Serero star shines brightly after goal

Soweto playmaker attracting interest after stunning Spain’s big guns.

THULANI Serero played himself squarely into the shop window on Tuesday night with a goal against Barcelona in the Uefa Champions League that propelled the Soweto-born midfielder into the world spotlight.

It has heightened talk of an offer in the January transfer window from the English premier league where Dutch coach Martin Jol at Fulham is said to be readying to make an offer.

Serero, under contract until 2015 at Ajax Amsterdam, would stand to earn considerably more in England than he does in the Netherlands, where foreign players have a minimum wage of some R4-million annually. This he could likely double, even triple, with a move to the struggling London club.

Serero ghosted late into the penalty area to slot home a square cross from the right side of the attack to give Ajax the lead in their Group H match and net his first ever Champions League goal. He played a strong role in the midfield, often stealing the ball away from the highly-rated Barcelona midfield and linking up well between defence and attack. He stayed on for the full 90 minutes and enjoyed a rousing reception along with his Ajax teammates after the game from the capacity crowd at the Amsterdam Arena. “We had a really good game, especially in the first half,” Serero told reporters afterwards.

“I think we played well as a team. It was a game in which we had to believe but we always thought we’d have a chance because we are a side who likes to play football and they are also a side that likes to play. It meant there would be chances for both teams.”

Ajax were 2-0 up at the break after Serero’s 19th minute effort and a goal just before half-time from Danny Hoesen. The Dutch champions had to win to stay in contention to advance to the knockout phase next year. But they were down to 10 men shortly after half-time and conceded a penalty, converted by Xavi, to put Barcelona right back in the game.

But Ajax managed to hold out to the delight of the fans and inflict on Barcelona a first defeat in a competitive match since the Champions League semifinals in May.

“We knew after that we had to be compact but keep playing. We had to fight,” said a clearly delighted Serero. “The whole week we said we had a good feeling about the game. If you play against Barcelona, you have to believe.

“We played well together as a team and maybe it helped that we knew we had to win if we wanted to stay in the competition.”

Ajax remain third in their group with just one match left to play. Effectively they need to win away at AC Milan on December 11 to finish in the top two and join Barcelona.

There is a rich irony in Serero scoring against Barcelona because it was a furore about playing against the Spanish giants in September that caused a fall out with Bafana coach Gordon Igesund. Igesund alleged the player did not want to play for the national team against Botswana in Durban in September because he did not want to risk injury with the first group match away against Barcelona just days away.

Since then Igesund has claimed the rift has been patched up but he did not call up the 23-year-old Serero for the recent international against Spain. Ordinarily, to get a work permit for England, Serero would have needed to have played in 75% of South Africa’s competitive matches over the last two-year period.

But he could claim extenuating circumstances, like his knee injury in 2012 and the fall out with Igesund.

The Home Office work permit panel is made up mostly of former professional players who could also decide he is worth a place in the premier league on pure ability alone.