Makhubedu's frankness refreshing, but misguided

Acornbush United coach MacDonald Makhubed. Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

Acornbush United coach MacDonald Makhubed. Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

Published Apr 11, 2017

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JOHANNESBURG - Whereas Steve Komphela always speaks about the need for Kaizer Chiefs to play beautiful winning football because that’s what “the club stands for”, Amakhosi fans couldn’t actually be bothered.

They are, after all, not renowned for their appreciation of aesthetics. Nothing like their bitter rivals, The Ghost of Orlando Pirates who were at their happiest during the Kosta Papic era that yielded no trophies but had the Buccaneers playing a fast-paced attacking brand of football that drew the fans to the Johannesburg Stadium.

This lot were unhappy with Gordon Igesund despite his delivering their club the league title, as they felt he got their team playing boring, route one football.

Chiefs fans, on the other hand, just want their club to win. It is, in any case, what they are used to - success as measured in trophies. Yes Chiefs have a history of playing attractive football. But it is not a pre-requisite, at least not to their fans.This much was evident in their Nedbank Cup last 16 win over ABC Motsepe League side Acornbush United.

Chiefs struggled to put aside the third-tier outfit and needed a late brace from substitute Gustavo Paez to overcome the stubborn side that had been reduced to 10-men early in the game.

Yet MacDonald Makhubedu, the coach of Acornbush, seemed to have expected Chiefs to dazzle his team; to play his boys off the park as proof of their standing as one of the country’s top sides.

It was great to get the kind of sound bites Makhubedu dished out. He spoke his mind in a way few PSL coaches do - they generally dish out monosyllabic, cliched responses that seem rehearsed.

From his lamenting the fact that he believed Chiefs’ showing is part of the reason our national team is so poor to his view that Amakhosi taught them nothing that will stand them in good stead for the promotional play-offs, Makhubedu was like a breath of fresh air in the usually sterile post-match conferences.

Yet in his frank talk, Makhubedu also came across as a disappointed Chiefs fan who had expected something special from his favourite team.

Could that be?

I mean, surely you should be delighted at having taken a superior opposition of Chiefs’ calibre all the way?

And if anything, praising your players for their effort instead of focusing on how poor the opposition were would have done wonders to lifting the team’s spirit ahead of the al play-offs.

Then again, it is a case of different strokes for different folks, isn’t it?

The Star

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