Maximalfootball.com
was investigating contributions of PSL clubs academies to the youth national
teams when the surprising suspension of the well-known youth coach Dan Malesela
by Mamelodi Sundowns made the news recently. The incomprehensible circumstances
surrounding his suspension made us change our focus and look for answers in
Malesela’s case. We found it suspicious and abnormal that all the coaches who
have been involved in the highly successful youth program for the past 3 years
at Sundowns – Ted Dumitru, Zipho Dlangalala and Sudesh Singh and now Dan
Malesela - have either left the club or have been redeployed.
The
revival of the youth development at Sundowns began in 2009 when Ted Dumitru was
assigned by the club to re-organize the program and ensure that quality players
are produced for the first team. In an interview with a local magazine
published in Feb. 2009 Ted Dumitru was quoted as saying about the project: “To
produce high performance players at the level of Sundowns’ needs and
expectations an advanced training concept based on the principles of Maximal
Training will be introduced to specially selected youngsters of 16-18 years of
age. Our youth coaches will ensure accelerate development of the youngsters to
achieve our objective. This advanced approach is similar to what was used in
training at the Sport School of Excellence and Chibuku Youth Centre in the
early 90’s which produced over 90 PSL and First Division players and delivered
Pienaar and Mabizela to top European clubs”.
Perplexingly,
Zipho Dlangalala, Sudesh Singh and Dan Malesela are out from the program
despite the huge and unprecedented success they achieved at Sundowns where a
PSL and national record of eighteen (18) players have been signed by the club
in the past two and a half seasons - 16 to the first team and 2 to other PSL
clubs. Siyanda Xulu, Siyabonga Ngubane, Buhlebuyeza Mkhwanazi ( Bloemfontein
Celtics), Jabulani Shongwe, Lucky Nguzana (loaned to African Warriors),
Wandisile Letlabika, Doctor Mampuru, Samuel Julies, Phetolo Lebepe (on loan to
Blackburn Rovers-NFD), Ntuthuko Mabaso, Xolani Mdaki, Kenneth Makgothi,
Mahlatse Makudubela, Walter “Choppa” Maponyane, Mishack Ramahuma (on loan to
Bay United), Lerato Sekhotho (on loan to Chippa United-NFD), Nkanyiso Cele
(AmaZulu 1st Team), and Thabo “China” Maselwa (Bay United-NFD) graduated from
the Sundowns development in a space of two years.
Robin
Galande, who was recruited by Atletico Madrid in 2010, was another major
success story. The majority of these young players have impressed in
tournaments in Spain and Brazil as well as many being selected in the national
teams.
Anywhere
in the world such quality youth coaches would definitely be expected to
continue with their performance for the great benefit of the club and deliver
more and more excellent young players.
However,
getting to the bottom of this mystery has proven a hard nut to crack because of
the apparent ‘secrecy veil’ that is imposed with the ruthless of dictatorship.
The Sundowns management or those involved do not want to talk about it.
Nonetheless,
those who were willing to speak under the condition of anonymity have pointed
at the direction of the club’s chief scout Trott Moloto and CEO Kenneth
Makhanya in Malesela’s case and many other similar cases in the club’s youth
department.
“I
remember when the (youth) team was still based in Potchefstroom there were
meetings at the office where Trott criticised the way the boys were trained and
surely Patrice was influenced and advised by those people at the office that
there should be ‘actions taken’,” revealed one source. “You see, the way the
youngsters used to train was Ted (Dumitru)’s brain-child and they could not
take it because they were in denial of new coaching ideas They told Motsepe,
‘This is not what the Dutch coaches want’. Yet, at least 11 young players were
good enough to convince the same Dutch coaches that they are better than
others.”
“The
same people supported Patrice’s crazy idea of dumping the academy at
Soshanguve,” said another source. “The thinking was obviously that the youth
coaches would not compromise on the conditions required for the academy to
remain successful and quit as a result. It ended up having snakes in the
players’ rooms, exposure to crimes and the worst training conditions
imaginable. What reason was so strong that the academy was moved to Soshanguve?
It was definitely not for the interest of development or players’ wellbeing.
Opinions are that Patrice’s political ambitions could have led to sacrificing
the basic principles and requirements of running a youth football development
project and that’s why the Sundowns academy was sent to Soshanguve.”
Further
proof that the working and training conditions were not conducive in
Soshanguve, following the arrival of the Dutch youth coaches at Sundowns plans
were made to take the development academy out of Soshanguve after Motsepe was
told the Dutch coaches could not work in such terrible conditions. The academy
was re-dumped in Sunnyside, Pretoria.
Following
Ted Dumitru’s resignation from the club Zipho Dlangalala was also removed from
the youth under the pretext that he was going to be an assistant to the first
team. “Again, Trott’s hidden agenda succeeded in re-deploying Zipho to the
reserves even if the first team players have huge respect for Zipho’s knowledge
and coaching abilities,” said another source.
With
Dan’ suspension, Samuel Mbatha demoted to the position of an ‘understudy’ coach
and Floyd Mogale assisting with the Vodacom team (Sundowns) the task of
coaching the youth is now with new and inexperienced coaches under the control
of even more inexperienced ones – the Dutch student coaches. “It is very
strange to have such a hopeless situation for a club that has recruited some of
the best youngsters in the country!”
One
parent who recently took his son out of the Sundowns academy told
MaximalFootball.com, “The moment we saw the coaches leaving the academy it was
obvious that something was very wrong and I made the decision to take my son to
another PSL club academy.”
An
ex-Sundowns player, who left the club in 2011, said, “Those boys from the
academy were exceptional and better than many of first team players. Every time
we played them they killed us with their passes and movement. The first team
coaches did not like that the boys were exposing the direct football style of
the first team. Sundowns should have kept all of them together and made a new
team,” referring to the group that formed PUK Tawana outfit.
“It
is very dubious that Patrice Motsepe would make such costly decisions in
handling his club’s ever important department of youth and youth coaches. A man
of high business acumen cannot go so far to systematically replace some of the
best SA coaching minds with novice foreign coaches who have no clue about SA
football talent,” wondered the former player.
What
MaximalFootball.com find even more bewildering is Motsepe’s non-commitment to
use some of his vast financial resources to build a decent place for the
academy. Listening to mining magnate talk passionately about youth development
many would believe that he is genuine on the issue of youth development. But is
he? Does charity not begin at home? How can Sundowns accept their talented
youngsters to live in Pretoria’s night entertaining area?
By Editor
Original
story: http://goo.gl/qZi4b
Email:
editor@maximalfootball.com
