Nahtino
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Intresting Mike Makaab Article ...'Going is tough for young SA soccer players'
May 21 2006 at 05:25PM
By Fred Forge
Competition for places in football clubs in Europe has become intense and with South American players making increasing inroads into this market, South Africans are now finding it extremely difficult to establish themselves in foreign countries.
Even after securing the opportunity of an extended run in European football, many players from this country discover a number of factors militate against them reaching the pinnacle. It is an indisputable fact that homesickness is often an intrusion when a family emigrates to shores afar. So it can be a particularly lonely road for a footballer in a strange land facing various obstacles as well as trying to prove he has what it takes to crack it as a top player.
Dozens of white players from South Africa made their mark in British football in past years but even though the culture did not present a major upheaval, some found they badly missed the sunshine and all that was associated with the lifestyle of this country. In many cases, this curtailed any chance they had of making a career for themselves there. A few nevertheless emerged as success stories and represented their adopted countries at international level.
Lofty expectations
Black players, however, have often struggled when lofty expectations have not been met. The result has been an early departure home.
Durban's Mike Makaab is well equipped to explain how demanding it can be for a South African to make a go of it in a foreign land. Managing director of Prosport International's Global Football division, Makaab is an agent for about 170 professional footballers and 60 amateurs.
Always passionate about the game, his role models when he was young included Bobby Chalmers, Les Salton, Jomo Sono, Teenage Dladla and Ace Ntsolengoe, who died recently.
"I still feel Jomo Sono was the best footballer this country produced," he said.
Makaab didn't play as a professional but turned out for Umbilo and Juventus in the Natal Football Association's years and was coached by George Spenceley and Clive Barker, who both taught him a good deal. He gave up playing at 27 but his interest in the game never waned and he went on to become a very successful coach.
'Living away from home'
"My enthusiasm for coaching gained momentum when I took over the reins at Juventus and we defeated the all-powerful Stella team and went on to win the league championship in those fondly remembered amateur days," recalled Makaab.
"It got better and after entering the professional scene, in my first season I steered Manning Rangers into the top eight and the Bobsave Cup final for the first time in their history.
"Then, in 1994, after I had moved to Orlando Pirates, we won the league championship. The following year we claimed two knockout trophies and the club also won the African Champions League.
"That period entailed living away from home and commuting from Johannesburg back to Durban where my wife Charmaine and children continued to reside. My family life only returned to something like normality after I was appointed general manager of AmaZulu. In 1996 I was also technical adviser to the national team that won the African Cup of Nations and qualified for the World Cup in France two years later.
"It was extremely sad when the technical staff, which included me but in particular, Clive Barker, who I believe remains the best coach this country has ever had, were given the boot. Clive and the remainder of the technical staff deserved a chance of leading South Africa into the 1998 World Cup but this didn't materialise. And with political problems rife at AmaZulu, I walked away from coaching.
"Many folk felt I had quit coaching too soon but I had achieved what I wanted and it was time to move on. Pirates, for instance, had won the championship for the first time in 20 years and to have been a big part of that success and others left me satisfied.
"I felt my business acumen and knowledge of football would stand me in good stead as an agent and so that is the area into which I moved. It means working 14 or 15 hours a day but I rise very early, look forward to each new day and thank God for giving me this chance of working closely with so many people. It's an industry full of problems but it is rewarding and takes me all over the world."
So which players have surpassed expectations on the Makaab report card?
"Nasief Morris has come up trumps," he said, with his eyes lighting up.
"We took him from Santos in Cape Town to Aris in Greece where, after his first season, he was voted best newcomer to the Greek league and at the end of the following season, named in the top 11 players in the Greek league.
"Then he was signed by Panathinaikos, one of the top clubs in Europe. He is not a tall man but at 24 has a wonderful temperament and is an outstanding defender. He has been the most successful of our players sent overseas.
"A special place is reserved for Siyabonga Nomvete, who was the first player we handled. He went from Kaiser Chiefs to Udinese in Italy and then moved to other Italian clubs before being transferred to Djurgarden in Sweden. He is back and now playing for Pirates but we are confident of again placing him in Europe. He has been with our agency since we started almost 10 years ago."
A glance at some of the Bafana Bafana players that have plied their trade in Europe reveals that Turkey has been one of their happier hunting grounds.
Alfred Phiri (Vanspor), Godfrey Sapula (Ankaragucu), Donald Khuse (Genclerbirligi), Steve Komphela (Gaziantepspor), Fani Madida (Bursaspor), Lebogang Morula (Vanspor) and Dumisa Ngobe (Ankaragucu) are some of the men who have featured in Turkish football at various times.
The Bafana squad currently in action at the Cosafa Castle Cup in Botswana contains only two players on the books of overseas clubs - Aaron Mokoena (Blackburn) and Elrio van Heerden (Brugge, Belgium) - which indicates the decline of South Africans abroad.
"There are many African players with enormous ability and with the necessary physical attributes," explained Makaab. "But to leave an environment in which they are entirely comfortable and move to a foreign set-up where they are often alone and facing the complexities of a totally different culture are often too much.
"The adjustment is huge. Driving on the wrong side of the road, the language barrier, a cold unfriendly climate in which you have to train whether you want to or not and perhaps eating a different type of food. Those are conditions that are hugely challenging. Then the question of racism often creeps in and that adds to the difficulties a player experiences.
"So it's not necessarily a case of ability but strength of character. That is why so many players move about and why it is so difficult for them to assert themselves as regulars with top clubs in Europe."
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