IT’S FAN-TASTIC
TRUE COLOURS: More than 30 000 spectators came out to support Bafana Bafana in their 0-1 loss to Norway in an international friendly match played at Cape Town Stadium last night. From left Gavin Bell, Abdurazaak Salie, Riyad Manuels and Imtiaz Salie make their way to the stadium.
South Africa 0 Norway 1 (Tarik Elyounounssi 41)
THERE are still 10 days and, crucially, another 90 minutes of football left for coach Gordon Igesund to mould Bafana Bafana into a competitive unit before the opening match of the African Cup of Nations against Cape Verde.
Because on the evidence of last night’s dreadful performance against a young, spirited and well-organised Norway outfit, the hosts’ participation in the continental showpiece looks set to be brief.
The Scandinavian outfit exposed some of Bafana’s shortcomings, which were pretty much in all departments. However, the fact that the South Africans are still not looking like a team is the coach’s biggest concern.
Last night’s result was probably not that important, although a victory would have given Igesund a nice confidence-boosting platform to build on. Instead he will only have a few brief moments of the game, especially in the second half, to work with.
The first half was especially terrible as far as the team’s cohesion is concerned, as even club colleagues couldn’t find each other with six-yard passes.
Kaizer Chiefs’ Siphiwe Tshabalala and Reneilwe Letsholonyane’s one-twos seemed like it needed the assistance of a satellite-navigation system, while other experienced players like central midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi also struggled to find the open teammate.
This seemed to be partly due to nerves at the start of the match, as the Cape Town crowd really came out in numbers, and in yellow, to create a magnificent atmosphere.
Bafana, though, still had the better of the midfield encounters. But yet again, that age-old South African problem of not taking chances in front of goal reared its ugly head again.
And it was Katlego Mphela, South Africa’s best striker of the last couple of years, who bore the brunt of the crowd’s frustration when his touch and his normally deadly finishing let him down.
To be fair, the man they call “Killer” still looks very rusty after only recently coming back from a knee injury.
He also grabbed his hamstring after unleashing the first shot in anger in the match,
We have to work now on using the possession better and not overelaborating so much on the ball. Gordon Igesund
when Letsholonyane fed him on his favourite right foot, only for Norwegian goalkeeper Rune Jarstein to make a fine low save.
Mphela’s teammates were also guilty of blowing a few chances, especially one in the 33rd minute when they tried to walk the ball into the net Barcelona-style, instead of taking a shot.
Bafana’s best player on the night, Platinum Stars winger Thuso Phala, was industrious down the right and did what Tshabalala struggled to do in his wide role on the left – get to the byline and cross.
His pass in the 36th minute was brilliantly pushed away from the oncoming Mphela by the Norwegian keeper, while Jarstein also denied the Bafana No 9’s header towards goal a few minutes later.
But Mphela’s greatest miss was actually a non-effort, after he got a brilliant pass from Lerato Chabangu, only for his first touch to let him down.
The Bafana defenders also looked hesitant at times during the opening stanza, as the Norwegians impressed with some neat moments in and around the penalty area.
And as per usual, Bafana were punished for those chances as their visitors caught them flatfooted at the back, with No 10 Tarik Elyounoussi tapping the ball in among a host of opponents.
Igesund threw on his young brigade in the second half, which also saw the dangerous Phala seeing more of the ball.
Tokelo Rantie, who replaced Mphela at halftime, and the brilliant Thulani Serero added the urgency that was missing in the first half, and they seemed to find cracks in the visitors’ defence that weren’t there earlier.
Rantie almost equalised in the 54th minute when he was released by Phala through the middle, but his shot was saved by Jarstein. The resulting rebound from Phala was blocked.
Phala also set up Serero 14 minutes later, but it took another brilliant and brave save by Jarstein to deny the former Ajax Cape Town star.
Mark Gleeson of Reuters reports that Bafana coach Igesund said after the match: “I’m disappointed we lost the game, but we created a lot of good chances. We have to work now on using the possession better and not overelaborating so much on the ball.”
“Spain!!!” headlined Marca, Spain’s biggest-selling sports daily and a favourite of Real Madrid fans. “Unique, unmatchable Messi,” the paper said after the striker scored a stunning 91 goals in 2012 in all competitions, smashing the 40year-old record of German legend Gerd Mueller of 85.
“Leo Messi was crowned yesterday as the best player in history,” Marca said. “No one until now had won four Ballons d’Or in a row. Leo has done it, and consecutively.”
Rival sports daily AS, too, lavished praise on Messi.
“Since we have known him, every year he plays better, every year he scores more goals,” said the paper’s columnist, Alfredo Relano. “I have never seen a player with such power. He lacks aesthetic, but he has plenty of everything else,” he said, predicting even more Ballons d’Or to come.
“Golden Messi,” headlined the Barcelona-based Mundo Deportivo, adding: “Leo Messi is the greatest. Huge. Unique.”
On his return to Barcelona airport, Messi told reporters that he had forgotten many people in his speech, but had wanted to mention Barca coach Tito Vilanova, who is being treated for a cancer of the salivary gland, and defender Eric Abidal.
The French defender is training with the squad again after a liver transplant.
“When things calmed down, I remembered Tito and Abidal and everyone, obviously,” Messi said, apologising for his omission. – AFP