OPINION: Screamer Tshabalala deserves a statue

It’s a bittersweet moment that while the South African football fraternity are still celebrating the appointment of Rulani Mokwena as a Wydad Casablanca head coach, the sad news of the legendary Stanley “Screamer” Tshabalala was announced.

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Bra Screamer is pioneer of black coaches in the country and without his influence, the likes Mokwena, Trott Moloto, Pitso Mosimane, Manqoba Mngqithi and Steve Komphela would probably not have rose to the upper echelon of football management.

Tshabalala crawled so that Mosimane and company could walk. He is credited with Mamelodi Sundowns’ brand of piano and shoe-shine football that has withstood the test of time since the 1980s.

The Brazilians are revered for their carpet football that has seen them dominate the DStv Premiership with seven successive league titles. None of this success would have been possible without Tshabalala who was affectionately known as Screamer for the way he called for the ball in his playing days at Orlando Pirates.

Simply put, Bra Stan changed the way football was played and he will forever be remembered for being ahead of his time. The world marvels at Pep Guardiola and his tiki-taka football philosophy of dominating ball possession but South Africans saw that kind of approach back in the 80’s.

Admittedly, his successful spell at Sundowns was before my time but I called a few old heads who witnessed his greatness from the bench. One common theme about his coaching ideology is that his team built from the back when it was still a foreign concept.

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He led Masandawana to their first major piece of silverware when they won the 1986 Mainstay Cup. That moment is seen as a turning point in the club’s history and his imprint is still there for everybody to see. While his style of play would later become known as tiki-taka or Dutch total football, they both have traits of piano and shoe-shine.

So deep was his love for football that he once fainted when Aubrey “Sense of Knoweledge” Lekwane scored a bullet of a goal against Sundowns in 1997. The former Bafana Bafana is a founding member of one of the biggest footballing institutions on the African continent, Kaizer Chiefs.

It’s so sad that crime has once again robbed us of an icon who made people fall in love with the beautiful game. In a statement released by the Buccaneers, the club revealed that the 75-year-old succumbed to injuries he suffered when he was shot in March this year during a reported home invasion.

Farewell Bra Screamer and may your soul rest in peace. We will miss your infectious laughter and funny story-telling on our TV screens. You ran your race and left a trail for many that came after you. We can never tell the history of South African football without mentioning your name.

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You were a trailblazer and without your vision, the world would have never known Bafana by Style who are now a dominant force in African football. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to erect a statue in your honour next to HM Pitje Stadium in Mamelodi when it is rebuilt.