Gossiping, rumours, and bad mouthing others is a one-sided way to handle or create conflict and it’s incredibly toxic to culture and relationships.
That’s the Google definition of hearsay and he said, she said.
When a great man speaks, everybody listens.
That’s what happened when South Africa’s African Cup of Nations-winning Clive Barker spoke in excitement about a gem of a player he had encountered while he was the coach Mpumalanga Black Aces.
The legendary former Bafana mentor coached Black Aces back and described one of the team’s players, Themba Zwane, as “best player he’s ever coached”, adding “even better than Doc Khumalo”.
And that’s when a lot of people lost it causing a stir on social media.
The people’s reaction was for good reason too. Zwane was already 23 by then and was unknown to many, yet Barker was still convinced about his potential.
Brave, considering that Khumalo was at the centre of the country’s best moments and Barker had the best seat in the house, right there on the sidelines.
⚽️ 𝐏![CDATA[]]>𝐨![CDATA[]]>𝐬![CDATA[]]>𝐭-𝐌![CDATA[]]>𝐚![CDATA[]]>𝐭![CDATA[]]>𝐜![CDATA[]]>𝐡 𝐈![CDATA[]]>𝐧![CDATA[]]>𝐭![CDATA[]]>𝐞![CDATA[]]>𝐫![CDATA[]]>𝐯![CDATA[]]>𝐢![CDATA[]]>𝐞![CDATA[]]>𝐰 ⚽️
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) September 27, 2022
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos after their 1⃣➖0⃣ victory against Botswana at FNB Stadium.#SABCSportFootball pic.twitter.com/6x28w1Ud2W
Top five greatest moments in SA football? Doctor is involved in at least four, the other one is obviously Benni McCarthy’s goal at France ‘98, a shibobo against the best that time, Denmark’s legendary goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel.
So we’re talking about a great and unique footballer when we’re talking about 16V.
Despite his delayed breakthrough, Zwane has managed to carve out quite a great PSL career, which looks like it has some more years in the tank still.
In my opinion, he’s a template of what type of midfielder South Africa should intentionally try and use as an example.
We have to embrace the fact that, while delayed, Zwane was at least mature enough to take on the responsibilities that come as his career took off.
There’s something to learn from his development as a footballer, since we’re a country that has had one too many top prospects fumble their opportunities because they skipped some of the steps of their football development.
Zwane and a lot of players from his generation waited for their turn via the Diski Challenge, some like former teammate Percy Tau were used the NFD as their springboard.
He’s become a natural leader, a performance-type leader who doesn’t need the captain’s armband for you to see that the team beats to his drum.
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) September 24, 2022
So you can see why Barker would say what he said, because of similar styles of play. They are both neither natural wingers or central midfielders.
Khumalo operated similarly in Barker’s Bafana 4-2-2-2 box midfield formation.
Khumalo, meanwhile, remains the face of South African football’s greatest era, which was about five years between 1992 and 1997 and had success on the international and local stage.
Zwane’s success, on the other hand, hasn’t been with the national team but only with his club Mamelodi Sundowns.
Yes, Zwane is a new generation star at club level, but even there, there’s Hlompho Kekana who is more decorated.
Anyway, I’ve never heard that conversation become toxic as much as the Zwane versus Khumalo conversation, which became the thing to talk about following Zwane’s brace against Sierra Leone on Saturday.
It’s hard because it depends on your experiences and the impact those experiences had on you and the games you saw him play.
Me, personally, I don’t like these kinds of discussions, especially in SA football, which is not exactly great at gathering and making information available.
For one, Doctor Khumalo played longer and was a star in every way. He played in front of packed crowds week in week out and was expected to be at his best every single time.
The best part is that he often delivered, which is what sets him apart from many others.
He’s considered one of the Goats if not the Goat.
I think that’s the main issue for many people in this conversation, because it means Zwane automatically joins the greatest ever conversation by comparing him to Doc.
Barker has explained himself later on, that he meant it’s because he had the abilities to become the centrepiece of the team, which is what he became.
Even our very own Mihlali Mayambela said that his goal scoring debut in the green and gold was made much easier by Zwane.
So there’s something special about Zwane, but I’d need to be convinced to pick him ahead of Shoes Moshoeu and Jabu (Pule) Mahlangu for my 5-a-side team.
With that said, Zwane, Pule and Moshoeu are perfect type of footballers that Mzansi will produce naturally and make even better if the discovery and management of their development.
It’s hard to train someone to play like Doctor Khumalo, he’s just one of those phenomenal talents blessed for big moments like McCarthy.
But you can train someone to play like Zwane, Pule and Moshoeu. It doesn’t mean they’d be as great, but we are a country that produces ball-playing and quick midfielders.
As you go down the list of some other greats, Kilamazoo, Ace Ntsolengoe, Teenage Dladla, they all have similar qualities that made them great performers. Why aren’t we trying to create more of these type of guys when we have the templates?
Imagine if they were trained well?
dailyvoice@inl.co.za