Publications
Partners
The ‘Spy’ behind Kaizer’s success
He could easily have been mistaken for a hanger-on in the beginning, but Amien Kaldine’s long association with Kaizer Chiefs has made him the mortar in the foundation of the tradition-steeped club.
In fact, Bra Spy, as the 63-year-old Amakhosi support staff member is affectionately called, has come a long way with his idol, Chiefs founder Kaizer Motaung.
Their connection dates back to the days when Motaung was an Orlando Pirates player and Kaldine, from Kliptown in Soweto, was his chief admirer.
Five decades later, Bra Spy is still at his hero’s side as Chiefs celebrate their 50th anniversary, by Daniel Mothowagae.
What sets Chiefs apart
Fifty years after the club was established, Amakhosi are still regarded by many as the trendsetters in local football. Daniel Mothowagae caught up with founder Kaizer Motaung, who shares the secrets that have made Kaizer Chiefs such a respected institution.
The legend who never wore jersey No 10
Football history often associates legends with jersey number 10. But Kaizer Motaung is one of a few heroes of the game who hasn’t turned out with the iconic two digits on his back.
The Kaizer Chiefs boss might have surprised some with “Motaung 24” on his club’s commemorative shirt at the ongoing celebrations to mark Amakhosi’s golden jubilee year, by Daniel Mothowage.
Safa teams’ support staff cry foul over non-payment
A group of disgruntled support staff of South African national teams have accused Safa of nonpayment for services rendered.
The aggrieved faction, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, told City Press that they went through a bleak festive season as a result of not being paid, despite offering their services at various national team camps.
Safa acknowledged that there were outstanding payments, but pinned the nonpayment on “the hectic preparation activities” for its annual general meeting last month and the subsequent closure of its office for the festive season. The federation had undertaken to process the first batch of payments in the coming week, by Daniel Mothowagae.
Sundowns too good for Alger
Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Pitso Mosimane is known to wax lyrical about how his side have figured out north African opponents in the CAF Champions League.
The former African champions backed this statement up with a victory over USM Alger of Algeria at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on Saturday.
The win secured Sundowns a place in the quarterfinals of the premier continental club competition, and also preserved their long unbeaten run at home in this tournament.
The Brazilians have not lost a Champions League fixture at home since 2017, and brushing aside the Algerians tightened the Tshwane giants’ grip on the summit of Group C, reports Daniel Mothowagae.
The next young German coach who could emulate Klopp
By age 30, Julian Nagelsmann was already in his second season coaching at the highest level in the German Bundesliga. It is not surprising that the success Nagelsmann has enjoyed draws comparisons with two other coaches who started their Bundesliga coaching careers at a relatively young age at modest clubs, where they were afforded the opportunity to develop their coaching styles before moving on to bigger teams.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel, the boss of Paris Saint-Germain, have amassed a cabinet full of trophies – including the Champions League, league titles in Germany and France, and numerous domestic cups.
It seems probable that Nagelsmann will – in the not too distant future – become yet another young German coach reaching for (and coaching) the stars.
Side Entry Column: We need to stop visiting our hang-ups on our players
Of the many bits and pieces of advice that have been passed on to me over the years about being a sports hack, the one that stuck is that nobody messes up on purpose.
It may seem a blindingly obvious observation, but the stream of invective that is often written after some poor sod has played an injudicious shot suggests it’s difficult for even supposedly even-handed reporters to hold back from putting the boot in.
The advent of social media – a space so toxic that there’s always someone at hand to tell you in exactly 280 characters how loving sunsets is probably a crime against humanity – has exacerbated the vilification of players when they do not play at their absolute best.
A great example of this reared its head during the Proteas’ defeat by England in the second test of their current four-test series, writes Simnikiwe Xabanisa.
Proteas have a ‘Jacques Kallis on steroids’ problem
Judging by the first two tests against England, the Proteas need to find a solution to their Ben Stokes problem if they are to be the first to crawl across the line at the conclusion of the test series.
Having started the series somewhat on the back foot as his father fell ill during the first week of the tour, and spending time off the field in the first test at Centurion due to the illness that gripped the tourists’ squad during the first part of their trip, the world’s premier all-rounder’s performance in Cape Town suggests that he’ll be the difference between the two sides, by Simnikiwe Xabanisa.
Ray of hope for tennis in SA
Having coached South Africa to within a win of getting into the quarterfinals of the inaugural ATP Cup this week, Tennis SA’s new high performance director Jeff Coetzee – who also coaches the world’s top-ranked doubles team of Colombians Robert Farah and Juan Sebastián Cabal – is hoping to use overseas connections to ensure success in the local game.
Oosthuizen sets sights on back-to-back SA Open win
Louis Oosthuizen will take a one-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round of the SA Open, which is hosted by the City of Joburg, as he looks to become the first player to successfully defend this title in 16 years. Oosthuizen took control of the Open with a third round of 64 on Randpark Golf Club’s Firethorn course, lifting him to 15 under par for the championship. The last player to defend the SA Open was fellow South African Trevor Immelman in 2003 and 2004.
Get your copy of City Press today to read these and more
