The tentativeness of the U23s' two tall defenders

Kwanda Mngonyama started the Olympics qualifiers as the captain of the U23 team and an integral part of their defence.

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In the build-up to the Olympics, soccer writer NJABULO NGIDI profiles the players who will represent South Africa in Rio and MATSHELANE MAMABOLO reminisces on a member of the Class of 2000 who played in the same position.

Today they look at Kwanda Mngonyama and Matthew Booth.

Johannesburg - Kwanda Mngonyama started the Olympics qualifiers in July last year as the captain of the national Under-23 team and an integral part of their defence because of his leadership, height and strength. But by the time they booked their ticket to Brazil, in December, he had been stripped of the captaincy because of poor performance that had made him a liability at the back during a disappointing Eight Nations tournament in Senegal.

The 22-year-old’s dip in form wasn’t a performance issue but a mental one. After being sent on two successful loan stints by Mamelodi Sundowns, Mngonyama thought he would return to the Brazilians to replace former captain Alje Schut when he returned to his native Netherlands at the end of the 2014/15 season. This was based on Mngonyama’s good performances in his time with Bidvest Wits and Maritzburg United.

He excelled with the Clever Boys in the 2013/14 season, where he was among the best defenders in the country. Wits wanted to sign him after that. He was also eager to stay in Milpark, having featured in 22 of Wits’ 30 league games. But the Brazilians didn’t want to strengthen one of their rivals in the Absa Premiership race. So Sundowns shipped Mngonyama closer to his home in Durban, when they loaned him to the Team of Choice in Pietermaritzburg. He once again shone, helping the side from the KwaZulu-Natal capital city finish the 2014/15 season in the top eight for the first time in the club’s history.

But instead of the Brazilians recalling him at the end of that campaign, they dragged their feet in finalising his deal. Coach Pitso Mosimane said he wasn’t ready for the Brazilians and couldn’t replace Schut. He was loaned back to the Team of Choice. The deal was concluded just before the transfer window closed at the end of August.

That’s when his dip in confidence started to a point that it affected his game in the national team. He was caught out of position a lot in Senegal but somehow the team managed to finish in the top three and qualify for the Olympics.

Mngonyama made the cut in the 18-man squad because of his good leadership qualities and the talent that he has, even though he hasn’t shown it to the side in a long time.

His height also makes him an important figure because the national Under-23 team struggles to deal with set-pieces. But if he is to stake a claim in the back four, with the inclusion of Mulomowandau Mathoho, he has to bring back the Mngonyama of 2013/14 - who was solid, betraying the fact that it was his debut season.

Inconsistency hurt Booth down under

If the test of a captain is in his ability to lift his team when the chips are down, then Booth failed dismally at Sydney 2000. When Amaglug-glug dropped their heads after conceding the fist goal against Slovakia, he could not inspire them to raise their game. Instead, he went onto loser-mode like his teammates until late in the game when he tried to make something happen by going into attack.

Yet he was the star player against Brazil where he played the sweeper role to perfection as he cleared everything that posed a danger to his goal. He shifted the blame for Japan’s opening goal to his teammates saying they “must learn to deal with high balls”. But Booth, as the team’s tallest player, should never have allowed himself to be pulled away from the centre spot in that instance.

It was a rare tactical lapse by the generally reliable defender who had played a splendid role in the Sasol Super Squad’s qualification for the Games. It was his steady defending and ability to organise the rearguard that helped ensure that the South African goals were protected - especially at the fortress that was Vosloorus Stadium where Shakes Mashaba’s team did not lose a single match.

Incredibly, despite his fantastic performances for the squad, and the national under 20 side whom he captained to the runners-up berth at the Africa Youth Championships in 1997, Booth was deemed surplus to requirements when Cape Town Spurs and Seven Stars merged and Ajax Cape Town came to being.

He joined Mamelodi Sundowns and had rip-roaring success before going to Europe where he played for clubs in England and Russia.

Already capped by Bafana Bafana before the Olympics, he earned over 30 caps for the senior national team and was an unused substitute in the 2010 World Cup squad.

His career overseas finished, Booth returned home and eventually played for Ajax and later Bidvest Wits after which he hung up his boots for television analysis.

The Star