Skip to main content

Omens augur well for Bafana

The way it was. . . One of the stars of 1996 Phil Masinga doing what he did best, celebrating a goal!

TWO days ahead of the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations the mood in the host nation remains of despondency and dejection. Majority of South Africans still do not feel the tournament, not because they think is not worth supporting. The poor form of Bafana Bafana, the national team, is not inspiring.
Not because the current coach appointed six months ago, Gordon Igesund, is doing badly. Curiously, people have more faith in him than his players. The football fans in South Africa are shocked by the rapid decline of Bafana, which gained momentum after the 2000 Afcon which was co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria. South Africa finished third in that tournament, and what happened to the former winners at first attempt in 1996 afterwards is a storybook of disastrous planning and preparation.
Bafana are in the tournament courtesy of their host status, this after failing to qualify for the last two editions. The jury is out what would have happened if hosts were also obliged to qualify, just as defending champions are!
The team selected for the tournament starting on Saturday at the National Stadium has not scored in its last friendlies ahead of the tournament. This has added to the paralysis of the national psyche as the big kickoff approaches.
South Africans however have 10 reasons to cheer up; the omens are on our side. Comparisons between the conditions the victorious 1996 team faced are curiously similar with what it is in the plate for the class of 2013. Here goes:
·         In 1996 we qualified as hosts, just as 2013
·         Opening match is against debutants, Cape Verde; in 1996 it was Angola
·         Both Cape Verde and Angola are also Portuguese-speaking countries
·         We have Angola again in Group A, just as was the case in 1996
·         In 1996 Group A had one north African team, Algeria; this time it’s Morocco
·         In 1996 the opening match was at a sold-out FNB Stadium; the same stadium is sold out for Saturday
·         While South Africa was making its debut in 1996, this time the country ushers in new Afcon era as the tournament switches from even to odd numbers, to avoid clash with the World Cup
·         Victorious SA coach in 1996, Clive Barker, was Durban-born; so is Gordon Igesund for 2013
·         We have Lions in our group, the Atlas Lions (Morocco), just as in 1996 there were Indomitable Lions (Cameroon)
·         In Dec 1995, a month ahead of the tournament, Ivory Coast were the No. 1 ranked team in Africa. The Mighty Elephants are similarly No.1 as at Dec 2012.
With so many similarities between 1996 and 2013, the only thing missing is the high spirits on the part of South Africans. The team of 1996 was lifted by all – from toddlers to grannies. This time around some people do not even know we have such a big tournament on our shores, my mother included.
I don’t know about the soccer gods, but the omens are good. Victory over Cape Verde will send everybody out on the streets, as was the case in 1996. Then my mother will know it’s game on!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rest in peace Zet, thanks for the good times

Legends. . . Zithulele Sinqe runs ahead of another roadrunning super star Willie Mtolo in 1986 Each time when I drive past ERPM in Boksburg, along Rondebult Road, one name springs to mind: Ernest Seleke. The association comes from the memory of Seleke running in a vest with ERPM emblazoned across the chest area. Back then, in the 1980s, I did not even know that ERPM was an abbreviation for a mine, and that the initials stood for East Rand Propriety Mine. To me ERPM was Seleke, not the gold mine it actually was. Stock, as the lithe running machine was known, was a marvel to watch on TV during that time of my schooldays. However, he was not alone among the crop of SA runners who were nurtured and sponsored by the mines to excel in their sport – both on track and on the road – at that time. There were many products of the mines and parastatals but I can immediately single out Xolile Yawa, Matthew Temane, Gibeon Moshaba, Matthew Batswadi, Ben Choeu and much later Zithulele Sin
1 comment
Read more

Memphis shows how far we have fallen

Against all odds. . . Dutch forward Memphis Depay overcame a difficult childhood to shine on world stage. One of the unlikely stars of the Netherlands squad at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil is without a doubt winger Memphis Depay. He is used sparingly in the Dutch team, usually coming on as a second half substitute. The reason for that is clear: Depay is still being developed for big things in future. He started playing regularly at his club PSV Eindhoven only from last season. Secondly, he only turned 20 in February this year, so he still needs protected, gradual introduction to the senior national team. And after just eight caps for Oranje, he's doing all-right. Though the factors above are important to note, it is Depay's childhood which is more crucial to mention. He grew up without a father after his Ghanaian immigrant father left the family following divorce from Memphis' mother. Depay refers to this episode in his life by insisting to be called just Memphis,
Post a Comment
Read more

The enemy within at Kaizer Chiefs

The new Premier Soccer League in South Africa is in its third week and already there's trouble at one of the biggest clubs, Kaizer Chiefs. The upheaval stems from within, thanks to the club's restless supporters. Restless is an understatement to describe a largely belligerent horde ready to trash and clobber, as they showed once again at Mbombela on Sunday 20 August after losing to TS Galaxy. Chiefs are not winning matches because they are goal-shy, scoring just 1 goal in their opening three matches of the league. That is not the scoring rate to win football matches. But instead of directing their anger to the team's forwards, and to some extent the rest of the outfield players, the supporters are blaming the coach and the goalkeeper. Chiefs No 1 keeper Brandon Peterson is a having a torrid time from the fans, despite his form saving the team from serious embarassment game after game. Against Galaxy last week a stopped four certain goal attempts, and earlier in the month
Post a Comment
Read more