‘Shabba’ recalls that iconic goal
A decade on, the memory still shines bright for Tshabalala.
If memories of football are all we have in South Africa right now, with the ongoing postponement of the national game, there are surely few better than that of Siphiwe Tshabalala, on 11 June, 2010, rifling a rocket into the top corner to give Bafana Bafana the lead against Mexico at Soccer City, in the opening match of the World Cup finals.
A decade on, that memory still shines brightly in the mind of the man nicknamed “Shabba” who wrote his name on a list of wonderful World Cup finals goals with one glorious swing of his left boot.
“The feeling is still the same, it was an iconic moment, not only for me, but for South Africans, for the continent and for the world,” said Tshabalala, this week, in an interview with the South African
Football Journalists Association.
“I am just grateful that on that day, I was chosen to shine, and I am also grateful that made a positive impact and brought happiness to...and united the people by scoring that goal.”
It was a flowing move that led to Carlos Alberto Parreira’s side opening the scoring against Mexico, and it caused an outbreak of delirium at a packed Soccer City and across South Africa, though the game ultimately ended in a 1-1 draw.
“On 11 June, I was nervous like any other game,” adds Tshabalala.
“But I was touched and inspired by the crowd and the support as well.
“I still remember the moment when I sang the national anthem, I sang it with pride and teary eyes. I was positive and I knew I would do well, I visualised all the time. I would dream, plan, execute, dominate, and repeat again.
“This was no different. It was a big stage, the whole world was watching and I had to bring my ‘A’ game. The goal didn’t come by fluke. Mexico had possession, we were well organised, everyone was in our half. Aaron (Mokoena) intercepted the ball and it changed hands, from Kagiso (Dikgacoi) to Yeye (Letsholonyane), to Katlego (Mphela), it was the perfect transition, I made the perfect run and the weight and speed on the ball from KG was perfect. My first touch was good, and I felt when the ball left my boot it was going in. You could also tell from the celebration, that the confidence was there that we were going to score. The celebration was well prepared!”
Ultimately, it proved to be a high point of Bafana’s World Cup campaign, as Mexico equalised and a 3-0 loss to Uruguay left them with a near-impossible task to reach the last 16, though they did beat France 2-1 in their final Group A match.
“It was disappointing we didn’t advance, admitted Tshabalala.
“I feel we should have won the first game. The second game was a tough one, and we got a red card, I accept defeat from that game. The third game, we should have won by a bigger margin. I had a close range shot saved, Katlego (Mphela) had two good chances and we created a number of chances that we didn’t convert.”