Fatau Dauda is the Chairman signing. The
Chairman Dr. Irvin Khoza already signed his own players such as Lelo Mbele,
Siyabonga Sangweni, Luís Boa Morte, Oupa Manyisa, Benni McCarthy and Thamsanqa
Gabuza without recommendation from the head Coaches. Owen Da Gama chased away the young Oupa
Manyisa from his first day training session but was later informed that it’s
Chairman who signed the player for him (ODG).
Senzo Meyiwa will be Roger de Sa’s first
choice after he save his coaching job in Lubumbashi. The written was on the
wall. Had he lost against TP Mazembe, the beleaguered De Sa by then was going
to be a history as Pirates coach after unimpressive form in the Premier Soccer League
(PSL). Rudi Gullit, Herve Renard, Vladimir Vermezovic and Hristo Stoichkov were
mentioned as possible successor of De Sa.
De Sa does not believe in the talent of
the foreign players. He has confidence on the proudly South African players. He
released Takesure Chinyama and on form Tico Okonkwo citing that they don’t fit
into his tiki-taka plan. Now his believe is still intact which is a reason behind
Dauda not even making an 18th man team.
De Sa chased away Ghanaian striker Yakubu
Mohammed after 20 minutes of his first training and also decided against
signing of the Congolese sensational defender Beranger Itoua despite impressive
perfomance in the pre-season games and media reports indicated that he signed
with the team. De Sa also decided against signing of Burkinabe international
defender Paul Koulibaly.
De Sa as former goalkeeper has a faith in
young Brighton Mhlongo who has been tipped as the best future goalkeeper for
Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana. Mhlongo adds more value on the bench by
instilling fighting spirit to his teammates in the field of play. He has been
observed in many games giving away tactical directives to his teammates. He is
the third assistant coach on the bench.
De Sa strongly believe that “why fix it if it
ain't broke”. The coach is impressed by Meyiwa’s performance in the African
Voyage and now in the PSL. De Sa as a former keeper doesn’t want to jeopardise Meyiwa’s
opportunity to play for Bafana through senseless rotational system of keepers.
The aim of De Sa is to contribute towards the development of South African
football by playing proudly South Africans players.
Local is lekker! The conspiracy theory is
based on notion and probability.
By Owen Mundalamo
