The Rhoo on football
SUN CITY – Lucas Radebe, a member of the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations winning team, believes new blood with new ideas is needed if the fortunes of Bafana Bafana are to be revived.
Legendary footballer Lucas Radebe believes when the time is right he will be able to play a meaningful role in the structures of football in the country.
Radebe was speaking to the press at the induction of Bafana Bafana’s 1996 Africa Cup of Nations winning team into the Sun International Hall of Fame at Sun City.
“I am not just going to rush into doing something even if the time does allow,” he said.”One needs to play his cards well and wait for the right moment to gain entry or else you will find yourself frustrated and then exit faster than you came into it,” added the legendary former captain of Bafana, Leeds United and Kaizer Chiefs.
“Yes, I may not have been seen too often or more so in strategic positions but that does not mean I am not playing a role.
“I am currently on the technical committee of Safa [South African Football Association] and to me, that is a starting point. I will naturally want to assume leadership positions when there are like-minded people at the helm, because without that scenario at play, one will get frustrated easily. I am merely waiting in the side lines for the right moment to make a move.”
Speaking about the current under-achieving Bafana Bafana team, Radebe believes new blood with new ideas is needed at the helm of many of the country’s football structures.
“We need new people that will be able to redirect our football, inject a new sense of urgency and take our football to another level. I want to believe we were so successful because we had very supportive structures and visionary leadership.
“If we don’t get all our ducks in a row we shall never get Bafana right. The players are there but what I think is the missing link is the management side of things. If we can make the environment conducive for the boys to thrive, I believe we shall succeed.”
On the induction, Rhoo, as he was affectionately known to lovers of the beautiful game, said this was the greatest thing to have happened to them in their lifetime. “I wish all our erstwhile members of the squad were still alive to witness this.”
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