Bafana role a threat to longevity

Working for Bafana Bafana is enough to drive one to suicide but we never thought it could make one age overnight. Assistant coach Jairo Leal arrived at the squad announcement this week looking like the Silver Fox.

We almost didn't recognise him with his head all covered in grey fuzz. Now we are certain "Chimneys", as the chain-smoking coach is fondly known, has been dying his hair black all along.

THE Buy-one-Zimbabwean-get-one-free trend is continuing unabated at Mount Naturena, the home of Amakhosi. Two more Warriors players, Justice Majabvi and Lincoln ZvasiyaIt, were seen loitering about the Beit Bridge fence this week and are reported to be on their way to Chiefs. The trend started two seasons ago when Jimmy Jambo, Thomas Sweswe and Knowledge Musona crossed the Limpopo River to take the Premier Soccer League by storm.

LEGENDARY newspaper man Billy "Super Trooper" Cooper was spotted wearing a freebie jacket he got when M-Net launched sports channel SuperSport sometime in the '80s. The only surviving members of the Fourth Estate who might still have the jacket are dinosaurs Sy Lerman and Louis Mazibuko. We advised Cooper that if he wanted a fat salary raise, he had to walk into Naspers boss Koos Bekker's office wearing the jacket - it might just spark feelings of nostalgia.

FORMER Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Okpara Williams was wearing some dangerous-looking pointy shoes at the Bucs media day this week. The Nigerian made PSL photographer Chris Nthodi, notorious for machete-like footwear, appear like an amateur. It's a good thing Williams, who used karate flying-kicks to flatten troublesome strikers during his playing days, has now retired and hung up his "kick and bobozas".

BENNI McCarthy was seen cruising around Jozi in his Porsche Panamera after a Pirates training session earlier this week. He was being followed in convoy by his Cape Town homeboys and new Bucs teammates Robyn Johannes and Sameehg Doutie. The King of the "Hannover Hommies" has arrived at Bucs.

A carefree game of street soccer in Alexandra this week was disturbed when a team of heavily armed technicians launched an offensive on the rats running amok in the township. This was in response to a call by Joburg mayoral committee member for health Nonceba Molwela, who declared they would deal with the rodents with military precision. We hear Molwela is bringing in the Rooivalk and the Navy Seals. The future Bafana stars had to take a time-out as the mission only yielded one small rat.

WE are more convinced MECs spend a lot of time ceiling-gazing after Gauteng MEC for sport, arts, culture and recreation Lebogang Maile's office sent out a press release about Maile paying courtesy visits to Bidvest Wits and Mamelodi Sundowns ahead of their MTN8 fixtures. It must be a tough life hey!