The Dogg: on ‘Usuthu’ and Bafana Bafana January 27, 2009 Despite the tone-down of PSL action it has been a busy time for the charismatic AmaZulu Technical Advisor. The old master shares with us his column his latest thoughts on Bafana Bafan and ‘Usuthu’.

"I flew to Johannesburg to have an audience with Carlos Alberto Parreira to clarify the involvement of the three wise men.

Myself, Gavin Hunt and Jomo Sono talked with and listened to Parreira as he put his story across.

He told us what he wanted to achieve with Bafana Bafana, the blue print of what he handed to SAFA at the start of his World Cup campaign. It was very informative and of course I asked him the big question, of who was the most famous Brazilian footballer?

His reply? Pele and also he also made special mentioning of Ronaldo who is still playing today in the Brazilian First Division. He spoke of his ability to put away half chances in one on one situations with the keeper.

I got the impression then that he would prefer to look at local players, I picked up on the notion that he felt he would be more in control of the performances of Bafana Bafana if he was able to work closely with the local players.

I was delighted about the inclusion of Andile Jali who gave a wonderful display of power play against Swaziland. His ability to see things earlier than most players, his ability to win back the ball when the side has lost it and his ability to pass the ball will make him a wonderful player for Bafana Bafana for many years to come.

Switching to ‘Usuthu’:

Our trip to Gauteng was exciting although the weather was unkind. Our match against Kaizer Chiefs was called of. We thank the administrators and directors of AmaZulu for having the foresight to allow this to happen and now it is up to the players to produce the goods.

On the lighter side we saw the ‘derby away from home’ when Philani Mabaso and the AmaZulu Technical Team played against the staff members of Spar Northrand Distribution Centre.

I was quick to give him the nickname ‘Imvukuzane’ (Mole) but I’m afraid we won’t be signing him. On the other side James Dlamini was our best player.

Now it is back to reality!"