Allthe best, Dr Motsepe!
G’day
I must admit, things are looking up for South African football after such a long time. I’m talking about our invasion of African football because, for the first time in ages, we have our Big Three doing well in continental football and representing our country well, while we have Dr Patrice Motsepe on the verge of being announced as the new CAF President on Friday.
We are blossoming well and it makes me so proud because for us to compete against the rest of the world, it has to start in our continent. I really want to applaud both Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs for registering important wins this past weekend in the CAF Champions League, while Orlando Pirates are also doing wonders in the CAF Confederation Cup. This is what we need and are all about. We had our U17 scheduled to go to play in the Afcon in Morocco but, unfortunately, the tournament had to be called off due to COVID-19. It would have been great to see our youngsters representing us on the continent, but it was just not to be. It gives me great joy to see our football heading in the right direction in both club and national team football. Bafana Bafana will be playing Ghana and Sudan in just over two weeks from now and the team has been announced already. We really need to qualify for Afcon and bring back our pride and if you look back in our history, it is when the Big Three are doing well that our national team does well.
Sundowns have been unbelievable on the continent over the last decade or so, consistently, and the results are there for everyone to see. We have to commend them, especially after such an impressive and record-breaking win away from home to TP Mazembe last weekend. It is never easy to play in that stadium as the reception is always hostile and it is easy for people to think things were a bit different this time around for Sundowns. Those who have experienced continental football will know just how much this win means for Sundowns and what a heartbreak it brings to Mazembe. Salute to Sundowns! Coach Manqoba Mngqithi, Rhulani Mokwena, Steve Komphela, the entire technical team, players, management, staff, supporters and everyone associated with Sundowns, you all deserve a pat on the back for this wonderful result. You’ve really made us proud and continue to be a great example. The two goals were unbelievable and you deserve all the credit because you left Mazembe not knowing what hit them. I would have expected there to be some hiccups because of the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the continent, especially when playing away from home, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Players seem to be mentally strong even in hosile conditions. I have been to DR Congo and I know how hostile things can be there and hey will do anyhing to make sure hat they win, but o withstand all of that and keep your eye on the ball is not easy at all. I remember when we went to play AS Vita Club in the Champions League, they made us feel that we were indeed playing away from home. Imagine your embassy talking about a strategy to whisk you out of the stadium if you win the game. Doesn’t that tell you something about the hostility that awaits you? Fortunately for Sundowns, that wasn’t the case at all because I saw a video of Mazembe supporters making a guard of honour for Sundowns as they left the stadium and that shows the amount of respect that they’ve earned from the opposition supporters. You have to take your hat off to Sundowns and they beat Mazembe for their first home loss in the Champions League in 11 years and that says a lot about the amount of work the technical team put into this match. They showed a lot of character under difficult circumstances and we have to give credit to everyone at Sundowns for a job well done. Out of the country and you have all the odds stacked against you, yet you go out there and collect six valuable points. That’s not an easy thing to do at all and it says a lot about the team’s mentality and character.
As I was going through the Champions League results, I kept thinking about the possibility of Sundowns meeting Al Ahly at some stage of the competition. Wouldn’t that be a mouth-watering fixture? I’m salivating at it already and the way Sundowns are playing, I’m sure they’d fancy their chances of upsetting their former coach Pitso Mosimane’s charges. That’s what football is all about. This has nothing to do with the fact that Ahly have only managed to secure one point in their last two encounters, it is just that I would really like to see them square up against Sundowns. While still on CAF, job well done by Chiefs for winning and reviving their chances of progressing out of the group stages last weekend. At least there’s a good feeling about their chances of progressing and the win came as a huge morale-booster for sure. Now they have to make sure that they keep their chances alive because it is not going to be easy. It would be nice to see Chiefs get out of the group stages, with Pirates cruising on the other side and keeping our flag flying high. Things are really looking up for South African football.
A cherry on top will be Dr Motsepe being crowned as the CAF President on Friday following the arbitration rule and the other contenders withdrawing. It would be great to have Dr Motsepe in charge as he will bring fresh ideas on the running of the federation. He will be the first CAF president to come from the SADC region and that says a lot about the importance of his presidency. We just have to wait for the official announcement before we can start popping champagnes and I believe he has everyone’s support and the future looks bright. I just hope he won’t be lost completely to South African football. All the best, Dr Motsepe!
“He made an untested Pep Guardiola at the time the first team manager – a team that has since gone down in history as probably the best team ever.”
“I think he fully believes that not only is he capable of winning Messi over…”
The past year has been a calamitous one for FC Barcelona, from its former president Josep Maria Bartomeu publicly falling out with record goalscorer and captain Lionel Messi to the same man being arrested after he was alleged to have hired a PR company to smear the names of certain club legends, including the Argentine, who came incredibly close to leaving the Blaugrana in August 2020. W ith an upturn in results, there appears be a new sense of optimism among Barcelona fans and that feeling only intensified when Joan Laporta was elected as the Catalan giants’ new president! Laporta, who served as the club’s chief from 2003 to 2010, has returned to rescue Barcelona from economic ruin and persuade Messi of his project, but could it all be a little too late? Soccer Laduma’s Kurt Buckerfield spoke to the incredibly insightful Semra Hunter, an expert on Spanish football, about the latest ongoings.
Kurt Buckerfield: Joan Laporta is once again president of Barcelona. Why did he get the majority vote?
Semra Hunter:
I think there’s a mixture of nostalgia and the idea that this is not his first rodeo. It really was no surprise that he would win – and by such a landslide. Funnily enough, it wasn’t initially expected that he would even run for presidency after losing to Josep Bartomeu in 2015, but after a late decision, he surprised us all by throwing his name into the ring. Once he did, it was pretty much game over. He was the president from 2003 to 2010, took over the club at a time when it was also very much in turmoil, and together alongside some incredibly intelligent and talented people, led Barcelona to take up the mantle alongside the world’s elite. He was president when a certain Leo Messi broke into the first team and was also partly responsible for making sure he stayed there. He made an untested Pep Guardiola at the time the first team manager – a team that, under his stewardship, won an unprecedented historic sextuple and has since gone down in history as probably the best team ever. Plus, the men’s first team alone won a total 12 trophies during Laporta’s tenure. He was also the man who had the club donate to UNICEF in exchange for their logo on Barca shirts rather than have a paid shirt sponsorship – something they’d historically (and proudly) always avoided.
It was a wildly successful period for the club in football terms, and it was deeply rooted in the “Cruyffist” philosophy, which is in part to say that win, lose or draw, you have to do it playing beautiful football. Which they did. So there is a belief among many that Laporta is the right man to take them back to the glory days, both on the pitch and institutionally. Apart from his experience from the seven years that he was in charge, he also has always maintained a very close and good relationship with Messi and his family. That will certainly be one of the main reasons why those that voted for him did so. Of all the candidates most able to keep the Argentine maestro on board, it’s him.
KB: This could be one of the most important moments in recent Barcelona history considering the difficult year the club has had. Just how tough will it be for Laporta to get Barca back to being not only economically stable, but also one of the most feared teams in world football?
SH: It’s probably the most important moment in club history. There are so many tasks for Laporta and his new board to sort out, and on such a scale the club has never been faced with before. It will be difficult for sure, but the good news (at least initially) is that he’s been in this position before with Barca, but to a much lesser degree. There were debts to be cleared, and he and his board did that. The debts now, however, are astronomical and will certainly take some serious financial prowess in clearing. The previous administration has left a done deal that is looking to cost upwards of €800m for the remodelling of the Camp Nou – a project expected to finish in 2024.
They’ve also left behind huge player salaries that will need to somehow be paid. Barca will have to be very intelligent about how they deal with this situation going forward, especially as they don’t currently have the financial bandwidth to make too many big moves for high-profile players. Laporta has held his cards very close to his chest during the campaign, so we still have yet to get the full, clear picture as to who the members of his board will be and just how they plan on getting Barca back on track. Part of the secret to his success the first time was that he assembled a team of people around himself who were very talented characters in their respective roles. People like Ferran Soriano or Txiki Begiristain who are long gone (both now at Manchester City).
So the real question is if he’s capable of mounting a team of similar quality, which will be pivotal to making this a happy return for everyone. It is also crucial they start to find other ways to bring in money, and to reduce costs. They will have to get a bit creative as there are still no matchday revenues or museum visits and so on. A potential example could be the renaming of the stadium, with the injection of capital from a sponsor. This is no doubt a period of transition – both in football and in institutional terms – and with the belt having to be tightened, it may take some years yet to return to the pinnacle. But this is a massive club and a global brand with far too much interest and investment to see Barca lose their way completely, I personally believe. History has shown that they’ve climbed their way out of a big mess before.
KB: It was Laporta’s trust and faith in an inexperienced and unproven Pep Guardiola in 2008 that changed the fortunes of the club. Is that period still the benchmark?
SH:
I think most recognise that it was a highly unusual and unique set of circumstances that all aligned in the right place at the right time. What Guardiola did with that class of talent, the ridiculous levels of success they achieved between the trophies they won, but more importantly how they won them, is something that, for me, happens once in a lifetime. It was truly special. I don’t think most Barca fans are expecting that same level of success. The bar was set almost too high – not even just for the club but for just about any club in the world. We’re talking about a side that many football fans beyond Barca feel is one of the best, if not the greatest, football team of all time. That’s an extremely difficult reputation to beat. Messi is a one of a kind. And with the exception of Cristiano Ronaldo, probably a once-ina-lifetime type of player. Guardiola created Messi into the best footballer on the planet, but he’s kept going for the last 14 years. Messi, like Guardiola’s team, has set the bar so insanely high, I’m not entirely sure Barca have someone either coming through or in the first team already who can go on to take his place in the near future with the same level of impact and influence he’s had both on and off the pitch. That kind of magic is very, very hard to replicate, from an individual and collective point of view. Do fans expect success? Of course, always. Will the standard be that of Guardiola and Barca 2008-09? I don’t think so. And that’s nothing to be ashamed of.
KB: How much pressure is Laporta now under to convince Messi of his project?
SH: I don’t think Laporta feels under pressure to convince Messi, for several reasons. One is that Laporta is an extremely confident character, who is known for his charm and boldness. I think he fully believes that not only is he capable of winning Messi over and establishing a plan that will make the Argentine want to stay. In his mind he’s already done so – in other words, he has the blueprint laid out, now he just needs to execute it. He gives off this vibe that there’s no need for worry, that Messi is key to the future of the club and will be vital in guiding the team to football success again. More importantly, that he himself is the right man for the task to keep the Argentine on board. They have a very close relationship from his first stint with the club, and get along famously. While there’s no guarantee and there’s still time for Messi to make his decision (time he himself has publicly stated he will take), now more than ever in the past couple of years, Messi looks closer to staying than before. Not just because of Laporta, but matters have been improving on the pitch in the past few months, too. The team has had a brilliant run in LaLiga in 2021 so far, they’ve now made a convincing case as a title contender, plus they’ve eliminated Sevilla in dramatic fashion, coming from a two-goal deficit, to earn themselves a place in the Copa del Rey final. Europe is a different beast entirely, with a gargantuan task of making it an epic historic ‘remontada’ (comeback) Part Two against PSG. But sticking to the positives, perhaps best of all for Barca and Messi fans, their Messiah looks happy. He’s smiling again, celebrating goals with passion, expressing his delight in working with the young players, looking just about back to his best – the tide is definitely turning. And it could just lead him right to where he is.
KB: Thanks for your time and insights, Semra. Interesting times ahead for Barca, indeed! ❐