SuperSport United Can Get Even Better
Gavin Hunt celebrates yet another League title for SuperSport
Ever thought where three-time defending Absa Premiership champions SuperSport United could be in five years’ time?
Their current average age is 23. So even with this particular title-winning squad, time is on their side.
But what most football supporters don’t know is that brimming below the first team is, what insiders say, the most exciting Under-17 set up since the group of Kermit Erasmus, Masibusane Zongo and Philani Khwela.
SuperSport’s Director of Football Stan Matthews hopes that by 2012 “about half the first team squad would have come through our youth academy”.
Picture this: Players who joined the club’s academy aged 13 would have had 5 or 6 years of learning SuperSport’s way. They would have gone overseas through the club’s foreign links, gained experience and enjoyed high level coaching.
So if the club loses some if its key first teamers, like they have before, the champions have some exciting youngsters coming through to fill the void.
The club are fortunate to have “two unbelievably exciting goalkeepers”, says Matthews, in Sherwyn Naicker and Ronwen Williams.
According to those in the know, both are expected to play in the PSL and go on to have very successful goalkeeping careers.
Established centreback Bongani Khumalo is still only 23, I needn’t say more, and Bongani Zulu from the national Under 20 set up, is seen as the club’s “next Ricardo Katza”.
Fullback or central defender Rudi Isaacs is also 23 and Davies Nkasau 22 while a promising left back is in already in the making.
He is Karaba Masehele, who is on loan at FC Cape Town, and will re-join Matsatsantsa in July. Masehele is described as strong with a good left foot, and can even play centre back.
In right midfield, 20-year-old Thabo Moleko has blistering pace – a Dikgang Mabalane type prospect.
On the left side SuperSport believe they have the next Daine Klate already waiting. Lyle Lakay has been on loan at FC Cape Town sharpening his left foot in the NFD ranks.
But there’s also Tebogo Langerman (23) on the left and don’t forget Zongo who remains one of the best talents to have come through the Tshwane club.
In midfield there is this season’s rising star Thandani Ntshumayelo, who at age 19 has looked very comfortable in the Absa Premiership.
But the club is very healthy in this department. They actually have three central midfielders in the academy, all expected to knock on the first team door in the next few years.
Mbuso Manyoni, Keegan Buchanan (both of whom Kick Off has profiled in its Road to 2014 magazine feature) and Miguel Timm are outstanding players.
In attack, there is Thabo Mongalo and Thulani Ngcepe for the future. Potentially they’re a good pair to take over from Glen Salmon and Brian Umony.
Why? Because Mongalo has the ability to hold the ball up and Ngcepe likes to make angled runs off a target striker.
There you have it. SuperSport’s five-year plan to remain a winning club!
And it will cost them far less than most clubs in today’s world, where football businesses often make big losses.
With salary structures capped and the club not willing to break their policy, SuperSport’s excellent youth academy becomes priority number one.
Neil Greig
Courtesy of Kick Off
Man United Look East
Ji -Sung Park of Manchester United.
Manchester United have signed a five-year sponsorship deal with Telekom Malaysia in a move designed to make further inroads into their massive support in Malaysia.
Telekom Malaysia will become ManU’s “Integrated Telecommunications Partner” in Malaysia.
“Anyone who went on our tour of the Far East last summer knows the strength of feeling that Malaysians have for the club,” said chief executive David Gill.
“Over 40 000 attended our training session and another 40 000 came to the second match in Kuala Lumpur, despite only having 48 hours’ notice of the fixture.”
Next season, United will have a new shirt sponsor – insurance giant Aon Corporation – for four years.
Aon will replace AIG, who received a $150-billion bail-out from the US government in the wake of the economic recession.
Bumbling Bafana To Share With Holland
Bafana Bafana will be sharing training facilities with Holland.
Bafana Bafana failed to agree terms over their World Cup training ground, and will now share facilities with Holland.
Unbelievably, Bafana Bafana have changed their World Cup home base yet again, shifting from Sandown High School to Wits University’s Sturrock Park, which they will share with the Netherlands.
Bafana will be staying at the Southern Sun in Sandton, and were hoping to have their training ground at Sandown High School – five minutes’ walk away – but were unable to come to a financial agreement with the school.
Bafana’s inability to nail down a home base stands in stark contrast with other World Cup contenders who have cherry-picked the prime venues in the country, such as Zimbali Lodge, Pezula Resort and Fancourt Hotel.
Beckham Shows True Colours
David Beckham attempted to distance himself from the campaign to oust the Glazer family from Manchester United despite leaving the pitch wearing one of the green and gold scarves that have come to symbolise the fans’ protests against the club’s owners.
Beckham, afforded a stirring reception on his return to Old Trafford, picked up the scarf after it was thrown from the Stretford End on a night when Malcolm Glazer’s sons, Joel and Avram, were inside the stadium to witness the scale of antipathy towards their ownership of the club.
For someone of Beckham’s standing to endorse the green and gold movement would be regarded as a major victory for the protestors but, as the former United player reflected on Milan’s 4-0 defeat, the heaviest inflicted on them since the Champions League’s conception, he said he did not want to be regarded as a figurehead for the campaign. “I’m a Manchester United fan and when I saw the scarf I wanted to put it round my neck,” Beckham explained. “It’s the old colours of United but, to be honest, it’s not my business. I’m a United fan and I support the club. I always will, but it’s got nothing to do with me how it’s run. That’s all to do with other people. I just support the team. I will always support the team.”
That may disappoint those supporters who regarded Beckham’s final act before disappearing down the tunnel as a sign of public sympathy and solidarity. Beckham reflected on an “unbelievable” reaction from an Old Trafford crowd buoyed by a commanding performance from their team and two more goals from Wayne Rooney that left Sir Alex Ferguson wondering whether his leading scorer could emulate Cristiano Ronaldo’s total of 42 last season.
Ferguson was not surprised by the crowd’s affection for the former Beckham. “We expected that and he deserved that,” the United manager said. “Most of our former players get that type of reception. Paul Ince unfortunately went to play for Liverpool so they weren’t exactly throwing garlands at him when he came back but normally they always appreciate the players who have had great careers at this club.”
With thanks to the Guardian.co.uk
Wayne Rooney Performs Superbly
Wayne Rooney
Rumours of Wayne Rooney struggling for fitness have clearly been greatly exaggerated.
Either that or a rest at Molineux last Saturday did him a power of good.
He was certainly fit enough to carry the United attack on his own tonight, after his alleged over-exertion on the Wembley turf for England, and anyone keeping even half an eye on events these past couple of months will appreciate that that rendered Manchester United’s progress into the Champions League quarter-finals something of a formality.
Rooney was not able to manage the full Nicklas Bendtner and neither could United emulate Arsenal’s five goals, yet Milan are not Porto and Rooney’s double was thoroughly impressive.
The Italians defended with surprising naivety, and missed good chances, but the encouraging news for United, England and anyone else with an interest in goalscorers at the top of their profession was that no one could match Rooney for quality of movement or decisiveness of finish.
He settled the tie as early as the 13th minute.
Everything that followed was mere decoration, even if it must be allowed that the way United opened up Milan for Rooney’s second, before he went off just after the hour, will have given them every encouragement for the rest of the tournament, as will a notable aggregate scoreline.
Having put themselves in a strong position in Milan, it was disappointing for United to concede a late goal that allowed the Italians hope, but Sir Alex Ferguson’s assessment was that if his side scored at home it ought to be enough to guarantee progress.
There was some debate among United fans about whether Ferguson would select an attacking line-up or pack the midfield, yet the fact that Dimitar Berbatov was on the bench was misleading. While the Bulgarian has been in decent form, his pairing with Rooney is not necessarily United’s best option.
Most of the unstoppable performances Rooney has put in this year came up front on his own, and here was another one. The 3-2 win at San Siro – where United had never scored, let alone won – was achieved with a similar formation.
Predictably, Rooney had the first shot of the game, the first couple of shots actually, though Ronaldinho also came close to opening the scoring with a header before United found inspiration from an entirely unexpected source.
Gary Neville was in the side for his experience, Ferguson putting a high value on the commodity for big European nights, though having seen him struggle against Matt Jarvis in the 45 minutes he played at Wolves the United support was fearful of what might happen when he was asked to contain Ronaldinho.
They need not have worried. Neville got forward and caused Milan problems of his own. He had sent a dipping shot narrowly over the bar and won a commanding header on halfway by the time he sauntered down the right and sent over the cross from which Rooney opened the scoring.
Milan have no excuse for not knowing about Rooney’s heading ability after San Siro, so perhaps they assumed he would not be able to leap past Daniele Bonera or to beat Christian Abbiati from 12 yards. Rooney turned a good cross into a great goal with a header from the days when centre-fowards had centre partings.
Even more remarkably, for a player with much more to his all-round game who has only recently begun to display the positional sense and timing to make heading an effective part of his repertoire, it was Rooney’s seventh consecutive headed goal. Any old-fashioned centre-forward would have been proud of that, particularly as few of them were routine.
While United held only a one-goal lead the tie was theoretically open, but the second half was barely a minute old before Rooney’s 30th goal of the season put it to bed. Taking advantage of a sprint down the left by Nani and a perfectly judged pass inside, Rooney reached the ball ahead of Abbiati and pushed it into the net.
Game over, with due respect to Park Ji-sung’s strike, Darren Fletcher’s first European goal and David Beckham’s introduction. The sequence of headed goals was over too, though that is hardly important when a scorer is in such imperious form.
While Beckham crossed as well as ever, rolled back the years with a spectacular volley that almost caught Edwin van der Sar off guard and generally looked as if he should have started the game, he no longer has the ability to influence outcomes single-handed.
United and England now have someone else who can do that, although if Beckham seizing a green and gold scarf for a photo-opportunity at the end means his next fight will be against the Glazers, at least his money will come in handy. He may not be Goldenballs any longer, but he can still be a Red Knight.
Courtesy of The Guardian
HAVE YOUR SAY: Is Rooney fit or lucky?
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