We’re proud of you, Bafana!

Bafana Bafana’s 2023 Afcon campaign in Cote d’Ivoire has been nothing short of a miracle! Truth be told, they surprised a lot of people as most South Africans, and even parts of the continent, expected them to just add numbers at the biennial tournament. No one, at least as far as we’ve seen and heard, predicted that coach Hugo Broos’ charges would have such an impeccable tournament and steal so many hearts. In fact, they were expected to play their three mandatory group stage games and come back home to watch the rest of the tournament with us – the fans!

For them to go as far as the semi-finals, losing against Nigeria on penalties after creating a couple of chances to finish the game off in regulation time, is something not many would have predicted. Losing to our West African opponents is always a bitter pill to swallow, but they say penalties are a lottery. They are a very cruel part of the Beautiful Game, but because football is a fair game, we managed to finish on the right side of the following penalty shootout against DR Congo in the third/fourth place play-off. Interestingly, we won the first shootout against Cape Verde, lost the second against Nigeria and won the third against Congo. No one likes losing, but we have every reason to be proud of our football national team. We can’t hide the fact that coach Broos and his boys really, really made us proud! They raised our flag high and rejuvenated the passion associated with Bafana Bafana. Even the pessimists enjoyed a humble pie and acknowledged the good progress made by the coach, his technical team and the players on the field. Not only South Africans, but the rest of the continent and parts of the world were surprised by the improvement showed by our team at this tournament.

There is so much that one can take as positives from Bafana’s performances at this tournament. Yes, winning and being crowned champions would have been an ideal reward for the team’s performances, but one has to be realistic enough to remember where we were before the tournament and be grateful for where we are now. For us to know the extent of the importance of finishing third, one has to look back and remind ourselves of the last time we had Bafana playing in the last weekend of Africa’s biggest tournament. To think the last time our team came back with an Afcon medal was 24 years ago makes you realise just how important this third place finish is in the bigger scheme of things. It makes you appreciate it even more because it is a step closer to the final and a massive improvement by our coach, technical team and the players. Also, if you factor in how short and improper our preparation for this tournament was, you have to give the team all the credit in the world because what they achieved is out of this world. These are reasons to make this bronze medal all the more important and give us motivation to celebrate that we are the third-best team in the continent. Our CAF and FIFA rankings have also improved as we find ourselves sitting 59th in the FIFA and 10th in the CAF rankings. Now we have to continue with the upward trajectory. The fact that we had more locally-based players in this team says a lot about our DStv Premiership.

It has been mentioned on this platform, even before the tournament started, that no one gave Bafana a chance to impress. If we were all asked to predict their performance, not many would have seen them even getting out of the group stage. But, against all odds, they made it all the way to the semis and beat DR Congo to the podium for the third-place bronze medal. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, this is something to celebrate and a solid foundation to build on for the future. Once again, there are a lot of positives from our team, especially if you look at the way we played, the way we held our own against more fancied teams as well as the way we were able to adapt to situations. Look at how fearless and imposing we were to the opposition, even when we were a goal down, and how we played as a unit and had individual brilliance whenever necessary. We were able to grind results and bounce back after conceding. Although it was only against Namibia, it was also refreshing to see how we capitalised on the opportunities we created.

You look at Ronwen Wiliams standing between us and defeat, topping it all up with a record-breaking four penalty spots saves against Cape Verde, and winning the Goalkeeper of the Tournament. The set-piece that was taken and scored by Teboho Mokoena and how he controlled our midfield with aplomb together with Sphephelo Sithole, and Khuliso Mudau raising his hand and putting some of the best performances at right back, leaving a lot of people wondering why he didn’t make the team of the tournament. Evidence Makgopa from 11 league starts and four goals at Orlando Pirates to being one of the most important players in our final third. There is so much one can talk about regarding coach Broos’ team because they ticked almost all the boxes and won the Fair Play Award. The fact that people are still talking about this team, when no one gave them a chance before the tournament, bears testimony to this. The coach and the technical team need to be commended for the good and improved job they’ve done with this team. One hopes there’s still a future for him with this team because they have unfinished business. In coach Broos, Bafana are in good hands and the foundation he has laid can only take us far. The sooner we get the people at the PSL and SAFA to sing from the same hymnbook and support the national team with everything they have, the better.

We have a fresh and energetic team, with a bright future ahead of them. There is no reason why we can’t continue with the same team and only make a few tweaks in areas of improvement. By so doing, we will be keeping the core of the team together so that they develop the much-needed telepathic understanding. That’s exactly what kept the late coach Clive Barker’s team going because he was not out to donate caps to players. He had his core of the team playing regularly together with top quality on the bench. For any other player to break into the national team, he had to be exceptionally good to push the current players. That way, there was tough competition because the regulars were always on their toes knowing that someone was knocking for their place, while those on the outside were pushing really hard to get in. That most players in the starting line-up came from Mamelodi Sundowns ensured that, with the little time the coach had to prepare the team, there was understanding and that helped to carry the team through. That’s why the Chloorkop-based team deserve a lot of credit for Bafana’s performance and achievement because it was their continental experience that propelled our team to greater heights. That should also be a lesson to the rest of our teams to start taking continental football seriously so that the experience gained can rub off on our national team and benefit our country’s football. You don’t buy experience, you earn it. The only way to do so is through regular game-time. The higher the level of competition, the better chances of improvement.

We’ve got to celebrate, appreciate and support Bafana and coach Broos more because they proved a lot of us wrong, although they didn’t go there to prove a point to anyone. They represented our country with pride and one hopes their performances will bring opportunities to take our football to the next level. Let us not miss the opportunity to improve our football and players. We are proud of you, Bafana! The FIFA World Cup qualifiers are approaching and so are the next Afcon qualifiers. The hard work starts now!