Shutout is a touch puzzling
Bafana Bafana chose to play their last friendly before the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals behind-closed-doors yesterday when they took on Lesotho at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.
South Africa are certainly not the first nation to choose to close-up-shop, even to journalists, ahead of a major tournament, but I have always wondered exactly how much it helps, if indeed it helps at all.
Maybe there was some masterful tactical plan that Hugo Broos wanted to work on, and he did not want any potential spies from Mali, Tunisia and Namibia, Bafana’s opponents in Group E, to take a peek.
But could there really be a vital clue in a warm-up match, an effective training exercise that Broos admitted he didn’t even care about the result of?
Would it not have been better to give the team a rousing send off, ahead of their journey to the Ivory Coast, with fans packing into the Lucas Moripe Stadium?
The rub here, of course, is that fans would not have packed in, even if they were invited. Bafana’s support in the stands these days tends to be underwhelming at best.
Broos was even asked the question at a press conference ahead of the Lesotho game about the lack of support his side gets at home, despite their successful qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations finals.
“Playing a match without fans is a disaster, especially for the players,” said Broos, though presumably here he was not including the following day’s deliberate shutout.
Given the choice between a game not attended at all, and a game attended by barely anyone, perhaps it is unsurprising that Bafana chose the first option.
South Africa have, unless someone flies a drone overhead, ensured that any secret set-piece routines, for example, will not be uncovered.
And there was no point opting for a ticker-tape parade and a packed stadium, because it would never have happened.
Bafana will have to hope that a wonder-showing at the Afcon finals does more to restore the faith of the fans, and brings them back in their droves to home games in the future.