EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

ROUNDUP

What a thriller of a game between Man United and Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals! It was end-toend stuff with both teams on the offensive for the better part of the game. After not doing well in the league, Man United came to the party and matched Liverpool poundfor-pound. They displayed good fighting spirit after coming from behind twice to eventually win the game. Andre Onana also kept them in the game with some brilliant saves. Man United, after being knocked out of both the league cup and Champions League, have a chance to redeem themselves in the FA Cup semifinals against the second-tier side, Coventry City. It’s my wish that they do well against Coventry to eventually meet either Man City or Chelsea in the final. Bernard ‘Bra Ben’ Tshukudu, Ga-Maria

Man United’s Amad Diallo scored a heart-breaking goal (against Liverpool) when both coaches (Jurgen Klopp and Erik ten Hag) were preparing for a penalty shootout in the FA Cup clash. It was a thriller of a game with goals. I am also glad Rashford scored again after firing blanks for most part of the season. This will definitely boost his confidence and lessen the pressure. Amos “Tiger” Tshukudu, Ga-Maria

After the UEFA Champions League draw, I concur with some soccer analysts who think the match between Arsenal and Bayern Munich is very unpredictable. It’s been a while since the two clubs locked horns. Although Bayern Munich are at their worst form this season, while Arsenal are at their best, it will be an epic clash between the two football giants. It is very unfortunate that the Italian Serie A league has no representative in the quarterfinals this season. Batsirai Kativu, Johannesburg

READERS’ FEEDBACK

Soccer Laduma edition 1365, your article headlined: ‘How Chiefs can Du better’, was classic and very informative at the same time and it further shows that Soccer Laduma is intended to teach us. And then your Siya Special: ‘Chiefs’ broken promises to their fans’ was very good and I hope

Chiefs are learning from it instead of personalising it. Keep up the good work, Soccer Laduma. Kwazikwakhe Mapholoba Ngcobo via email

Mr Editor, can you please do a Part 2 interview with Mr. Michael Ngobeni. Please also do interviews with coach Jacob Sakala and coach Walter Rautmann. What are they busy with? My wish is to see these two gentlemen employed by PSL teams whether as coaches or Technical Directors this season. My other wish is to see Mamelodi Sundowns clinching a second Champions League star and Moroka swallows going straight into the playoffs and their counterpart Royal AM in the relegation zone. Moeti Lerato Richard, Qwa-Qwa, Free State

When Lorch left Pirates for Sundowns, many things were said and reported about it being the beginning of the end of his career, and I wonder what they are saying now. The boy has already contributed three goals in all competitions and it’s just a matter of time before he is recalled to the national team. Another thing, Lorch isn’t there to replace Zwane, he is there to add value to the team. I urge the media to stop causing division within the team.

Jomo Sono was right to say no one can replace Zwane as much as no one replaced Doc Khumalo when he hung up his boots. Tente “The Brains” Mokoka, Sepharane

I think Chiefs are slowly but surely starting to take the right direction. Kaizer Chiefs is a massive entity that only the international coaches can manage. I have nothing against the local coaches but ever since we started to experiment with the young local coaches, results have been going against us. We have tried our own coaches, but I think now let’s bring a well-equipped coach and allow Athur Zwane and all other young coaches to learn from him. That’s one layer of our problems. Another layer which is the biggest problem is that of the siblings. Guys, I know this is a family business, but we need to include other knowledgeable people in some major positions and let particularly brother Bobby take a break. This may sound crazy, but trust me it will save Kaizer Chiefs and bring smiles to the legions of their supporters. Eddie Tshabalala, Bram Fischer, Soweto

Watching the game between TS Galaxy and D’General, I was so touched by the fans who were wearing Bloemfontein Celtic jerseys and singing their lungs out throughout the game. These fans deserve a home. Is there any businessman/ woman watching those poor fans? Talk about the ugly

Whatever you say about Thembinkosi Lorch, he usually performs to a high level when he is fully fit and motivated. It’s rare to see him carrying significant extra weight, and whilst a lot of that is down to body type, it does bode well for his prospects of delivering deep into his 30s.

At Mamelodi Sundowns, an individualised and dedicated periodisation plan is needed for someone who could easily be labelled as “injury-prone”. After all, things like shin splits and fluid on the knee have bothered him in the last few years. Even in his glorious 2018/19 campaign, Lorch only played 73% of the minutes in the league. That number dwindled as the years went on. He played just 1718 minutes a season later, about 63% of the pitch time up for grabs. In the 2020/21 season, he went below half of the available game-time at 48% and the 2021/22 campaign only brought 36% of pitch time, featuring in fewer thanha lf the matches. Lasts eason, it was 12 DStv Premieroutings ship (10 starts, two substitute appearances) with around 36% involvement in league action. Basically, if you can keep the versatile attacker fit, then you can extract the very best out of him. Since arriving at the Chloorkop-based club, he has featured in all eight matches that Sundowns have played. Rhulani Mokwena has eased Lorch into action and it’s paying dividends in terms of his availability. Aside from that, Downs need to get Lorch scoring more regularly. He has already notched three cup goals in the Brazilians shirt, which is a positive sign.

Since that season where he scored 15 goals (nine in the league, six in the cups), his goals have dried up somewhat. In league action, the next three campaigns from 2019 to 2022 only saw him score three times in 4,000 minutes of DStv Premiership football. a midfield diamond shuttler. He is incredibly multi-functional, so perhaps he simply does not have a best role.

Few players in the country have his skill-set in terms of being able to hit switches of play, make in-to-out runs behind fullbacks, score goals, create goals and even occasionally do key roles for the team defensively. For Bafana Bafana atthe2019AfricaCup of Nations, he played mostly as a left winger. For Su ndowns so far, we’ve seen him moving all over the pitch in the team’s very narrow, interchangeable 3-4-3 diamond/3-box-3 shape. He looks born to play in the fluid Sundowns front line with freedom to move deep, wide, run into depth or to shoot from distance.

At Orlando Pirates, Mokwena largely played him as a number 10 but we even saw him excelling and working hard on the right of a midfield diamond in a game against Sunon, downs. Later he played on the left of a diamond in the Carling Black Label Cup due to the supporters only voting central midfielder into their starting XI.