Growing a thick skin paramount to survival
Aformer colleague of mine taught me something which at the time I thought was just a joke because he was a little intoxicated when he shared the valuable life lesson with me.
We were at a Bafana match, and as it had become the norm, our boys had disappointed us. He told me that it would be best for me to learn to not take to heart anything that has to do with Bafana.
“It will be good for your health. Bafana are not worth it, just do as I do. Take whatever it is they do with a little grin and...” he said, finishing his sentence with a gulp of the vodka he had been nursing throughout the match.
He said he had learnt to just ac- cept every disappointment. “Argh, we are used to these things,” he would say every time a team he supported left him dissatisfied.
I remembered his words this week when the Bafana team to play friendlies with Guinea-Bissau and Angola was announced.
What really got me worried and a little uneasy were the inclusion of certain players whom I feel do not fit the bill in terms of the much hyped Vision 2022.
I have nothing against Cape Town City keeper, Shu-aib Walters. In fact I have much respect for him. He has been consistent since he broke into the PSL over nine years ago and was part of the Bafana team for the 2010 World Cup. @SbongsKaDonga
But at 35 I believe he is too old to be part of a team who are being prepared for the future with the main focus being doing well at the World Cup in 2022.
It feels like we take one step forward, and three back. I would have loved to see a young keeper take Walters’ place to learn the ropes from Itu Khune who has been our No 1 for so many years. Khune is a generous and honest guy and would easily impart his knowledge to the youngster.
Ajax’s Jody February or Arrows’ Nkosingiphile Gumede would have been good picks. In a perfect world, Khune would then be benched with either of Darren Keet and February/Gumede manning the poles in the two friendlies. After all, we all know what Khune is capable of and we don’t really need to win these matches.
What worries me most is that the message that Safa have been sending is that this squad will indicate the kind of players the new coach will have to work with. Danny Jordaan has said that this team will be handed over to whoever takes over after Shakes.
The less said about Safa’s ignorance over Kamohelo Mokotjo having taken Dutch citizenship which makes his eligibility for Bafana questionable, the better. It is the kind of thing you wish was just a joke. For Owen da Gama to say he wasn’t aware of it, yet he had been tracking these players, is just shameful.
I must also appreciate though the inclusion of Phakamani Mahlambi and Luther “The King” Singh in this squad, and I hope they will be given a run in the two matches, even if it is for a few minutes.
And the recall of Erasmus and Mokotjo were just a slap in the face to Mashaba, and a signal to him that his era has really come to an end. But, argh, we are used to these things.