Zongo’s tricks on the field got tongues wagging and Sundowns head coach Pitso Mosimane weighed in on the subject and he wasn’t going with the crowd.
“If you give Man of the Matches [you need to look at] how many number of entries he made into the box, how many goals he tried to score, how many crosses he made. So those are the issues, otherwise we are going to kill our football. Then we're going to let every little child know that when you do tricks, you win Man of the Match,” Mosimane said.
However, not everyone agreed with him. Jomo Sono had a different view.
“I heard Pitso saying in Europe and what-what, but this is not Europe, it is South Africa. If the boy wants to shibobo somebody, he must shibobo,” Sono said in defence of Zongo.
It didn’t end there. Former referee Jerome Damon also joined in and referred everyone to FIFA's laws.
“Showboating. Does it have a place in football? The short answer is no! Any action that seeks to humiliate or bring the game of football into disrepute is unsporting behaviour and therefore a cautionable offence,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
And we end it off with Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba. The Bafana Bafana coach has been in a fighting mood this year as the critics got on his back.
Mashaba on the colour of his skin after Bafana were knocked out of the Cosafa Cup…
“I understand — it goes with agendas. I want to repeat today, we had a World Cup-winning coach (Carlos Parreira). We went the same route. I’ve never heard the question, ‘Is he the right coach or not?’ He came and he went. I’m going to be rude — I think my colour is a problem here. That’s what I’m going to say.”
Mashaba fumes over cheap option reports…
“All the expensive coaches (who coached Bafana), give me their records. Give me all the expensive coaches’ records, put it here. I’m repeating it for the last time – give me the records of all the expensive coaches and let’s put it here (and) go through it. Our football is down because of those expensive coaches. There will be times when we appreciate things and there will be time when we joke about things. This one I couldn’t leave it… the cheapest coach when I’m the longest serving coach in football, club level or national. I’m the longest serving coach and people haven’t realised that this is what this man is doing.”
Mashaba on the pressure of managing Bafana…“It is not about Shakes alone: I’ve got friends, employers, kids and my lovely wife who I think loses weight when she hears some of these things. I’m sure sometimes she’s saying, ‘Why did I allow him to take this job?”
So what keeps Mashaba going?