'Bad boy' in coaches' good books?
Ajax chose not to renew controversial Mabhuti’s contract
MABHUTI Khenyeza has often been portrayed as a troublemaker — but only by those who don’t know the player. The real Khenyeza is a hardworking, conscientious footballer, according to all those coaches with whom he has allegedly had run-ins.
Indeed, none of them hold any grudges against the striker.
His biggest strength, according to one coach, is that he is not a soccer romantic with his head in the clouds, but rather a player with his feet firmly on the ground.
Khenyeza, 31, faces a one-year ban from football for spitting at match official Zakhele Siwela while playing for Ajax Cape Town last season. He has appealed the sentence handed down by the Premier Soccer League and joined newly promoted side Mpumalanga Black Aces, making his controversial debut over a week ago.
The irony of the Khenyeza saga is that the one man with whom he’s had the most public fall out is the one defending him the most. If you want to know Khenyeza’s true worth ask Muhsin Ertugral, who worked with the forward at Kaizer Chiefs and Ajax.
“People easily get offended by him because they have a romantic idea about football . . . that there should be peace and all of that. So he [Khenyeza] is completely misunderstood,” said Ertugral, who is angry that Ajax let the player go following the ban.
The coach said Khenyeza would be perfect for the Turkish Super League because “no one there romanticises the game”, adding that in SA, “players with this kind of winner mentality aren’t protected”.
Even though Khenyeza once told Ertugral he did not want to work with him while the two were player and coach at Chiefs in 2008, the coach had a plan to help Ajax fight the sentence.
“I was in Turkey when [Raul] Meireles was accused of spitting and swearing at a referee while playing in a derby between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, but he was handed a four-match ban [reduced from 11 games after appeal].
“I told Ajax they could use this argument to win Mabhuti’s case. Here’s a man who is the breadwinner at home and you tell him he can’t earn a living for a year? That is like sending him to jail for a year. I am still very upset the club didn’t fight for him and I was again in Turkey for the U-20 World Cup, so I
He is very confrontational and I like that. Maybe that is why we clashed in the past, because we have that winner mentality — Muhsin Ertugral
couldn’t do anything,” said Ertugral.
Khenyeza scored four goals in five games to help Ajax survive relegation last season, but as soon as the ban was handed out, the Urban Warriors opted not to renew his expired contract.
“Mabhuti saved this club and I like him because we are a little bit similar. He is very confrontational and I like that. Maybe that is why we clashed in the past, because we have that winner mentality and on match day, none of us care about anything else but a win,” explained Ertugral.
Khabo Zondo backs the statement that Khenyeza is responsible.
Zondo worked with Khenyeza when he was 20 at Golden Arrows and he too believes the player’s unpleasant character is on the pitch.
“If you spend a few days with him outside football, it becomes clear he is dedicated, humble and a good listener,” said Zondo.
“Mabhuti loves his mother, he loves being home. He’s bought her a house and has proved to be levelheaded because he doesn’t drink or smoke. I can’t believe he would spit at another person.”
But why so many squabbles with coaches? “I don’t know. Our issues at Arrows were manageable. I never felt I wanted to get rid of him,” said Zondo.
At SuperSport United, then coach Gavin Hunt didn’t waste time shipping Khenyeza out as soon as their tiffs became public and the relationship was beyond repair early in January.
Although Hunt described the striker as a “lovely boy”, he said Khenyeza often preferred to do things his own way.
“I think his biggest downfall is that he doesn’t want to be coached. It is a difficult thing to say because he offers great energy and fantastic commitment to the game, but he doesn’t want to be told certain things and that’s why we fell out,” said Hunt.
“Maybe that’s why his career never really took off. He is going to keep falling out with coaches, and at his age it’s too late to change.”
The Bidvest Wits coach is one of the few to have seen video evidence of Khenyeza spitting at Siwela, and argued the ban was senseless.
“I’ve seen it a couple of times and I don’t think he spat at the referee. I think it was directed at the supporters. There’s no doubt that he should be called in and reprimanded, but for me, reckless tackles are the ones that should not go unpunished,” the coach said.