Bantwana Bantwana’s chance to show that they’ve all grown up now
Simphiwe Dludlu’s side out to banish nightmare of 2010
● The confidence that Simphiwe Dludlu oozes when she talks about the current crop of the SA Under 17 Women’s team, Bantwana Bantwana (the Kids), is probably what the same team lacked when they made their forgettable World Cup debut in Trinidad and Tobago in 2010.
The Bantwana team that was coached by Solly Luvhengo did absolutely nothing to uplift SA’s stature in world football after Bafana Bafana had also sullied the country’s name when they became the first team to bomb out in the first round of a Fifa World Cup as hosts earlier in the same year.
Faced with eventual winners South Korea, Germany and Mexico in Group B, Luvhengo’s team were the worst performing in that tournament, returning home with zero points, two goals and 17 goals against them.
My ambition is for the team to get out of the group stage Simphiwe Dludlu
Bantwana coach
Simphiwe Dludlu Bantwana coach
Speaking about the Bantwana team she departed with yesterday on a long journey to Uruguay where they will face the 2014 winners Japan, Mexico and Brazil in Group B, current coach Dludlu said the main task was to ensure that they do better than the 2010 team which was humiliated 10-1 by Germany, 4-0 by Mexico and 3-1 by South Korea.
“My ambition is for the team to get out of the group stage,” said a confident Dludlu of her charges that had to beat Morocco 6-1 in the final round of African qualifiers to join Ghana and Cameroon as three African teams that will compete in a 16-team tournament in Uruguay.
Dludlu has something unique in her team in that she boasts a set of 16-year-old twins — Thubelihle and Sphumelele Shamase, who both play for Sunflower in Hammarsdale near Durban.
Dludlu, who has given almost all her players nicknames, calls the left-footed Thubelihle “Svumvum” because of her ability to fire up the team from the left flank as a left winger. Sphumelele is blessed with dribbling skills, hence her nickname “Vulavala”, meaning she can easily cut her way past her opponents on the right wing.
Of the twins, Thubelihle is the most capped, with seven, and two goals, while Sphumelele has two goals in four matches played for the national side.
“The beauty of having Sphumelele and Thubelihle in the team cannot be overemphasised as they also play together at home,” said Dludlu, a former skipper of Banyana Banyana.
‘They just love being on the field. One plays with the left foot and the other with the right. On the field you can see them having a pep talk, one saying ’ayi wele wenze njani kanti? (hey my twin what are you doing?)’. I also encourage them to talk when the other one is battling.
“They are extremely shy but what they do with the ball at their feet is incredible. All they just want is to play football.”
Dludlu was so impressed with the twins’ team that she also recruited Yolanda Nduli, a 15-year-old left back from Inhlakanipho High School in KwaMashu, Durban.
“It’s not because I like that club but it’s because they are doing something incredible with their players there. The combinations that they have in their team is also helping us in the national team.”
Dludlu’s confidence in her team is not completely misplaced if one looks at the preparations Bantwana have been through. According to Safa president Danny Jordaan, the team has had far better preparation than the 2010 team and they too expect them to at least qualify for the second round.
After qualifying for the World Cup Bantwana played in a Brics tournament which was hosted by SA in Johannesburg in July. In that tourney Dludlu’s team beat India 5-1, China 2-1, and drew 0-0 with Brazil before losing 2-1 to China.
Dludlu will further have her team tested in two friendlies, including one against the hosts, before they open their World Cup campaign against Mexico on November 13.
Bringing the team together at a time when many players were busy with their final exams at their respective schools has not been easy for Dludlu.
“So it’s been tough for us but we’re managing because we have a tutor in the team helping our players who are writing exams.”
But the ultimate exam for Bantwana will be to do better than the 2010 team. Bantwana’s success in Uruguay could well be what SA women’s football is yearning for for everyone to notice the strides it is making.