THE STREETS WILL NEVER FORGET: BLACK JESUS

THE STREETS WILL NEVER FORGET: BLACK JESUS 

 Grassroots football in South Africa did they job. Which is to develop Mzansi footballers without making them lose their flair and the Diski heritage. One wouldn’t need to speak of Emmanuel Asanda “ Scara” Ngobese. He was in my opinion the epitome of what we call the ‘ The beautiful game’. Many today look at Tshepo ‘ Skhwama’ Matete and are marveled, others look at Themba Zwane and are rightfully astonished. Imagine if one can experience the best of both worlds.

Those that were old enough to watch ‘The black jesus’ play can tell you that he was hated by no one. Those that flocked the stadiums to be entertained and could care less about how many goals were scored got what they paid for and vice versa.

Mr 360 degrees was also a highly efficient footballer because he used to single-handedly win many games on his own, especially for the glamour boys.

One would liken him to tupac because although he did not have a long career because he unfortunately passed away at age 30. Nobody questions his legend status.

Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry are great talents , Scara Ngobese is great combination of what Ronaldinho can do what Thierry Henry can do.

That is what we call the ultimate footballer. He was always in the zone.

THE STREETS WILL NEVER FORGET : LEGENDS NEVER DIE, THEY MULTIPLY

The streets will never forget: Legends never die they multiply

Eliakim “pro” Khumalo is an individual that, in my opinion is in danger of bieng forgotten. Today’s generation knows little to nothing about him and finding an image of the legendary ‘Pro’ Khumalo is extremely difficult. What this man has done for football in Mzansi will never be forgotten. He was not only a great footballer, he is also responsible for producing arguably one of the best footballers of all time in the history of African football. He is also the pioneers of what we today know as the Phefeni Glamour boys.

The Soweto-born midfielder played mostly for the oldest club in the country, Moroka Swallows and netted an impressive 86 goals in his 216 appearances for the club. His role in the formation of Kaizer XI( now Kaizer chiefs) is not documented enough as he even played for the then new club from 1971 to 1973. 

This is a generation of players that many believe would have Won at least one World cup if they were allowed to participate in it.

Doctor “16v” was a very disciplined footballer who had not only natural talent but he possessed the character of a champion. Although one can be born with the latter, nobody is born with the former.

16v had great parents who instilled these values in Doctor and this is the quality that separated Doctor from the rest. When fame came knocking on the door of Doctor Khumalo, Mme Mabel Khumalo and the ‘Pro’ Khumalo helped their son in the pursuit to remain humble and focus on the pitch.

 The discipline that the two had is the reason behind the self-discipline that Dr Khumalo possessed. May their souls continue to rest in peace.

Fortune Ngobeni 

THE STREETS WILL NEVER FORGET: ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

 THE STREETS WILL NEVER FORGET:

 ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

They don’t make them like Lerato ‘Ace’ Chabangu anymore. The flair, The technical ability and the subtle charisma that this young man from Tembisa showed us on the pitch is very rare, A dying breed indeed.

Nowadays players that have flair find it difficult to beat a defenders and leave them on the floor like Ace did. Those that can beat a defender(usually relying on pace) don’t posses the flair that put many smiles on Masandawana supporters in the early 2000's. Lerato was a complete forward, if he didn’t put the ball behind the net , he was behind the cross that ended up as goal. He was not a boring player either. His footballing career is one that deserves tremendous recognition within the footballing arena because he was the main man at Mamelodi Sundowns ever since he joined them in 2005 following the move from University of Pretoria, in which he made his senior debut for back in 2003, hailing from Supersport youth Academy.

Although he only has 2 official goals for Bafana Bafana, he had many memorable moments of brilliance as a Bafana Bafana player like when he left a Namibian footballer on floor with only 2 touches at the corner to find Hlompho Kekana who simply placed it into the net at the Cosafa. What Lerato Chabangu had as a player cannot all simply be put in stats, Stats cannot tell the entire story, you just had to witness it yourself to see the brilliance of “All you need is love”.

FortuneNgobeni

GALATASARAY IS COOKING

GALATASARAY IS COOKING

Turkish Super lig champions for the 2022/23 Season, Galatasaray mean business in the transfer market.

They have recently managed to secure the services of footballers many teams can only dream of. Wilfred Zaha is no ordinary name in the game. His consistency and the ability to carry the responsibility of single-handedly winning games with his individual brilliance is one of a kind.

How many footballers can win the ball like Gennaro Gattuso and keep the ball like Xavi. Lucas Torreira's on and off the ball displays will bring stability in the midfield of the Turkish giants .

A stable midfield gives Hakim Ziyech the opportunity to become a nightmare for defenders because of how articulate he is with his left and right foot.

If Ziyech doesn’t cut in from any side to find the top corner and score, Mauro Icardi is always an option for Ziyech to split the opponents defenders apart with his infamous intelligent passes, to find the seasoned goal scoring machine.

Mauro Icardi’s resumè tells you everything you need to know about him. He has played for the biggest clubs in the World like Barcelona and Interzionale(Inter Milan) despite his off the pitch antics. His ability to find the back of the net made him an important asset for the many European giants he has played for.

The lions are coming to feast both domestically and on the European stage , if they manage to beat Moldè in their play-off clash on Wednesday 23 August 2023.

IS 'MSHISHI' A GREATER PLAYER THAN '16V'?

IS 'MSHISHI' GREATER THAN '16V'?

Themba ‘Mshishi’ Zwane has a beautiful and inspiring story tell when it comes to how he ended up becoming the generational talent that he is today.

He is one of the few footballers in mzansi that are able to apply the fundamental aspect of the game without straying away from the entertainment aspect of the game. ‘Mshishi’ started playing pro football at 22 years old, He managed to score 71 career goals despite being the late bloomer that he is,24 out of the 71 were scored whilst playing for Bafana Bafana.

What makes Themba Zwane stand out is something that one can not put to paper.One must see it to believe it. He is an incredible player and he definitely does not fit in, but is he better than Doctor Khumalo?

In 1996 , Clive Barker had a headache of not knowing who he should play between Doctor “16V” Khumalo , Shoes Mosheou and Zane “ The Duck” Moosa

It raises eyebrows on whether Themba Zwane would have really stood out in that generation. Perhaps Mshishi was born with a less appealing generation of footballers, perhaps his wonderful football displays were a standard practice during Doctor Khumalo’s Era.

It is very difficult to believe that Mshishi would have made the 1996 Afcon winning squad, 16V one the other hand was one of creams of the crop in that very talented squad.

Doctor “16V” Khumalo has scored 91 career goals, More goals than Zwane. The Doctor of football used to fill stadiums to their capacity because of how beautifully he and his peers used to play. Themba Zwane slightly fills the stadiums only when the tickets are for free. Samuel Eto’o once hinted that if Doctor was Spanish he would have won the Ballon d’or.

Doctor is not only better Statistically, he is a better dancer on the pitch. There are levels to this game

MOZAMBICANS ARE UNEDUCATED YET HIGHLY SKILLED, SA IS THE OPPOSITE

MOZAMBICANS ARE UNEDUCATED YET HIGHLY SKILLED, SA IS THE OPPOSITE

image: Twitter 

The adult literacy rate of people who are 15 and above is relatively low in Mozambique compared to South Africa. Less than half of the students in Mozambique complete their primary education.

An alarming contrast compared to their neighbours. An incredible 59% of the adult population in South Africa has completed their matric(grade 12).

More than a million South African students have enrolled at a university by 2022 according to the Department of higher education.

Whenever a South African citizen needs a plumber, a builder, a mechanic or an electrician, they generally get Mozambique national to assist them with these services. Sometimes only a single person can help one with the multiple services.

 A clear indication that although people from Mozambique are uneducated, they are multi-skilled.

In South Africa ,mechanical engineers cannot fix a car. An electrical engineer knows very little about electricity. South Africa simply has a poor education system.

Technical schools in South Africa are not producing students who do have the technique to execute fundamental skills.

They have grasped the theory that they cannot put into practice.

Sanral usually uses the services of foreign companies from places like china.

South Africans are not lazy they are simply taught nonsense.

Fortune Ngobeni 

The Glamour boys aren't going to be glamorous anytime soon

The Glamour boys aren't going to be glamorous anytime soon.

image:twitter

Naturena , a place that was used to a tradition whereby a trophy would knock on it's a doors every season. Naturena had not welcomed any silverware for  8 years consecutively now.

They have released a huge number of players, signed a few players( most were not good enough)

They gave Steve khompela 3 seasons from 2015 to win something after the truimph by his predecessor Stuart Baxter. He spent a full 3 seasons without winning a trophy.

Amakhosi appointed Ernst Middendorp,  an experienced german coach who was the closest to winning the league only to lose it in the last day with 40 minutes remaining on the clock.

He was sacked after the season.Gavin Hunt came to Amakhosi without having the opportunity to renovate the furniture since the 'Glamour boys' were banned from signing players due to their miscellaneous behaviour by management.

 He was sacked even though he managed to reach the CAF champions league final, something every Kaizer chiefs fan would love to win.Stuart Baxter was brought back as a clear indication that they are clueless because he was sacked before the end of the season to be replaced by an inexperienced Arthur Zwane ,who thought PSL was like the reserve league .

Molefi Ntseki's appointment as the head coach brings no excitement or optimism to the average supporter because what can someone that has never coached a club in his life and coached only 9 Bafana Bafana games, with a 41% win rate bring to the table that Gavin Hunt , Middendorp and Baxter couldn't bring.

Kaizer chiefs must be honest with their fans and tell them that they have no progressive plans for the club. There are no trophies coming anytime soon.

Ronaldinho: Smile with your heart, The world will smile with you

Ronaldinho: Smile with your heart, The world will smile with you 

Image: Twitter

The largest African Diaspora, Brasil has the most World cup trophies than anyone else and has produced great talent.

Pelè “Brazil”, Ronaldo “Fenomeno”, Robinho and Neymar are some of the exceptional players that were born and played for the Seleção.

The streets will never forget the one footballer that played with a smile on his face and as a result, made the rest of the world smile with him.

It was not all about winning for this particular individual but playing beautifully was a standard practice for him.

Whether he was hungover from a night of partying or not. “Joga Bonita(play beautifully) was always on the menu.

Ronaldinho Guacho is one player we all wish never retired because he was a pioneer of the game who always brought a positive joyful vibe.

He played professional footballer with the same ease and energy that one can only replicate on the street or amateur level.

Sergio Ramos, Arguably one of the greatest defensive players of his generation looked like an Amateur everytime Real Madrid faced Barcelona.

Speaking of Real Madrid, Ronaldinho is the only rival player to receive a standing ovation at the Santiago Bernabeu. Take a bow, King Ronaldinho.

Fortune Ngobeni.

HARD LUCK AGÜERO

HARD LUCK AGÜERO

Sergio “Kun” Agüero is arguably one of the greatest footballers of his generation. He has done it in England, Spain(Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid) and on the international stage.

The very few supporters that belong to the blue side of Manchester and the rest of world will never forget his last second goal that clinched the first ever title for the Cityzens in 2011.

No other non-English footballer has scored more goals than Kun Aguero and he is fifth on the all-time Premier league goalscorer list.

He was part of the olympic Gold medal winning Argentina squad and he is considered to be a member of the golden generation of the likes of Di Maria and Leo Messi(GOAT).

He is however very unlucky considering the fact that he suffered a career ending predicament in the form of heart disease that otherwise has prevented him from playing for Barcelona long enough to make a difference.

Agüero is Argentina’s 3rd all time goalscorer only behind Leo Messi and the great Diego Maradona.He was forced to retire in early 2021, A few months after his retirement, Argentina won the Copa America which he had came close to winning many times.

Kun was part of the 2014 Argentina squad that lost the World Cup final to Germany in Brazil. In 2022 Argentina won the world cup and he could have easily been part of that team. They had to register him as an assistant coach to get the winners medal.

In his last year with Manchester City and as a professional footballer. City lost the champions league final against rivals Chelsea. Many pundits believe it would have been a different story had he started the game.

Manchester city have just beaten Inter Milan to win their first UEFA champions league title. Aguero was an important man in building the foundation to winning this trophies.

He Is a man that has been to the World cup, Copa America and Champions league final without winning any of these trophies in his career. Talent was on his side but luck wasn’t

Amakhosi must give Dan a chance to Dance

Dan Malesela: twitter

Kaizer Chiefs has been given many labels in their history. They have been called the Glamour boys , the Soweto Giants or even the cup kings.

Today, It is close to impossible to recognize or identify the club with any of these labels.

My young brother, a 9 year old Kaizer chiefs supporter would dispute any one that calls kaizer chiefs the Glamour boys or the cup kings because since he was born he has never seen the Amakhosi faithfuls win a trophy. Their football display or playing styles in the past years is not what one necessary would consider to be ‘glamorous’.

Managers have come and gone but no one has been able to win something with the team that has won everything. A team that has won the most amount of trophies in the history of South African football(93).

There are those that came close( like Ernst Middendorp and Gavin Hunt) but not close enough to bring back silverware to Naturena.

Dan ‘Dance’ Malesela a former Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns footballer that used to dance on the pitch and now he teaches the new generation how to tango.

Dan ‘danced’ his way to winning TS Galaxy their only top flight trophy in the Nedbank against the ‘infamous’ cup kings Kaizer chiefs.

He came close to repeating the same feat with Marumo Gallants but lost the final against arguably one of the best football clubs in Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns. (1-0)

TS and Marumo Gallants were not just finalists in the Nedbank cup, they played possession football that looked good on the eye yet it was efficient( enough to take them to finals).

The respective teams had the confidence and patience to keep the ball for as long as they can while looking for spaces to open the oppositions defence in order to convert.

Dan Malesela has proven that he does not need expensive players to win silverware. Bobby Motaung and co hate spending money but they loving winning trophies. This makes Dan ‘Dance’ Malesela and Amakhosi a match made in heaven.

United States of Africa

 Through all the trials and tribulations, it is hard to believe that Africa is still alive and kicking today even though she is hanging on a tiny thread which can break at any time. She was once blessed with rich soil that bears all the gold, diamonds, oil and coal. She was truly the epitome of natural beauty seen from her pride of lions who rule her jungle from the Serengeti to the luangwe. Her Gentle giants, the extraordinary Elephant, happy Hippo and brave Buffalo. Her beauty did not end there because I'm yet to mention the kilimanjaro, the table mountain or even Victoria falls. She was once so beautiful and through all that she has been through,she still is.

Mama Africa taught her children well by teaching them to welcome visitors with open arms and share with them all she offers because she was more than enough. She did not anticipate the greed that this visitors had and could only watch as she was ripped into pieces and her gold, her diamonds and even her children were snatched away from her. It must have been painful to see the sorrow in the eyes of her children when they were chained and whipped into large ships and it did not help that She had the best seats in the house when all this happened.

Today her children a fighting against each other even if though they know that they are born from the same womb and are all children of Mama Africa. Her children allow scars all over Mama Africa known to them as borders to divide them even when they did not benefit from the pain that came from the very same scars. I wonder what makes them believe they will benefit from them now. These scars they prefer to call them borders serve no relevance to the children of Africa because they never got the piece of pie that Mama Africa was seen as by the rude visitors but they were merely left with crumbs which they still live off today.

Perhaps if they started seeing the bigger picture, they will see that if they come together like true siblings and stop putting relevance on whether they are Nigerian, South African or Ethiopian and start putting relevance on the fact that they are all Africans. They will realize the true potential they have.

The talk of Afrophobia prevents them from taking back their Africa which was stolen from them and it opens doors for others to come and steal what remains of her. They must instead have the conversation of sharing ideal plans for a better future for their children. They must invest in themselves by investing in each other and stop relying on investment from those who do not have their best interests at heart. Create a platform for their youth to participate in the 4th industrial revolution because as a continent they have been deprived of many industrial revolutions as many of them were about them and not for them. United they will rise and divided they will fall even further than they have.