Marks Maponyane has adviced Hugo Broos to manage Orlando Pirates star Relebohile Mofokeng's integration at Bafana Bafana to avoid demotivating him like fellow Kaizer Chiefs youngsters.
Maponyane is of the opinion that Amakhosi youngsters such as Mfundo Vilakazi, Samkelo Zwane, Wandile Duba, and Mduduzi Shabalala were thrown into the deep end too soon and were given too much responsibility.
Chiefs underwent a challenging season in the recent 2023/24 campaign where the Glamour Boys employed three different head coaches in the past two campaigns as Arthur Zwane, Molefi Ntseki and Cavin Johnson all took turns but failed to steer Amakhosi in the right direction.
Meanwhile, Broos gave Mofokeng his Bafana debut in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier. With little pressure, as South Africa were leading 3-0 – Mofokeng came on to dazzle in his cameo, and that is how – at least according to ‘Go Man Go’ – youngsters should be managed.
“A young player like him can end up at dizzy heights and fortunately, I watch football. I don’t watch South Africa [only] all over the world.
“I have seen Yamal Lamine for Spain. He holds the record of being the youngest player to score in an international match on debut.
"A lot of youngsters with a lot of potential have come in at Chiefs, but they have been categorised as failures. The team never wins any trophies."
“Yes the youngster is talented, but when do you play him? You play him when the team is winning. Don’t kill his confidence and play him when you expect results through him,” Maponyane was quoted on KickOff.
“Let him enjoy and get into the groove and let him be the star that you have seen in him. Once you expect results from the youngsters, you will end up being in a situation where Chiefs are now.
“Some of us were thrown into the deep end at the age of 18, from the bench, in a winning team because that is one point I have to emphasise.
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“This kills the confidence of the poor youngsters. Some of us when we came to Chiefs were coming on from the bench when it was 2-0 or 3-0 in a cup final.
“That confidence comes in because it is nerve-wracking, especially in a final. Nobody can tell me that this does not happen unless you have played a lot of cup finals,” the Pirates and Chiefs legend explained.
As Chiefs are about to enter a revival trail under the leadership of Tunisian mentor Nasreddine Nabi and his entourage of lieutenants, it remains to be seen how much of a role the youth will play in Nabi’s system.
Teenager Duba played nine games, Shabalala featured 19 times, Vilakazi made a half-a-dozen appearances while Zwane was used seven times this past season.
Meanwhile, Chiefs players have reported for pre-season and reports suggest that a couple of players whose contracts expire at the end of this month, are not part of the assembled group.
Chiefs legend, Lucas Radebe sings from the same hymn book as Maponyane.
‘The Chiefs’ suggests that Amakhosi must to dive deep into the market to recruit the best talent to compete with the Buccaneers and the immovable and unshakable force Mamelodi Sundowns are in the DStv Premiership.
