How Pitso got Fares Hachi on Down's stoep

19 February 2017 - 02:00 By BARENG-BATHO KORTJAAS
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Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane
Image: Gallo Images

Pitso Mosimane went through the mother of Farès Hachi to lure his latest signing for Mamelodi Sundowns.

Over and above an elaborate scouting process, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) coach of the year had a conversation with the player's mom to land the signature of the left-back.

"I spoke with the mother, she can speak English. She's cosmopolitan. She said we are North Africans, we are Arabs, but we live in France.

"So I said if you live in France, you can live in South Africa," proclaims a proud Mosimane.

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"They are not well-travelled. So I said come and see what is happening in SA and check if you like the country."

The 27-year old descended down south in December. He saw what he liked and signed a contract that will keep him in the employ of the African champions for two and a half years. It was a piece of history - his putting pen to paper made Farès the first Algerian to toil for a team in the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

Farès, says Mosimane, fits the profile of a Sundowns fullback.

"He is a kind of a left-back for Downs. Our fullbacks don't have to defend only. You have to do more: attack, pass the ball properly and be able to play in tight areas.

"That is the specimen for the left-back of Sundowns. Farès, [Tebogo] Langerman, Thapelo [Morena] and Anele [Ngcongca] are able to play under difficult conditions. Hence we have converted [Asavela] Mbekile to also play in that space."

Sundowns started scouting Farès before they played his former club ES Sétif in the 2016 Caf Champions League. "We then checked about five of their games to know and understand what kind of a team Sétif is.

"In those games, he was the most influential one on the left."

Moreover, Farès made a nuisance of himself when Sundowns faced Sétif last June. Crowd violence caused that Group B clash to be abandoned. Sétif supporters invaded the pitch with their side trailing 0-2 in Algiers.

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"When we did our post-match analysis, we saw that this is the same guy who gave us problems. Then we started to be interested."

The sceptics were unsure. Could he turn his wish into a reality? After all, no North African has ever plied his trade in South Africa.

"But you know me, I push and I try. Everyone said 'coach, the North Africans, they don't come to SA. You can't get an Egyptian or an Algerian or Tunisian or Moroccan down to the south'.

"I said ja it's true, but I saw a Japanese at Platinum Stars." Norikazu Murakami scored four goals in 19 appearances for Stars between 2009 and 2010.

"These things do happen. So I went for Farès. I put a scout on him to go watch him in two games. The scout went to speak to him in the hotel," explains Mosimane.

"We got the best news; the player said it's possible. But what helped us about Farès is that he is from France. He was developed in France. Farès played football in Algeria, but he lived in France and spends more time there. The girlfriend is from France and the parents live in France. For me to get Farès, I lobbied the mother."

With the mother in favourable mode, the next step was the agent or intermediary, to abide by the latest Fifa lexicon.

They went through the contract to see if it was possible to get him.

The contract stated that Farès was free in June 2017, but, most crucially, he had an option to terminate in December 2016.

block_quotes_start We showed him the hospitals, the Mall of Africa and Sandton, just to orientate him to say 'do you think you'd like to stay here block_quotes_end

"So we brought him here on December 23. I spent only three days with Farès, 23, 24, 27. I sat with him and his agent at my house for four hours. I showed him the way Sundowns play, the philosophy, what I expected of him and why I wanted him to be here. I made him aware that he's going to compete with Langerman."

Farès was taken around the club HQ in Chloorkop. He was driven to Midrand to see the place where he could stay.

"Fortunately, Leo [Leonardo Castro] was still around. He saw where Leo and Ricardo [Nascimento] stays. French and Portuguese are someway, somehow related.

"We showed him the hospitals, the Mall of Africa and Sandton, just to orientate him to say 'do you think you'd like to stay here'.

"Obviously, the infrastructure in our country is better than in Algeria. That gave us a tick. He said 'ja, okay, it's possible.'"

Next up was to acquaint him with the Sundowns way of play, the philosophy of the Brazilians.

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"He fell in love with the way we play. He said he can play here. I showed him the footage of how we were analysing him while he was with Sétif. I showed him all his strengths and all his weaknesses. So he knew we were on the same level."

Mosimane's attention to detail, his determination, power of persuasion and personal touch won Farès's affection, leading to the termination of his contract with Sétif. The by-product of their African success has augmented the ability of Patrice Motsepe's club to attract players.

But there was another sweetener - being African champions, coupled with competing at the Fifa Club World Cup in December, has enhanced the stature and standing of Sundowns in global football.

"The advantage is the Champions League. He said Setif have been banned by Caf, they're not gonna play Champions League. He said 'I want to play Champions League, that's why I went to Sétif anyway'.

"So we had a chance and we were lucky. That's the end of the story. He signed with us.

"I don't think the North Africans will come to you if you're not a global team. He watched our games in Japan [when Sundowns were African representatives at the Club World Cup]. That's an advantage."

To accentuate his point, Mosimane cites the case of how Cesc Fabregas departed from Arsenal.

"He said he wants to win the [Union of European Football Associations] Uefa Champions League. He took a pay cut to play for Barcelona because he wanted to win it. Those things are very important. Liverpool are struggling to get top players because they are not playing in the Champions League."

Mosimane opined that South African players aren't cognisant of the fact that continental competition raises the profile and increases prospects of landing contracts in Europe.

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"They must understand that you cannot play football and say you want to be in the top eight. I mean top eight, how many times are you gonna play it? You qualify automatically to play Telkom; you don't have to do anything. Just being in the PSL you play Telkom.

 Some of our people need to look at life differently. Had it not been for the Olympic games, Champions League, Club World Cup, Keagan [Dolly] would still be with us.

"That's where Montpellier saw Keagan. And you know how much they paid. And the boy is a millionaire now. UZungu [Bongani] played Champions League. He is away now." Sundowns sold Zungu to Portuguese side Vitória Guimarães.

"Percy [Tau] and Khama [Billiat], will be following. You can't stop them. It will be the power of the euro. A player like [Tiyani] Mabunda has played in the World Cup, Champions League, Caf Super Cup, he won the league, he played for Bafana Bafana against Senegal.

That's the ultimate when you're on the continent. All those games have got credibility, profile. Also there's financial rewards. So you have to be very careful and very serious as a South African football player. That's my advice."

bbk@sundaytimes.co.za

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