Cape Town - It was July 2012 when I first set eyes on Keagan Dolly. He had just arrived at Ajax Cape Town - and, as fate would have it, the then-teenager’s very first competitive outing for his new club was a high-profile pre-season friendly against English giants, Manchester United.
But Dolly wasn’t over-awed by the occasion and he was hugely impressive against some of the English Premiership’s best footballers. The performance was an early glimpse of what was to come - and, now, at the Olympic Games, the biggest global sporting stage, the gifted kid from Westbury in Johannesburg has delivered.
Whatever happens, whether the SA Under-23s continue in the football event at the Rio Olympics or not, Dolly has catapulted himself into the imagination of the watching world.
In last week’s goalless draw with Brazil, all eyes were on Barcelona star Neymar, but Dolly stole the show. In Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Denmark, Dolly was again the fulcrum of the U23s offensive work. Having starred in Mamelodi Sundowns' winning the PSL title last season and, now, transferring that magnificent run of form to the Olympics, there’s no doubt he’ll be in demand. Europe, most certainly, beckons.
But the fact that Dolly has made good on his enormous potential is a valuable lesson to the many budding young footballers in this country. Because talent is just the start.
Talent, as they say, is but an accident of genes, it’s what you do with it, and how you harness it, that determines success.
Talent, as German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe believed, “develops in quiet places” - and it’s an apt description of the rise to fame of Dolly. He’s an unassuming young man, soft-spoken, quietly articulate, open and amiable, and he never shirks his off-field responsibilities, be that to the media or the fans.
Often, in the PSL, it’s not unusual to be confronted with rampant arrogance and blatant self-indulgence, but you won’t find that with Dolly. And it’s in this that the “quiet places” have elevated the emergence of Dolly. Because, in addition to talent, success is also about hard work, determination, discipline, dedication, commitment and courage, but, above all, it’s about humility.
Having been involved in the sport as a player for many years, I’ve seen my share of exceptional talent and top-class footballers. It would be impossible to mention them all.
But the few who immediately spring to mind would have to start in 1974, in my home township of Factreton, and the St Athenians side that won the Maggot Trophy that year - when as ayoung, barefoot slip of a lad I was inspired by players such as Edmund “Boy” Hendricks, Errol Mullins and the devilishly brilliant Alfonso Barreiro.
Moving on down the years, there was the craft and guile of Danny Abrahams, the sheer genius of Trevor Manuel (not the politician), the aggression and belligerence of the fearless Faried de Goede and the all-round artistry and game intelligence of my former teammate Duncan Crowie.
Benni McCarthy came to prominence during my final years as a player - but, in my time as a football journalist, there are only three players who made me say “Wow” at my first time of watching: Steven Pienaar, Mbulelo “OJ” Mabizela and Dolly.
We all know what Pienaar went on to achieve, Mabizela was unable to deal with the “quiet places” and allowed the demons to destroy his potential, while Dolly is now on the fast track to global fame.
Independent Media