OPINION: Zongo talks sense, but he is not the right one to talk

Masibusane Zongo. This name should be getting us excited. But I believe some of you are scratching their heads trying to remember where you know the name from. 

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Let me refresh your memory. He is the player who showed so much promise when he broke into the SuperSport United first team so many years ago. Many said he reminded them of former Kaizer Chiefs star, the late Emmanuel “Scara” Ngobese. 

Based on his natural ability and talent, Zongo was easily a world class player and would surely make a big name for himself in the national team. But that never happened. In fact he just disappeared after he was chased away from a number of clubs because of disciplinary problems. 

We were reminded of him this week when he resurfaced in a YouTube channel #PrimeSportsWithMahlatsi hosted by veteran sports journo Mahlatse Mphahlele this week. 

Zongo said a lot of things but what got my attention was how he boldly called the current crop of players rubbish. He said the standard had gone down so much that he was not even able to watch local games anymore. 

That is understandable considering his talent – which he wasted by the way – and it should be torturous for him to watch how our players can sometimes let themselves down by failing on the basics. 

I am angry at Zongo for what he did to himself and I wanted to disagree with him on his statements. But he said them just a few days after we had witnessed that porous performance by Bafana against France where they could hardly trap the ball let alone string decent passes together. 

Many people reacted to his statements in anger and called him out on his own deficiencies. Some put it simply, ‘udakiwe’. This means he was probably drunk when he made such comments. 

I would not have faulted him until he singled out one player. Now, if you have been following this column you will know how Banyana Banyana legend became a persona non grata with me after he came after Thamsanqa Gabuza. 

I do not have a problem with someone calling the rot in our football and how the standard of players has gone down, but when you single out a player as an example, then I question your reasoning, especially if you are a former pro. 

Alright let me refresh your memory again, Modise said there were strikers in the PSL that he could do better than, That was fine because we know she was quite clinical. It was when she said she was better than Gabuza that I lost all the respect I had for her, and until she apologises to him, that remains. 

So, it is the same with Zongo – not that I had any respect for him anyway –  because he also singled out Siyethemba Sithebe who has recently signed for Kaizer Chiefs. 

Speaking in IsiZulu, Zongo said: “Khona abanye abanama-dreads, badlala kuMaZulu bagqoka onamba 10 abasayine kwiChiefs. Kanjani nje?”

This means, when loosely translated: There is some player with dreadlocks who plays for AmaZulu and wears jersey No. 10. He has signed for Kaizer Chiefs. How did that happen?

And while Sithebe may not be as talented as Zongo, his dedication to the game has seen him rise into a top player at AmaZulu, breaking into the Bafana Bafana squad and now gets to play for one of the country’s top teams Kaizer Chiefs. Yena? He never even got close to what Sithebe is.