Time to warm up to Africa

Joy for Bafana. . .  Happy scenes for South Africa fans might not amount to any significant success on the soccer field if the local football fraternity continues to isolate itself from the rest of the continent.

The leaders of African football are in South Africa for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations draw later today. Under normal circumstances, the gathering in Durban by CAF and FA executives from across the continent should not look odd in one of Africa’s premier cities, if South Africa was not at odds with the fortunes of football in Africa.

The South African football public normally does not care about the events on the continent. I don’t have to go far back to cite the most recent example for my argument. This past weekend when in South Africa we were immersed in the affairs of domestic questions, this time via the Telkom Knockout, the focus of the rest of the continent was on the conclusion of CAF Champions League’ semifinal programme.

For the record, Esperance de Tunis and Al Ahly of Cairo qualified by overcoming spirited efforts by sub-Saharan opposition. Esperance, defending champions, beat recent champions TP Mazembe of DR Congo 1-0 at home to advance on a similar scoreline after aggregate. The two teams had played out a goalless draw in Lubumbashi two weeks earlier.

In the second semifinal last Sunday Ah Ahli overcome the odds placed on their championship run disruptions in the Egyptian league through a spate of public unrest – both political and criminal.  Egypt’s international striker Mohammd Nagui, otherwise known as “Geddo”, scored the only goal as the ‘Red Devils’  beat Sunshine Stars 4-3 on aggregate, following a 3-3 draw in the first leg in Nigeria.

These were the biggest stories this week as far as African soccer is concerned, but not in South Africa, where talking point was the defeat of Kaizer Chiefs at Bidvest Wits the previous Friday night. Support for  the local game is crucial for growth at all levels of football. But in South Africa we seem permanently blinded from all that is crucial about the game on the continent. Even the newspapers or radio sports shows last week and and on the weekend did not say anything about the business of qualifying for the final of the Champions League, the most prestigious club competition in Africa.

As a result, the soccer fraternity lacks respect for any good and progress that happens in African football. In South Africa the local league is seen as more important than the Champions League, even though the latter affords the winner the chance to rub shoulders with the best clubs in the world through the Fifa Club World Cup. TP Mazembe made the continent proud by reaching the final of the Fifa tournament, the first African team to do so, even though they lost to Inter Milan in the championship match.

Mazembe were not disgraced losing to Esperance in the Champions League semifinals last week. The club proved it has the pedigree to be counted among the best. Even remarkable is that TP has seven Zambian internationals in their books, a reality that has symbiotic benefits for both the club and their neighbouring country to the south, through international exposure.

While we know about the reputations of Esperance and Al Ahli, as well as the superlative technical ability of the rest of north African football which has made them virtual perennial champions of African club football, how does one explain the rise of Sunshine Stars? In recent years the Nigerian club has risen from the dust of  Akure city to be counted among the best in African football. Like in their debut season in the Champions League, Sunshine last year also reached the last four of the CAF Confederation Cup. A closer inspection of the club’s circumstances in their location in southwestern Nigeria reveals that most PSL clubs in South Africa are privileged. And yet by comparison, they are underachievers. Our clubshabitually struggle to cope with the conditions on the continent because mentally and spiriatually they are always ill-prepared for what is awaiting them when they travel. 

SA football - from the players,  officials, media and fans – needs to make an introspection on our relationship with the rest of the continent. The reason why are we dismissive or ignorant to developments in Africa, explains why we are underachieving despite our better access to resources.

Here’s hoping the Afcon draw tonight, and the tournament early next year will help change attitudes in South Africa. We need to hear soccer lovers debate about African football and the media writing and talking a lot more about the CAF Champions League.  How do we expect to meet the likes of Chelsea or Barcelona or Brazil’s Santos in  official matches if we are not going to win the Champions League?

Meanwhile, I am crossing my fingers that Bafana Bafana do not draw Nigeria in their group tonight. Even at its worst periods, the Super Eagles often have the extra wing against South Africa. I think it is their mental strength that does the trick. SA players are notorious for not researching anything about their opponents. So, in the mental warfare, it is easy for the likes of Nigeria to be superior.

The bottomline is that to conquer Africa, is to know Africa. As long as we keep our distance, the prospects of winning anything - at both club and nation level - are non-existent.

Difference between Meyer and Igesund

You have a chance. . . this is the message new Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund has been preaching to South African players where they are in the world.

Two of South Africa’s major sports are managed by two new coaches – Heyneke Meyer for rugby’s Springboks and Gordon Igesund for soccer’s Bafana Bafana. But being new in their jobs, and the fact that both got the hot seat after being overlooked in the past, about sums all that is common between the two coaches.

It is incredible that while Igesund is generally seen to be Bafana Bafana’s saviour by the football fraternity, after years of underperforming by the team, Meyer carries himself as Sprinboks’ messiah. He was however brought down to earth with a thud in his first championship in charge – the recently ended Castle Rugby Championship.

Arrogance in team selection proved to be Meyer’s Achilles heel. The resounding victory over a disjointed Australia at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld was about the only highlight in the series for SA, whose game was blighted by poor spot kicking.

Granted, the Boks outplayed the All Blacks in New Zealand midway the competition. But the record books will show that SA lost, thanks to erratic kicking by an out of form Morne Steyn. Meyer had seen enough of Steyn’s poor form in the earlier matches but chose blind faith to logic to select Steyn again at No.10 in Dunedin on September 15.

Though it was clear to the local game’s followers that the onform and regular match-winner from the flyhalf position was Elton Jantjies of the Lions, Meyer contrived to pick Johan Goosen. Not a bad a choice given the Cheetahs youngster’s potential. Timing was all that was wrong about this move by Meyer. Goosen at the time had missed most of Currie Cup action through injury. At the time of his selection Goosen had been match-fit for a few days.

Needless to say he was overwhelmed in Dunedin, coming in with 25 minutes to go. The unspoken message for the 20 year old was that he had to repair the damage Morne Steyn had already done earlier. He missed with his first attempt at goal, but scored with a 45-minute kick later. Goosen was clearly never to feature again as the All Black turned on their trademark late surge.

You would think Meyer would recognize his error, but hell no. He defended his howler with one of the flimsiest excuses by a coach in international sport in recent times. His post-match comment, once again, exposed blind faith:

“I’ve always rated Johan Goosen. I watched him play as a youngster and it is a pity he got injured (before the Castle series) because he was always part of my plans.”

Meyer also added “but I don’t want to throw him to the wolves. . .  he is a guy with a lot of character and mental toughness”.

That mental strength fell into pieces when he started against the Aussies a week later; it was clear Goosen had been thrown into the lions, despite earlier assurance by Meyer. Though Jantjies, who was selected after Steyn was finally dropped, was in the squad, his long-awaited Bok debut came in the dying minutes of the game and had no opportunity to show his worth.

Goosen started again at Loftus in the last match, against NZ, and his run was over in just 34 minutes when Jantjies was introduced. As was the case in Dunedin, this replacement also served to desperately try to fix the problem everybody knew of – except for Meyer of course.

By contrast, Gordon’s message on arrival in the Bafana camp was that no one was guaranteed a place in the national team. And that hard-working players with high technical standards, work rate and right attitude would be considered.

In his first two games in charge, Igesund recalled keeper Moneeb Josephs from “retirement”. The move was inspired as first choice keeper Itumeleng Khune returned brilliant stats in the game against Brazil, which SA lost 1-0, but on the back of a competitive and brave showing.

 Before this, Khune and some prima donnas during Pitso Mosimane’s tenure were almost guaranteed places in the national team, whether they worked hard or not. General ill-discipline ran through the team, with no real action being taken to remedy the situation. Even worse, good players were forced to seek employment with the big clubs in order to get the nod in the national set-up.

In his first two matches Igesund, including a 2-0 victory over Mozambique, Igesund showed he was not going to tolerate arrogance, and that he was not going to protect any player against the form book. For the match against Poland in Warsaw tomorrow there are players such as defender Thabo Nthete. In the recent past the Bloemfontein Celtic skipper would not have anticipated such gracious recognition of his skills as a defender and as a natural born leader of men on the field.

While there’s gloom overriding the rugby fraternity over the Boks showing in the Castle series, there is excitement all round about how Igesund approaches his work in Bafana. Some people are questioning why certain players are not in the squad, more so Teko Modise and Andile Jali.

Personally I feel the squad is better off without the last two. If I had to pick a player to beef up this squad, I would go for Black Leopards captain and attack-minded midfielder Mongezi Bobe. But again, the coach knows better.

Good luck Gordon and Bafana in Poland.