Table of contents for June 2021 in Kick Off

When then Gauteng Premier Tokyo Sexwale and the newly appointed Premier Soccer League CEO Trevor Phillips raised a toast and celebrated the launch of the newly-formed PSL in August 1996, no-one would have predicted that the 25th season of the League would be played behind closed doors with no fans allowed to watch any of the matches. And here we are today – supporters and media alike – watching a historic 25th season coming to an end from the comfort of our homes instead of being at the stadiums due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And all this unfolded without much fanfare. For many of us who are old enough to remember, the 1996/97 season launch was a big deal following 10 years of the semi-professional National Soccer League (NSL) First…

ROGER DE SA Roger de Sa led Orlando Pirates to three cup finals – the MTN8, Telkom Knockout and the CAF Champions League – and fell short in all of them, as well as the League. VLADIMIR VERMEZOVIC The appointment of the former Kaizer Chiefs coach Vladimir Vermezovic at Orlando Pirates came as a surprise. But the Serbian was the first coach to help Orlando Pirates win a trophy since the Double Treble seasons, when he won the 2014 Nedbank Cup, beating Bidvest Wits 3-1 in the final. VV resigned midway through the 2014/15 season. ERIC TINKLER Eric Tinkler joined the Buccaneers as Roger de Sa’s righthand man and remained at the club when De Sa left. The former Bafana Bafana midfielder took over as a caretake coach following the…

1 Goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar I played with Bruce – ‘The jungle man’ – in the national team. Bruce was a worldclass goalkeeper, and he was always joking around to put opponents off. When we were defending corner-kicks, he would sing a funny song and sometimes dance, and opponents would be looking at him instead of the ball. He was a character. He was good at organizing the defence and a great shot stopper. 2 Right-back Lucky Lekgwathi The best right-back has to be Lucky because of the energy that he had going up and down the field. A very tough defender to beat, he would provide goals as well, whether it’s free-kicks or open play. When he overlapped, his crosses were effective. 3 Left-back Dillon Sheppard My old Seven Stars…

Between July 22 and August 7, South Africa will be one of 16 countries from across the world competing for gold at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. The national Under-23 side will be making just their third appearance at the tournament, which was postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and have been drawn in Group A alongside the hosts and former competition winners, France and Mexico. South Africa qualified for the quadrennial event by virtue of a third-placed finish at the 2019 Africa Under-23 Cup of Nations and will be one of three African nations representing the continent, with Egypt and Ivory Coast occupying the other two CAF-allocated positions. Tercious Malepe, who was the youngest member of the 2016 Olympics squad, was the man wearing…

Such is the relevance of a road named A. Mazibisa in the township of Mpopoma in Bulawayo that it has now fed the Premier Soccer League with its third footballer. First there was Bhekithemba Ndlovu at Moroka Swallows, Platinum Stars and Mpumalanga Black Aces, before Khumbulani Banda at Maritzburg United and now Divine Lunga at Lamontville Golden Arrows. The 25-year-old Lunga joined Abafana Bes’thende from Chicken Inn ahead of the 2018-19 season and quickly established himself in the KwaZulu-Natal side. “Super [Ndlovu] played with my uncles and has always been my mentor because as a kid he was the guy we knew as being a professional footballer in our street,” Lunga says as he opens up about his journey to the top. “He used to bring us boots and shorts…

Torrealba’s coaching résumé notably comprises two of the clubs he played for during his playing career. In line with this trend, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he could one day return to South Africa to take the helm at Chiefs or Sundowns, where to this day he is still held in high regard by the respective clubs’ supporters. El Buda, as he is affectionately known, blazed a trail for Venezuelan footballers in 2005 when he and Rafael Dudamel signed for The Brazilians to become the first players from their country to feature in South Africa’s top-flight. The diminutive former forward was an instant hit at Chloorkop before an acrimonious split resulted in him later joining rivals Chiefs in 2008. Torrealba then continued to impress at Naturena,…

As a kid growing up in Sebokeng, Vaal it was always obvious that the passion that Daniel ‘Sailor’ Tshabalala had for football would see him in the professional ranks someday. Influenced by his father, his team of choice became Orlando Pirates. Prior to his teenage years, he was already the owner of an amateur club which campaigned in the Chappies League against Steve Lekoelea’s Two for Joy. “Football was part of me since I opened my eyes,”Tshabalala tells KICK OFF. “I am the guy who was laughed at by other kids at school when I said I want to be a professional footballer. “I remember the year when our team Happy Tigers was supposed to play in the Chappies League final at FNB because we had won the local league,…

1 Veli Mothwa was born and raised in Pretoria, Gauteng. He is one of 10 siblings – six on his mother’s side and four on his father’s. “I’ve heard people say I’m from Limpopo, but I was born and raised in Mamelodi and only moved to Limpopo in December 2010. I grew up not knowing my parents because my father passed away when I was young, and my mother left me and came back when I was 16 or 17. She has also now passed on. My grandmother and aunts raised me in Mamelodi.” 2 He attended junior school at Boikgantsho Primary School and graduated to Gatang Secondary School in Mamelodi East. “That’s where football actually started for me, I played Chappies Little League in Primary School and Love Life League in…

Broos will not solve Bafana problems While Hugo Broos is a decent coach, he will not solve Bafana Bafana’s immediate problems. Depending on how SAFA treat him, he may not succeed at all. Our football problems are vast and run deep. South Africa is excellent at being inconsistent. From organising a World Cup to failing to arrange proper kit. A coach is not our biggest problem, but coaching and training players is. Bad administration worsens our predicament. Besides SuperSport United, which PSL team has a proper youth academy? Does Ikamva [home of the now defunct Ajax Cape Town] still function properly? PSL players get coached by three or four coaches per season, will we ever have the national identity of football that people want? Molefe Ntseki was under-experienced for the…

For all his struggles and troubles at Kaizer Chiefs, there is no doubt that Khama Billiat remains an important figure Warriors set-up. Barring injury, Billiat will be on the flight to cameroon for his third consecutive apperance at the Africa Cup of Nations finals early next year. The 30-year-old missed the last two qualifiers against Botswana and Zambia due to injury, but he will definitely be needed by Zdravko Logarusic, the Warriors coach. “I had a chat with him when we were in Algeria,” says national team assistant Lloyd Chitembwe, who also coached him while at CAPS United just prior to joining Ajax Cape Town in 2010. “I think what he is going through is normal considering his status in football, especially in South Africa where there is so much attention on…

Hugo Broos was a good coach when he was in Belgium. He also won the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon, which is good for his for CV. But if you look closely at his history, since February 2007 he has never lasted in one job for longer than 18 months. The perception from people in Belgium is that people don’t believe he should be coaching a country like South Africa. People were really surprised. He is a very hard and disciplined person, he has a strong personality and as South Africans, we don’t get along with strong personalities. He will shout at a player, and a player will go into their shell and we don’t want that. As South African players we want to be loved and appreciated, and…

In the year that Rushine de Reuck spent in Portugal, he stayed in the same house as Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, who he remains friends with up to this day. “I was staying in the same house as him, and I was also sharing the same dressing room with Sergio Oliveira, who is now playing for FC Porto,” De Rueck says. “There was also Jean Seri, who was at Fulham and Galatasaray, and is now at Bordeaux. There were many good players in our group. I was good friends with Jota, and we still talk up to today. “He has done so well for himself, but I always knew that he would make it because he was always a step ahead of everyone. He was the best player that we…

GRANT YOUNG Young made his name in South Africa at Hellenic before moving abroad to Ghent and then emigrating to New Zealand, where he played for Auckland City among other clubs. He was a hit in New Zealand and played for City at the FIFA Club World Cup. Young won a single cap for Bafana Bafana. KERYN JORDAN Jordan was another star for Auckland City between 2005 and 2010, where he also played for the side at the Club World Cup. He had been battling a brain tumor though and passed away in 2013. He won the PSL title with Manning Rangers in 1996/97 and won a single Bafana Bafana cap. LIAM JORDAN Keryn’s son Liam came through the youth ranks at Auckland City before making his professional debut for…