Absolutely great! - Klopp on Salah.

Moh Salah has reached another milestone in his illustrious Liverpool career, by becoming only the eighth Liverpool player to score 100 goals at Anfield.

The Egyptian King's manager, Jurgen Klopp, has nothing but high praise for the forward.

Klopp believes that after Salah's career has ended, he will definitely be seen as one of the all-time greats.

"The numbers he creates, we all know that after his career he will be seen as one of the all-time greats, that's clear," Klopp told Liverpool's official website as quoted by KingFut. https://www.kingfut.com/2023/05/08/all-time-greats-salah-klopp/

"But now he is still in the career and some people might not appreciate him enough, but we do.

"As long as he's playing he needs to work as well and he did that today, I like that a lot, how he is really aware of all the things we need to do. At the moment it's really, really important for us and really good. So, I liked it a lot."

Klopp says Salah deserves the rain of praised he has been showered with, and that scoring 30 goals again this season is a special achievement for the left-footed magician.

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"He deserves all the praise he gets already and he will get even more after his career, because in a club with the all-time greats we had in the past, being the first one who scores in nine consecutive home games is super-special," he added.

"Scoring again 30 goals this season is super-special and setting up a lot of goals as well, as he is so often involved in our goals, not only with the assist or the finish, very often with the second- or third-last pass as well, which is as important. So, yeah, absolutely great."

I used to call him the encyclopedia of Sundowns - Kekana on the late Shakoane.

Former Mamelodi Sundowns captain, Hlompho Kekana, has paid a heartfelt tribute to the late club PRO and Communications manager, Alex Shakoane.

Kekana, who was captain when Sundowns lifted their historic CAF Champions League title, says Shakoane was a man of principle, honor, integrity, as well as a protector.

When one wanted to know about the Sundowns culture, according to Kekana, Shakoane was your man.

"A father, an uncle, a grandfather, whatever you want to call him, but for me he was a man of principle, a man of honor, integrity and he was a protector. With him you’d feel safe, even with things that frustrated me as a footballer and a human being when I got to Sundowns, I would easily talk to him and he always had an answer (solution) for every challenge I was facing," Kekana told Mamelodi Sundowns media department.

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"You can easily say you were safer around him [because] he could make the environment feel safe for you to express yourself within and around him. I will miss his stories, every time I’d see him I would ask him about the culture of Mamelodi Sundowns. He was the only person that I know who has seen Sundowns from generation to generation. 

"He knew what the background of the club was and I used to call him the encyclopedia of Sundowns and the historian of football in South Africa."

We can’t lose to SuperSport, no matter what - Sithebe.

Kaizer Chiefs will travel to Royal Bafokeng Stadium to take on SuperSport United in a crucial Dstv Premiership clash on Saturday 13 May, with the kick-off at 15:00.

With the CAF Champions League all but gone, Chiefs have now set their sights on a third place finish which will ensure them passage to the CAF Confederations Cup, and beating SuperSport could take them a step closer to their new goal.

Chiefs midfield enforcer, Siyethemba Sithebe, strongly believes third place is still possible if they can remain focused as a team.

"Coming to SuperSport, I think we need to keep focus because anything can happen. It’s still possible to get third position and, as players, it is important to have that motivation and our mindset needs to be positive," Sithebe told Kaizer Chiefs media department.

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According to Sithebe, the message from coach Arthur Zwane is clear, they just can't afford to lose to SuperSport.

"All I can say is we know SuperSport and how they play. We need to be prepared for the long balls they play, and I think all our preparations are going well. The coach told us, " We can’t lose to Supersport, no matter what and with all our preparation, I think he is more positive that we can win this game."

Chiefs are currently fourth on the log, with 44 points after 28 games, four points behind SuperSport, who remain second with 48 points from 28 matches. 

It doesn’t get much bigger - Akanji on UCL semi-final 2nd leg.

Manchester City will host Real Madrid in the second leg of a UEFA Champions League semi-final on Wednesday 17 May at the Etihad Stadium.

With the first leg having ended in a 1-1 draw, City have a slight advantage going into the second leg in Manchester.

Manchester City's Swiss defender, Manual Akanji, says they will have to bring their A-game on Wednesday evening if they are to dispose of the UCL holders, Madrid.

"It’s one game out of two," Akanji told City media after the draw at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"We’ve got to bring our best game next week.

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"We need to defend really well and clear in our attacks. We can’t make any mistakes and be smart."

Akanji says City have been working towards such a moment from the beginning, and is looking forward to a great atmosphere at the Etihad.

"We’ve been working all season long to be in a position like this. It’s a big game - it doesn’t get much bigger.

"The atmosphere should be great - it’s a Champions League semi-final and the last game at home in the competition this season. I’m really looking forward to it."

I'm not thinking at all about the cup final - Riveiro.

Orlando Pirates will host Sekhukhune United on Saturday 13  May at Orlando Stadium in a Dstv Premiership encounter, with the kick-off at 15:00.

Pirates are going into this game on a high, having not lost a match in the league in their last seven outings, winning six and a single draw.

They are currently second on the log with 50 points, two ahead of third placed Supersport United, making their objective of qualifying for the CAF Champions League more of a reality.

Riveiro's men, are also through to their second final of the season, having beaten Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup semi-finals, and have every opportunity to finish the season with an impressive double.

While his players might already be thinking about the prospect of lifting their second trophy of the season, Riveiro, who was voted as coach of the month for April, insists that finishing second in the league is their main objective at the moment.

"The next objective for us is to consolidate our position in the log and make sure that we can be in the second position. I'm not thinking at all about the cup final and who's going to be our opponent in the cup final,'' said Riveiro as quoted by SABC Sport. https://www.sabcsport.com/soccer/news/we-are-the-team-of-the-month-jose-riveiro

It has been a successful first season in charge for the Spaniard at Pirates.

Having started the campaign on a high note, and largely tipped to be the team to finally stop Mamelodi Sundowns' dominance in the league, which didn't happen as the Brazilians clinched the title with seven matches to spare, but Pirates have made their presence felt, and look set to make a race of the league title next season. 

SA youth national teams? Gone with the wind.

It is now history that South African under-17 national team suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat to Senegal in the quarter-finals of the AFCON U17 showpiece.

Amajimbos had made it into the quarter-finals as one of the best third placed teams when the group stages ended.

The way they qualified suggests that their heavy defeat was something to be expected, they had no business being there in the first place, to be brutally honest.

But the boys tried, under the circumstances, they fought a good fight, and as their coach, Duncan Crowie said as quoted by Times Live, you don't lose, you either win or you learn.

“The important thing is the learning process,” Crowie said.  

“All of us are disappointed, but like [former president] Nelson Mandela said, ‘he never loses. It's either you win or learn’.  

“The important thing is not to sit back, not only for South Africa but for individual players as well to say, this is what I could learn and this [is] what I will do next time.”  

https://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/soccer/2023-05-11-either-you-win-or-learn-amajimbos-coach-duncan-crowie-on-being-knocked-out-of-u-17-afcon/

And the boys did learn, that is for sure.

But it is their parents - SAFA that is, who need to learn from the disappointments of our youth national teams, history can't continue repeating itself like this.

Our youth national teams must start doing well in continental tournaments and qualify for world cups, or we must just accept that our football is doomed, and going nowhere slowly.

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The fact that the Under-23's, Under-20's,  as well as the Under-17's all failed, should be both an embarrassment and a wake up call to SAFA, you can't continue to sleep with three loud wake up calls shouting your name.

Something must be done, starting with affording our youth national teams the opportunity to play more friendly matches against good opposition, plus enough time to prepare for tournaments.

Yes there are challenges, but something has to give, we can't keep having hastily assembled teams representing the country, it is not fair to the coaches and the players alike. 

I don’t think we saw a City side that are superior to Madrid - Carvajal.

If Real Madrid's right-back, Dani Carvajal's words are anything to go by, we can expect a pulsating 90 minutes of football at the Etihad Stadium next week when Manchester City hosts Madrid in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final.

The two European giants put on a great show on Tuesday when they played to a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday evening.

The intense action was capped with two stunning goals from Vinicius Jr and Kevin De Bruyne, plus touchline drama to match, as Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti got booked because of protesting against the legitimacy of De Bruyne's goal.

While the result meant Man City have a slight advantage going into the second leg, Carvajal thinks otherwise.

Carvajal says the City they played on Tuesday was in no way better than Real, and that if they go to the Etihad, take the chances they create, they have a shot at reaching the final.

"They have world-class players, they move the ball very well, they’re tactically very well worked – but I don’t think we saw a City side that are superior to Madrid," said Carvajal as quoted by SABC Sport. https://www.sabcsport.com/soccer/news/dani-carvajal-real-madrid-have-nothing-to-fear-in-second-leg-at-manchester-city

"The team goes home knowing that we played well and that if we get things right, if we take our chances in Manchester, we have a chance of going through.

"We go there with nothing to fear. We have to go there to win, to play our game, and the team believes in it."

Real have every right to go to the Etihad with nothing to fear, and believing they can win.

ALSO READ: https://safootballtxt.blogspot.com/2023/05/they-know-were-very-good-team-mokwena.html?m=1

They are a team with enough talent, determination, steel, and tactically astute. On top of that, winning the UCL has become their core business, they know what it takes and how it is done.

A surprise it will not be if they make Man City look ordinary next week, and go on to yet another UCL final.