Mamelodi Sundowns players got a rude wake-up call from their new French coach, Henry Michel, after the overpaid and under-achieving Downs were beaten 1-0 by a lively Moroka Swallows in an Absa Premiership clash played at Atteridgeville’s Super Stadium on Sunday.
Michel, who has coached his country’s national team plus the national teams of Morocco, Tunisia and Ivory Coast, was dumb-founded and left almost speechless after this display.
Michel did not mince his words after the game in which his side could have suffered a far bigger defeat: ”That has got to be the worst performance I have even seen from a team in my charge.
”I saw absolutely nothing good out there. It was terrible.”
Michel now knows why his billionaire club president, Patrice Motsepe, was prepared to pay him a reputed monthly salary of about R760 000.
Michel is going to have to work hard to bring the success Motsepe so craves.
But maybe now Motsepe might realise that chopping and changing coaches is not the answer.
There is no guarantee that buying big-name players will bring success and that is something Michel realises only too well.
Michel, who replaced former Bafana Bafana coach Trott Moloto last month, has found the going tougher than he expected.
Of four games in charge, Michel has an uninspiring record of one win, two draws and a loss.
”I am left with a lot of questions and I need to find answers. But I was stunned by such a display from a so-called big team with so-called big players,” said Michel.
”The only way players can call themselves stars is by the way they play on the pitch.”
”The only way to succeed is to work and keep working, which we did not do today. None of my players played like a big-name player today.”
Although Michel is confident he can turn things around, he knows he has a big job ahead: ”It is important to lift the heads this week and prepare for the next game.
”First we have to analyse this game and digest what happened.”
Downs play Platinum Stars at the same venue next Sunday.
Stars got hammered 4-1 by Thanda Royal Zulu on Saturday night at Olympia Park.
Judging by the mood of the coach, there is going to be a lot of soul-searching when the players get back to training this week.
The Birds’ quietly spoken coach, Julio Cesar Leal, had reason to smile but he was not getting carried away.
He knows his side could easily have been 3-0 ahead at halftime and missed a couple of decent goal-scoring chances in the second half as they totally dominated Downs.
”We controlled the first half but we still need more composure in the final third of the field and composure in finishing. But we are on track to achieve our goals this season,” Leal said.
Leal wants the Birds to end the year in at least third position and maintain that until the end of the season.
Said the Brazilian coach: ”We are a new side and it would be too early for us to try and win the championship this season, but finishing in the top three is a real goal for us and one I believe we can attain.”
Leal was happy with his team’s defending and dedicated the match to defender James Mayinga, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Sunday.
”Now James can go and enjoy his party. I also want to dedicate the win to our faithful fans who have started to come back to support us in bigger and bigger numbers every week.”
The star of the game was striker David Radebe who scored the only goal in the 12th minute.
Said Leal: ”It does not really matter whether the score is 1-0 or 3-0, what is important are the three points that keep us on target for the season.
Beating Sundowns at home is a huge win and we must continue from there next weekend.”
Leal said that he was considering trimming his 32-man squad.
”It is a thought at present. We will discuss making the squad smaller but not in the immediate future.”
The Birds host defending-league champions SuperSport United at the Germiston Stadium on Sunday. — Sapa