club” bias earlier this season said: “I took the decision myself to leave the club and let Bloemfontein Celtic move forward. I had four great years and the club, never been out of the first eight – I just felt it was right to step back and let a new man take on the challenge.

“I’ll definitely stay in the game, I love it too much. It was a very emotional decision. I’ve come to love the club and the people at the club. I was NOT forced out. I could have stayed for a big pay-out but I remain on good terms with the chairman Jimmy Augousti and who knows what could happen in the future?

“I like the job I do, I enjoy going to work on a daily basis. Next week I’ll see my agent and find out who has been in touch.

“I’m still in Bloemfontein but I will be going on holiday with the family for two weeks. I know Polokwane City have been in touch but I will not make a rushed decision. That isn’t my style.

“At this point Boebie Solomons is interim boss at Celtic. I have no idea what the club are planning. I’ve got a great relationship with Boebie. A lot of people think he wanted my job but that’s not the case.

“They don’t have to look much further than Boebie for a great manager.”

With memories of last season’s Telkom KO final triumph over Sundowns still firmly in mind (who can forget the Augousti victory dance at the Moses Mabhida last December?), Larsen insisted: “I want to categorically state there was no interference from ANYBODY at the club from the day I started when I was working under Owen da Gama four years ago.

“I would not have stayed if there was any interference. I got the full support of the management and technical director Mich D’Avray. Nobody ever influenced team selection, training or tactics. I left on my terms.”

With this afternoon's departure of Ernst Middendorp at Maritzburg United, Larsen could be almost immediately replaced by the 54-year-old German with the "team of choice" now an option for Clinton.

That would continue the managerial merry-go-round following Mark Harrison's shift from Chippa United to Golden Arrows, bringing the total PSL coaching departures this season to FOUR including Duncan Lechesa's initial termination at Polokwane City nearly a month ago. 

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 9am. See the Ballz channel on www.YouTube.com for our growing collection of interviews with the big names in South African football.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday inwww.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice!

SEVEN GAMES, ONE WIN, FOUR GOALS: why Drawlando Pirates desperately need Lennox Bacela to find his scoring boots

Drought: Lennox Bacela

SINCE THEIR MTN8 semi-final first leg win over Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates have been widely praised for their progress on several fronts.

Reaching the final of the MTN8 and the last four of the African Champions League has certainly taken the pressure off Roger De Sa after a rocky end to last season, when the double-treble winners finished trophyless.

But a quick review of their recent form suggests serious problems in the Buccaneer camp – and I’m not referring to Lucky Lekgwathi.

Veteran captain Lekgwathi was mysteriously dropped for the MTN8 final defeat on penalties against Platinum Stars in Durban last week, and the 37-year-old followed up with a newspaper column revealing there are “sinister forces” at work in Orlando.

A picture of De Sa in animated discussion with Screamer Tshabalala behind the scenes in Durban did nothing to settle nevers in the Sea Robber camp.

And late on Saturday night, in an attempt to explain Lekgwathi’s absence from the 0-0 draw against Esperance where he was serving a two-match ban, reports emerged that Lekgwathi has suffered the death of an aunt and illness to his father.

Nobody in the camp will explain the Lekgwathi situation. I spoke to injured full-back Patrick Phungwayo, but he was under orders to tell me: “What we have to do is get on with it and put these things to one side. We are on the verge of the African Champions League final, that is our focus.”

But Saturday’s toothless effort against the Tunisian champions suggests the real sinister forces surround the Pirates’ inability to score goals.

Have a look at this run of results since that 1-0 Soweto Derby win in the MTN8 semi-final first leg on August 24:

LOST: 1 Sept: Zamalek: 1-2 (away) African Champions League Group A

LOST: 14 Sept: AC Leopards 0-1 (away) African Champions League Group A

WON: 18 Sept: Polokwane City 1-0 (home) PSL

DRAW: 22 Sept: Al Ahly 0-0 (home) African Champions League Group A

DRAW 24 Sept: Kaizer Chiefs 1-1 (home) MTN8 semi-final second leg

DRAW: 28 Sept: Platinum Stars 1-1 (neutral, lost 3-1 on penalties) MTN8 final

DRAW: 5 October: Esperance 0-0 (home, Champs League semi-final, first leg)

I make that SEVEN games with ONE win. Four draws were compounded by the MTN final loss to Platinum Stars at the Moses Mabhida.

You can’t deny a couple of those draws were vital – that’s all they needed to progress against Kaizer Chiefs and Al Ahly – and if they win their 4 games in hand, they could go top of the PSL by FOUR clear points.

But most worrying of all is their goal tally over the last seven games: Pirates have scored just FOUR goals and conceded FIVE.

The much-hyped Lennox Bacela, after a useful start following his move from Bloemfontein Celtic, has only scored ONE – from the penalty spot against Chiefs  – in the eight games since August.

Roger himself said after another goalless effort against Esperance: “We had enough chances to score at least one. At this level you have to take those chances.

“A 0-0 draw isn’t that bad. We did okay. We battled hard against one of the best sides in Africa.”

When the SABC pitch-side interviewer suggested much-hyped Esperance were “ordinary”, De Sa did well to keep his equilibrium, saying: “They’re a good side, believe me. They will take their chances at home. But we just have to get one in Tunisia.

“We’ve got something to work with. We’re still in it.”

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 9am. See the Ballz channel on www.YouTube.com for our growing collection of interviews with the big names in South African football.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday inwww.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice!

The story of former Arsenal and Liverpool legend Michael Thomas, hero, legend, title-winner... and a great fan of South Africa

It's up for grabs now! Michael Thomas, right, starts his epic celebration
after winning the title for Arsenal at Liverpool in 1989

MICHAEL THOMAS is in South Africa for the TENTH time. The Arsenal and Liverpool legend LOVES the country. On my football show BOLLOCKZ! this morning he said: "I can't get enough of South Africa. It's my second home. Wonderful place, wonderful people."

Currently staying in Tshwane with the mysterious MOLE, our regular undercover football analyst, before a family wedding, Michael will be BACK in November, for a Liverpool legends clash with Kaizer Chiefs on November 16.

THE BOLLOCKZ! Michael and I at the Ballz studio

The names reel off his tongue. Every one a hero to audiences around the world, from Africa to Asia, where the English football remains a sporting staple.

"Bruce Grobbelaar, Mark Wright, Alan Kennedy, Jan Molby, John Barnes, Gary McAllister, Robbie Fowler, John Aldridge, it should be a great trip. There will be a lot of reminiscing!

"We fly over on the 10th, will spend a few days in Johannesburg doing football clinics and a golf day at Houghton, then we go down to Durban for the Kaizer Chiefs game on the 16th.

"I've never seen the Moses Mabhida Stadium, but I hear it's great. Shame Arsenal haven't got a legends team coming over too!"

Michael is no ordinary former footballer. Raised in Stockwell, London, he overcame the then-severe problems of discrimination to rise to the very top of the game. And the crowning moment came in 1989 when, in the final game of the season, Michael scored the injury-time winner which clinched the title for Arsenal in a 2-0 win at Liverpool's fortress Anfield.

It's a moment few elderly Gooners will forget. The commentator screaming "It's up for grabs now!" as he broke through on Alan Smith's pass, enjoyed a fortuitous deflection... and slipped home goal which took the championship to Highbury on the narrowest-ever margin.

Fever pitch: Thomas and Tony Adams in 1989

That goal inspired Nick Hornby's classic book "Fever Pitch" which was followed by a block-buster movie of the same name. Few ignore the chance to raise the topic, with Ballz owner Darren Scott greeting Michael with a smacking kiss when he walked in to the studio this morning.

Lifelong Arsenal fan Scott explained: "When Michael Thomas scored that goal, I actually pulled a muscle on the couch when I was watching it on the television."

Michael went on to play for Liverpool, scoring in the 1992 FA Cup quarter-final against Aston Villa and the winner in the final against Sunderland at Wembley.

Now 46, Michael Lauriston Thomas was capped three times by England and in a career which also included Wimbledon, Portugal's Benfica plus Middlesbrough and Portsmouth on loan, he played 315 games, scoring 33 goals.

Today he runs a security firm called "Stop Taking the Michael" and lives near Liverpool between trips to South Africa and around the world.

He has strong views on a variety of subjects, though he tends to shy away from the high profile analysis spotlight. He says: "I can't believe we're taking the World Cup to Qatar, even they don't play at that time of the year. It's just ridiculously hot. We're stopping off at Qatar on the way home from South Africa - I'll tell you how hot it is!

"The World Cup has got to be shared about a bit, and I loved the way South Africa hosted it. But you can't have countries having it twice like Mexico and Germany."

On the more personal subject of his celebration after THAT "Fever Pitch" goal (the video features in our interview on Ballz radio (see below)), Michael grins: "I nearly broke my neck trying to do a handstand... but it wasn't as bad as when Tony Adams lifted Stevie Morrow after winning the League Cup at Wembley. Morrow was the hero, he fell and broke his shoulder and couldn't go up to get his medal!"


Having enjoyed a range of top coaches, Thomas has this verdict on his favourite boss: "I'd say Roy Evans at Liverpool was a great coach. He let us play. George was a great coach defending wise but he never let us just play.

"That's why I left Arsenal at the end of the day, because I wasn't enjoying the football. Jose Mourinho's the same today. As long as everyone gets back and defends, works for the group, he's happy."

As for Arsenal's hopes in the Champions League after impressive wins over Marseille and Napoli, Michael is pretty certain Arsenal will progress, insisting: "They said it was the Group of Death, but I said at the time the only tough side is Borussia Dortmund. I was always sure they could beat Napoli.

"Me, Tony Adams, (former soap opera star) Tom Watt and Paul Davies will all be going to watch Arsenal at Dortmund, we'll go through the EuroTunnel, sit there and enjoy the game!"

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 9am. See the Ballz channel on www.YouTube.com for our growing collection of interviews like the one above.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday inwww.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice!

From the bottom to the top: Craig Rosslee explains his 10-month revolution at AmaZulu

Leader of the green revolution: Craig Rosslee

Explain this: Ten months ago, AmaZulu were marooned at the bottom of the PSL. Today, they are level on points at the top of South African fooball.

It’s the kind of turnaround which creates legends in Europe. But in South Africa, AmaZulu’s rise from the ashes has gone almost unnoticed.

The key to the AmaZulu revolution is the coach Craig Rosslee, a former Hellenic, Santos and Cape Town Spurs defender who went on to coach Ajax Cape Town and played a major part in Orlando Pirates first treble as assistant to Ruud Krol in 2009/2010.

When Rosslee took over AmaZulu in November last year, the famous cries of Usuthu! were muted. The club had managed just nine points from 12 games under Swedish boss Roger Palmgren and they trailed behind Chippa United and Leopards, the clubs destined for relegation. Under Rosslee, they took 20 points from their remaining 18 games to secure safety in 12^thposition.

This season they have 11 points from their first five games and share the top of the PSL with SuperSport United, Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and Moroka Swallows.

Rosslee, also an accomplished television analyst, told me on my football show BOLLOCKZ! on Ballz visual radio (see video at the foot of this story): “Ten months! Obviously my first task was to keep the club up last season. We had nine points when I arrived, we got clear of relegation, we ended safely in mid-table.

“At the end of the season we decided to make some changes. We shipped out 17 players, brought in 15. We only kept a handful of the old players.

“At this point in time it’s a work in progress. The aim is to get the players to gel, to get them playing together. It’s coming along nicely now. We’re doing it in a very professional way, we have character, guys who do the work. That’s what we’re looking for.

“If this squad can apply themselves, both on and off the field, I see a great future for the club.”

In charge of one of South Africa’s oldest clubs (founded in 1932 only Wits University (1921) is older), Rosslee grins: “Remember I played for AmaZulu, like you I remember the Joel Fayas. This job is more about what I can give back than what I can take from this club.

“The Royal Family back us, the people look to us. Things stagnated. South African football in general has to find a way to move forward, and we have a duty to encourage development too.

“We’re lacking goals in this country. How do we address that? I’m happy to work on that generally, with all the other clubs.

“We have to find goals. Look at Gavin Hunt at Wits. He’s spoiled for choice up front but still doesn’t get them. How do we get players to score goals?

Hot shot: Ayanda Dlamini

“I need strikers who can score more than five goals a season. I have to get goals from other positions too if we’re not going to get 15 or 20 goals out of a striker. We need wide men to can put the ball in the right place.

“Apart from Bongani Ndulula, our predominant target man is Ayanda Dlamini, he took a while to get on centre stage, he’s 28 now. But he’s getting the goals that get us out of trouble. He’s a fantastic finisher.

“You have to work with the strikers, get them to hit the target, hit the target. Because often that’s not done at the development stage you know.

“The fact of the matter is we’ve still got to work on these lads, get them to develop their skills while they’re playing at the top level of football in South Africa.”

With a near-fullhouse at the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban on Saturday to witness Platinum Stars’ surprise penalty shoot-out MTN8 final win over Orlando Pirates, Rosslee believes a successful AmaZulu can awake the dormant fans in the port city.

He insists: “I would love to see the stadium full for games against all sides in the PSL. I believe if we play the right brand of football we can do that. That needs to be reflected across the country. Play attacking football and the fans will come.”

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 10am-noon. See the Ballz channel on Youtube for our growing collection of interviews like the one above.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday inwww.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice!

Baxter fuming on the Kaizer Chiefs bus after Soweto Derby: If you give a penalty for THAT, you have to give penalties all day

Shooting from the lip: Chiefs boss Stuart Baxter

AS I write this, Stuart Baxter is on the Kaizer Chiefs bus struggling to come to terms with an MTN8 semi-final defeat at the hands of his old rivals Orlando Pirates.

And he is running and re-running video replays of the incident which turned the second leg around: the 74th minute penalty which ensured a home draw for the Buccaneers, who advance to Saturday’s final 2-1 on aggregate after their 1-0 first leg win.

Double-winning Baxter, the first foreign coach ever to win the PSL in his first year as a club coach in South Africa, is not a fool. He doesn’t put his foot in it, like Clinton Laursen famously did live on camera earlier this season after Bloemfontein Celtic red card against Mamelodi Sundowns.

He’s calm. He’s contained. But he’s fuming after seeing Bernard Parker’s first half rebound cancelled out by Lennox Bacela’s spot kick.

I cannot quote everything he said. I can tell you he did send two post-match SMSes which made my blackberry go bright red.

What I can say is this. Stuart Baxter feels desperately aggrieved. He has no personal issue with referee Daniel Bennett but his opinion deserves to be aired.

The fateful moment: Gould pulls Bacela's shirt
Picture from @matipwili on Twitter

As he watched the re-runs of Morgan Gould’s infringement on Orlando Pirates striker Lennox Bacela he issued a couple of non-printables: “I haven’t looked at this before, bear with me Neal,” said the man from Wolverhampton, then “Is THAT it? That’s what he gave the penalty for? FOR THAT?”

A discussion followed. On the bus, other opinions were being thrown about it the background. Obviously the Chiefs technical staff and their players sounded distinctly unhappy, as you'd expect. Much was said.

Here’s what I can quote from Baxter: “I had to be cautious after the game. I’ve blamed referees before and been wrong. I didn’t want to do that again.

“But now I’ve had a look at the incident, I’m confused. The level of Morgan’s contact on Bacela was much as it was on ANY corner at either end during the game. If he’s going to give a penalty for that, there would be penalties all day.

“In the modern day, there is always contact in the box on corners. One of our lads too an elbow in the face when their lad (Rooi Mahamutsa) was booked earlier in the game. That’s football these days, that’s what happens.

“I cannot understand this decision. I thought we’d weathered the storm when they hit the bar (Vieira Masalesa header after Siya Sangweni nod-back) but the penalty came just as we were starting to get back in the game.

“We ruled the first half. I don’t understand why we lost momentum second half. Their substitute Sifiso Myeni is a good player, he helped change the game. But we were playing long balls. We stopped playing for 20 minutes.

“In the end, we have to accept this result. It’s tough. But there you are. Best I don’t give you the full weight of my opinions right now!”

Baxter, always a great talker with encouraging ideas about development and the future, managed to contain his fury. Roger de Sa on the opposing bench could hardly contain his joy after a dramatic and entertaining Soweto derby at a sold-out Orlando Stadium.

Roger, whose Sea Robbers reached the last four of the African Champions League on Sunday, said: “We’ve done to great clubs like Al Ahly and Kaizer Chiefs in 24 hours (actually it’s 48 Roger!) and that can’t be bad. My boys never stopped running, we worked and worked.

“They were on top in the first half, but Myeni changed things, we came back in to it. It’s been tough. Two massive game like that in such a short space of time. Oupa Manyisa? How much running did he do today? Young Masilesa has stood up so well too.

“But we have a day off now. I hope my dog won't bite me, I haven' been home so long he might not remember who I am! Then the final in Durban on Saturday. We’ll be ready.”

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 10am-noon. See the Ballz channel on Youtube for our growing collection of interviews like the one above.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice!

Old-fashioned Zeca Marques uses "the power of the mind" to get Moroka Swallows flying among the big boys

Gloves are off, the jacket is on: Zeca Marques

ZECA MARQUES has used “the power of the mind” to take his unfashionable Moroka Swallows to the top of the PSL table five games in to the new season.

The Porto-born 52-year-old took over at Dobsonville when Gordon Igesund went off to coach South Africa and after a tough first season, the jacket-thrower’s methods are beginning to pay dividends as they jockey for leadership among FIVE clubs currently locked on 11 points.

Talking on my football show BOLLOCKZ! on Ballz radio (see video below), Marques and I discussed our formative years of playing at left back before he explained: “Being top is a great feeling, testament to what we’ve done for the last four games. Our performances have been solid.

“I was disappointed we didn’t win against Kaizer Chiefs and AmaZulu, somehow that one slipped away from us - but I’m happy with the win over PSL leaders SuperSport United on Wednesday night.”

With another point picked up in a 1-1 draw against Maritzburg United on Saturday, Zeca insists: “One guarantee I can give you is this: we’re going to go out there and upset the apple cart. There’s no doubt about that. We’ve got the ambition. My players have got the vision, there’s a new sense of belief in the squad. More self-assurance.

“I think the guys are starting to realise: You know what, maybe we’ve got an outside chance here.”

Marques, a very different character to his predecessor Igesund, insists: “Gone are the days when Swallows are going to step back for any team. I keep telling our guys, the players are the most important resource, not the finances or the attendances.

“I focus on tactical stuff and the mind. If we start believing in our team, work together as a unit – like rebels – we can surprise anyone.

“We stand back for nobody. I’m happy with that. On the psychological side we’re coming through.”

Amid twitter gossip about “the three mlungus at the back”, Marques laughed: “I’ve gone back to the old school of thought. Bring in two white kids at the back. Take no prisoners, aggressive. And it’s working for us!

“Levi (Mokgothu) is an exciting you left back, Roger (de Costa) and Lenny (Cohen) as the two centre-backs, Papi at right back. Giorgi Nergadze just in front of them. You and I have spoken about this many times: no more nonsense. We see it as a challenge.

“I’m a great believer that we are capable of doing something special. I’ve made that statement to our team. Don’t quote me! But I’ve said our team will be a study case at the end of the season. We’re going to prove people wrong this year.

“You can only do that with the right mentality. Take no shit. Don’t be intimidated by big names of whatever. WE COMPETE. That’s the approach Neal. I’ve been around. Too many times we get complacent, try to patronise people, put too much respect on Sundowns, Chiefs and Pirates.

“Who the hell are they? Half the players at Pirates and Chiefs wouldn’t make my side at the moment.

“The human being is our greatest resource. The mind is our biggest asset. That’s what we use.”

But amid the strong words, Marques has a word for his old Troyeville goalkeeper Roger De Sa, the Orlando Pirates coach, who faces Al Ahly in a win-or-bust African Champions League clash in Soweto on Sunday.

Marques said: “Support football, number one. Champions League games are special to the Soweto people. Our support will encourage them, bring the best out of them.

“May the best team win. Obviously, with Roger being my friend, I want Pirates to win!

“You know what, at the end of the day, Pirates are representing our country. Go and support, for the pride of our country,  as a nation. Go and support Pirates on Sunday.”

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 10am-noon. See the Ballz channel on Youtube for our growing collection of interviews like the one above.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice!