I regularly write about the goings-on in the Bafana Bafana set-up and today, as I write this, I am a happy yet quietly cautious sports scribe.
The Boys have qualified for the African Cup on Nations in Equatorial Guinea next year and the nation is celebrating – a far cry from January this year when the Minister of Sport, Fikile Mbalula dubbed the team a “bunch of losers” following their exit from the Chan tournament.
What has made me particularly pleased is the fact that there seems to be a sense of direction in the squad and a degree of purpose whenever the boys step onto the pitch.
Credit must be given to coach Shakes Mashaba for his approach to the job and for the way that he has structured and motivated the team.
I posted a Facebook comment yesterday that read: “Bafana Bafana. Top of the group. Qualifying for a tournament without simply being the hosts. Playing good, attacking football. Looooovely! Proud today.”
A good, football-wise friend of mine commented on this post saying that he felt that the team and the current coach was reaping the fruits of the groundwork laid down by former national coach Gordon Igesund, who was let go by SAFA in June.
There is no doubt about it, GI is an exceptional coach who has won it all on the local football scene and probably deserved more time in the hot seat.
I am pretty sure that the entire Bafana camp has benefited from his plans and visions, but the players still have to believe in themselves and it seems that Mashaba is the man-manager that has got the players dancing to the rhythm of his own drum.
With Andile Jali and new captain Dean Furman bossing the midfield and Tokelo Rantie proving menacing up front there are good signs that Bafana can go all the way to the final in Equatorial Guinea and be the African football powerhouse that we were in the ‘90s.
But, let’s not jump the gun just yet.
There are still a number of factors that need to be improved on.
That’s international football, of course, and there are always going to be new things to consider going forward.
Let’s not harp on those deficiencies right now though.
Let’s enjoy this purple patch and celebrate the fact that our team is playing the game with their heads and hearts and that is the most that we can expect from our national team, right?
LG
