And it's exactly a year since #SenzoMeyiwa was killed, but his murder remains a mystery.
One year on and still nothing on who killed Senzo Meyiwa and why... South Africa was promised justice for Nzori, but after 365 days, ZERO.

South Africa’s Pride and Joy in Africa

South Africa’s Pride and Joy in Africa

BY: Vuyolethu Sithatu

As Orlando Pirates were victorious in Egypt against Al Ahly, too many it could’ve been the night of their lives and too many that is yet to come.

After an unconvincing performance at Orlando Stadium in their 1-0 first leg victory over their African rivals, much of the concerns raised were surrounding the fact that Orlando Pirates had once lost on their return leg in the 20143/2014 CAF Champions League Final to Al Ahly SC.

With a lot of the odds against them concerning history repeating itself and the threat delivered by the fans, Orlando Pirates had to leave South Africa with a strong mind-set and arrive in Cairo with a positive attitude.

In just the opening half of the match, it fell evident that the Sea Robbers might have left their mental toughness on the shores of Mzansi. The Soweto Giants were trailing by 2 goals to null after half time thanks to Gabonese striker Malick Evouna who scored in first-half injury time and too many in attendance at Suez Stadium in Suez, east of Cairo felt like it was over as the Red Devils had the crowds backing. After the half time talks, with no clear indication on how things would pan out coming into the 2^nd half of the second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup semi-finals, Ezikamagebhula came out with yet another disappointing start to another half, with just eight minutes into the second half, Al Ahly bagged their second. It took substitute Kermit Erasmus to come with the blue & red pens to rectify their first half mistakes and write their own story for the night after he scored and put Ezikamagebhula ahead on away gaols in the 57^th minute. The man who is in African Form, was to follow, Thamsanqa Gabuza scored a deflected second gaol in the 75^th minute, and it was already game on for the Bucs who proved yet again that they one powerhouse to reckon when it comes to their African Excellency.

Thabo Matlaba ensured that Pirates put out a statement to whoever they would be meeting in the final; that they are out to win it, when he scored a third for the team on that night in dying minutes of that match.

The strike by Matlaba wasn’t enough as Amr Gamal pulled one back for Ahly in injury time and it was all left for Thabo Rakhale who finished it off and added salt to the wounds of the “Club of The Century”, Al Ahly as he scored the fourth and final goal which saw the Buccaneers show all the grit and fight as they humiliated Al Ahly to a 4-3 home defeat and reaching the final of CAF Confederations Cup final by 5-3 on aggregate.

Pirates will meet Etoile du Sahel in the two-legged final late next month. The Tunisian club withstood a charge from Zamalek in their second leg in Cairo, losing 3-0, which was enough to go through 5-4 on aggregate.

Much can expected on the both evenings of the two-legged finals.

But what needs to be put to the spotlight is the excellent string of result which has prevailed continuously under the mentorship of Eric Tinkler, but most importantly the character which Ezimnyama Ngenkani have shown. They have been fighting throughout the battlefields of African, emulate the class of 95, displaying flair, finesse and flamboyance. It has been a team performance and individual brilliance has been there but they have soldiered on in solidarity. Barely having an off season and by doing so, maintaining consistency in their performance every time they play in the CCC. Regardless of the slow start to the domestic league, they have shown great intentions in obtaining continental glory. They have recorded wins from the word “impossible”, beating the best of the best.

With Kaizer Chiefs failing to do what Pirates has done, which is progress further and further on when participating in continental competitions, it is fitting to say that Pirates is more dominant continentally compared to Chiefs, who on the other hand are more dominant nationally.

What’s also fitting to question is that can Chiefs transfer their domestic momentum or rather status into their continental campaign and can Orlando Pirates on the other hand transfer their continental momentum into their domestic campaign?

Well there is much to look out for concerning these two Soweto Giants… Both forever on a quest to maintain their winning reputations as powerhouses of South African football.

The World of Marvelous Football Would Like To Wish Orlando Pirates; Buccaneers, Bucs, Ezikamagebhula, Sea Robbers, Ghosts, Happy People, Amabhakabhaka,
Ezimnyama Ngenkani, all the best in their quest to continental glory. You have made South Africa’s football fraternity proud.

 

Thabo Rakhale celebrating his goal with Thabo Qalinge

Image by: AMR ABDALLAH DALSH / REUTERS

Post Written By: Vuyolethu Sithatu 

@MAVUYOSTAR

Mutlichoice Diski Challenge Skills

The young stars of South African Football

Can Barcelona Be Merciless without Messi

Being arguably the greatest player to ever hit the football scene according to others, Lionel Messi founds himself on the side lines due to a knee injury and it has been dark in city of the Catalonians, after suffering their 2^nd defeat of the season, so it seems like the absence of Lionel Messi is felt.

As the four time Ballon D’or winner continues his recovery from the knee injury he suffered last month it seems like Barcelona will join him in doing as they look to recovery from a disappointing result against Seville. The men from Catalan were unfortunate to see themselves fall short and flat on a second loss in the 2015/2016 season, which too many rivals it raised a sense of relieve and if heartless, probably joy.

The result against Sevilla sent out a rather unconvincing message to their rivals, as they proved to be less of a threat without Lionel Mess. Messi having been the best Barcelona player over the last 6 years or more may see his unfortunate absence from the squad being a burden for Barcelona in maintaining that fiercely strike force; the MSN.

Messi vs Celta Vigo

When Barcelona lost 4-1 to Celta Vigo, Barcelona had the presence of Messi for the full 90 minutes, he delivered 1 cross, a 75% pass rate with 35% being complete passes, he had 7 shots in that game from the 18 of Barca of which 4 were on target and 3 of those shots were actually saved, 1 shot off target, two of his shot we blocked and 1 got off the woodwork.
Messi created 6 of the Barcelona’s 16 chances as 5 were key passes and 1 came as an assist. He further on in trying his luck by having 7 take ons in which 5 were well executed and he failed on two occasions. Aerially he was in thick off things with a rate of 33% and also one defence interception. As a quality player he felt the need to up his perform to his peak to salvage a positive result in the dying moments of the match as it was becoming too much of a realty to lose 4-1 to Celta Vigo.

The stats above can suggest that if Messi is not in the game, the results are bound not to favour Barcelona. With that being mentioned, the question that will need answering is that is Messi even more influential to the likes of Iniesta, Neymar and Suarez? We are yet to find out.

Barcelona vs Sevilla

Sevilla was the team responsible for handing Barcelona their second, and it was a Messi-less Barcelona which on that night they were merciful.  Barça created a total of 20 chances on that evening and expectedly maintained a rather satisfying passing percentage of 86%, with Sevilla trailing behind with 73%. On the wings Barcelona were more adventurous delivering a whipping tally of 28 crosses and with 14 take-ons. The result itself doesn’t reflect the entire performance stats of both teams. The defence stats also prove that Seville were at receiving end of the pressure applied by Barcelona.

This was a Barcelona team which was without the great Lionel Messi. It was Neymar and Suarez who were responsible of making things happen, they were joined upfront by 20 year old Munir El Haddadi Mohamed and he only had one shot at goal and setting up two chances.

Messi vs Atletico

Against one of their huge rivals in the Spanish La Liga, Coach Luis Enrique chose to start the big clash against Atletico Madrid with Lionel Messi on the bench, until the 60^th minute where the Argentinian forward was desperately introduced as they were looking to bag the full 3 points against Atletico. It was no surprise that it would become a worthy move, as Messi clinched the 2^nd goal in the 77^th minute and it was in great style as it seemed to be the goal needed to close the show. With the less time on the pitch Messi had 10 take-ons, created 2 chances and having a passing rate of 93%. Much can be said about his introduction against the Madrid based team.

In conclusion, what can be said is that the complete excellence of either MSN or Barcelona  is alive in Messi’s presence, not taking anything away from Neymar and El’ Pistore, the MSN strike-force is deadly with Messiah part of it.

And with the El Classic edging nearer and nearer, it seems like Real Madrid might face a Merciful Barcelona and yet a Messi-less one if he is fully fit by then, and this could count much to their desire as they are also willing to maintain a rather positive start to the 2015/2016 campaign. But the 22^nd of November might prove to be still far for Messi to hopefully make a return. But the question remains can Barcelona be merciless when they are without Messi?

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Twitter : @MAVUYOSTAR

Statistics source : http://www.squawka.com/

http://www.squawka.com/

Can Barcelona Be Merciless without Messi

Being arguably the greatest player to ever hit the football scene according to others, Lionel Messi founds himself on the side lines due to a knee injury and it has been dark in city of the Catalonians, after suffering their 2^nd defeat of the season, so it seems like the absence of Lionel Messi is felt.

As the four time Ballon D’or winner continues his recovery from the knee injury he suffered last month it seems like Barcelona will join him in doing as they look to recovery from a disappointing result against Seville. The men from Catalan were unfortunate to see themselves fall short and flat on a second loss in the 2015/2016 season, which too many rivals it raised a sense of relieve and if heartless, probably joy.

The result against Sevilla sent out a rather unconvincing message to their rivals, as they proved to be less of a threat without Lionel Mess. Messi having been the best Barcelona player over the last 6 years or more may see his unfortunate absence from the squad being a burden for Barcelona in maintaining that fiercely strike force; the MSN.

Messi vs Celta Vigo

When Barcelona lost 4-1 to Celta Vigo, Barcelona had the presence of Messi for the full 90 minutes, he delivered 1 cross, a 75% pass rate with 35% being complete passes, he had 7 shots in that game from the 18 of Barca of which 4 were on target and 3 of those shots were actually saved, 1 shot off target, two of his shot we blocked and 1 got off the woodwork.                                                                                 Messi created 6 of the Barcelona’s 16 chances as 5 were key passes and 1 came as an assist. He further on in trying his luck by having 7 take ons in which 5 were well executed and he failed on two occasions. Aerially he was in thick off things with a rate of 33% and also one defence interception. As a quality player he felt the need to up his perform to his peak to salvage a positive result in the dying moments of the match as it was becoming too much of a realty to lose 4-1 to Celta Vigo.

The stats above can suggest that if Messi is not in the game, the results are bound not to favour Barcelona. With that being mentioned, the question that will need answering is that is Messi even more influential to the likes of Iniesta, Neymar and Suarez? We are yet to find out.

Barcelona vs Sevilla

Sevilla was the team responsible for handing Barcelona their second, and it was a Messi-less Barcelona which on that night they were merciful.  Barça created a total of 20 chances on that evening and expectedly maintained a rather satisfying passing percentage of 86%, with Sevilla trailing behind with 73%. On the wings Barcelona were more adventurous delivering a whipping tally of 28 crosses and with 14 take-ons. The result itself doesn’t reflect the entire performance stats of both teams. The defence stats also prove that Seville were at receiving end of the pressure applied by Barcelona.

This was a Barcelona team which was without the great Lionel Messi. It was Neymar and Suarez who were responsible of making things happen, they were joined upfront by 20 year old Munir El Haddadi Mohamed and he only had one shot at goal and setting up two chances.

Messi vs Atletico

Against one of their huge rivals in the Spanish La Liga, Coach Luis Enrique chose to start the big clash against Atletico Madrid with Lionel Messi on the bench, until the 60^th minute where the Argentinian forward was desperately introduced as they were looking to bag the full 3 points against Atletico. It was no surprise that it would become a worthy move, as Messi clinched the 2^nd goal in the 77^th minute and it was in great style as it seemed to be the goal needed to close the show. With the less time on the pitch Messi had 10 take-ons, created 2 chances and having a passing rate of 93%. Much can be said about his introduction against the Madrid based team.

In conclusion, what can be said is that the complete excellence of either MSN or Barcelona  is alive in Messi’s presence, not taking anything away from Neymar and El’ Pistore, the MSN strike-force is deadly with Messiah part of it.

And with the El Classic edging nearer and nearer, it seems like Real Madrid might face a Merciful Barcelona and yet a Messi-less one if he is fully fit by then, and this could count much to their desire as they are also willing to maintain a rather positive start to the 2015/2016 campaign. But the 22^nd of November might prove to be still far for Messi to hopefully make a return. But the question remains can Barcelona be merciless when they are without Messi?

A QUESTIONED CRITERIA FOR BAFANA BAFANA

As if the early exit in this year 2015 AFCON was not enough to have South Africa and its football fanatics question Coach Shakes Mashaba’s longevity in being credible following a successful quest in obtaining qualification for the tournament.

What has been an unpleasant spell for coach Shakes Mashaba after the disastrous storyline of this year’s African Cup of Nations, it seems like what is more under scrutiny for the national team coach, is his less understood or inexplicable criteria of selecting his squad. The forever anticipated press conferences which are attended in order to listen to Shakes Mashaba deliver a speech followed by a list of player’s names that are fitting to play for the national team at that specific time, and such moments are eyebrow raisers.

With that being brought to you attention, the question which is itching on our tongues, is; “WHAT IS COACH SHAKES MASHABA’S SELECTING CRITERIA?”                                                                                                                             

A team which firstly lacks a recognised captain sums up a recipe for disaster. Not having a notable leader has left Bafana Bafana wandering with no solid wins. The rotation of captains is one element which has had the national team less organised and lacking a leader to lead from the changing room and on to the pitch. The armband has been thrown left and right and not rightly so, have we reaped the fruits of that manifesto.

A captain is very important, because he voices out for both players (teammates) and the coach, it’s easy to offload responsibilities when you have a figure you can always refer to as “My Captain”.

Moving on, it comes to great questioning as to how Shakes, along with his technical team go about in the process of selecting players. A few players mentioned in the squad on recent occasions have been the talking points surrounding the “criteria”.

·        Tokelo Rantie, one player whose constant inclusion in the national team has forever been questioned, Rantie was subject as the scapegoat in South Africa’s poor performance in the previous appearance in the African Cup of Nations. Rantie who is yet to feature in the starting line-up for Bournemouth in this current 2015/2016 season and yet to even score a goal for them. Yet Rantie is forever included the national squad. Is there clarity in Mashaba’s criteria…?

·        Moving on, Dean Furman as the man who has worn the armband for the national team on a few occasions and to some extent has been recognised as the man to captain Bafana Bafana. Furman who was recently club less after end his relationship with Doncaster Rovers. With that being brought to light, it’s only fitting that Furman wasn’t in any action until being snapped up by SuperSport United. With less action seen by Dean Furman and having been called up to national team yet again, still the criteria goes under the magnifying glass… Any sense unconcealed?

·        Another player whose inclusion is not very easy to question and after being omitted in the squad to head to the 2015 AFCON, Thulani Serero has been at the fortunate end of receiving constant call-ups to the national team. Cream is a highly adored individual to the South African soccer fraternity and his omission was a hard pill to swallow.  But why is his inclusion questioned now? Well despite being a player that plays top flight football, Serero is yet to be at the receiving end of some game time for Ajax Amsterdam. His inclusion is a rather sabotaging scenario because his failure to perform could put him under scrutiny and of course people questioning his quality and further on to his commitment to the national team.

To those who have fallen short to the favour of Coach Shakes Mashaba, a lot has been said regarding the position we could be at, had Shakes called up players such as Erasmus, Masilela, Tlolane, Teko Modise and Letsholonyane just to mention a few. With the few players mentioned, they are consistently performing almost week in week out. Is the criteria declared as understandable?

Going into a match, one has to approach a match with a tactical plan, with the selections of coach Mashaba, his tactics are not entirely backed with back up plans because the depth in the selection is not forever fitting to provide such. But then tactics are a topic for another day.

Still the quest and questions continue in finding the answers to what the criteria of Coach Shakes Mashaba is, but nonetheless we wish him all the best as coach of Bafana Bafana.

                                                  

Zongo's Brilliance is Questioned...

There is more to this than flamboyance, European Standards and other additional factors to this whole debate, football is a game of intelligence, and the use of skill comes with a certain comfortability with the ball. We are always taught to express ourselves when we are in possession of the ball ...
Whenever you come across a player who is finding it difficulty to express themselves when in possession of the ball, there are two things you can say to that player :
-Play simply football and/or
-Play your football.
What Masibusane did on Saturday didn't cost the team whatsoever, we can give the Man of The Match to a player who scores 2 or more goals in a match or the player with that single goal in the match, but also when its goalless draws you need to credit the defenders as well as the goalkeepers for the clean sheets and and absorbing the pressure. But Saturday's encounter between Stars and Sundowns really created a platform for any player who wanted to be Man of the Match to step up and do so.
Zongo created a pleasant atmosphere on the pitch and in the stands and with his style of play he exposed a few defenders of the well empowered Sundowns, going on to question the worth of the quality, but then in the eyes of those who are constantly seeking to get praises week in week out, i feel heart-broken that a player like Zongo gets a second chance to revive his career and continuing to offer us what we have known him for, which is flair and to have his performance questioned after a goalless draw where much of the entertainment was under his names justifies the pain.

Yes I agree with Pitso that the use and implementation of skill should be constructive to a team moving forward and going on to score goals and further on to winning matches, but then if minuses numbers from where that skill is performed, should we look to criticise such.

There's more to come from this stay tuned................