FURMAN WANTS A WINNING MINDSET
Captain wants the team to return to glory days , writes MINENHLE MKHIZE
BAFANA Bafana midfielder Dean Furman, wants the side to adopt a winning mentality if they wish to conquer the continent. Bafana used to be one of the powerhouses of African football back in the days but a rapid decline have seen them losing that status, and they now struggle to qualify for major tournaments.
Now, Bafana battle against unfancied nations likes of Libya, Mauritania, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Gambia and Niger. As a result they are finding it difficult to qualify for major tournaments on a consistent basis.
Furman has challenged his side to adopt the winning mentality which inspired Bafana to greatness back in 1996 when they lifted the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) on the home soil.
In 1998, Bafana, were the runners-up in the Afcon in Burkina Faso and played at the World Cup in France. Those days are now history.
“It is a huge opportunity lost for us. Before the game we all said that ‘yes, this is the game we need to win’. Sadly, it is an opportunity lost. As the coach said, if we can flip the results around, a draw away in Nigeria and the win here and that is four points and we would have be sitting here with a good start. Unfortunately that is not the way it is. We’ve drawn against Libya, a team we feel we should be beating. Of course it is disappointment,” Furman said after they were held 0-0 by Libya in Durban.
All is not lost for Bafana, though, as they are still on course to book a place in the Afcon in Cameroon next year after earning four points from two matches.
After achieving an historical victory against Nigeria last year in the opening fixture, Bafana were expected to smash Libya but fired blanks as they shared the spoils.
“We have to be disappointed. We need that winning mentality. I think that is what top teams have got. They don’t celebrate zero-zeros. There are things to work on and to improve on. These are games which we should be winning.
“We’ve got to get that winning mentality back. We don’t want to accept a 0-0 draw against Libya as a good result. They might be some good moments and performances but overall we feel we should be winning. That is going to be the attitude going forward,” a determined Furman said.
Bafana will face Seychelles home and away in their next two Afcon qualifiers, and anything less than six points in these two assignments will be considered as average, if not a failure.
Seychelles are winless in the two qualifiers they have played so far. They were outclassed and outmuscled 5-1 against Libya and Nigeria dispatched them 3-0 this past weekend.
In two matches, Seychelles are pointless and they have conceded eight goals. Bafana have a great opportunity to collect six points and go to 10 points after four matches.
Nigeria and Libya should cancel each other while Bafana are busy with Seychelles.
“We can’t afford to take our foot off the gas. It has to be same as if we are going to play Nigeria away and that has to be our focus and mentality. Our focus at training should be treated as importantly as if we are playing Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana or one of the big, big nations. If we don’t, we have seen in world football that upsets happen. Anything less than a right mentality, we are going to cause ourselves a problem. We have to make sure that we are 100% on it from the moment we get in to camp until the end of the game. Everything has to do with attitude. That’s something that we can maybe work on,” he added.
Bafana failed to qualify for the last edition of the Afcon in Gabon during 2017.
The last time they competed in a major tournament was back in 2015 when Equatorial Guinea hosted the biggest showpiece in Africa.
“Some of the defeats that we’ve suffered in the previous campaigns against the so-called lesser sides or unfancied nations should be used as the motivation. We shouldn’t allow that to happen again. That winning mentality, we have to really start bringing that in to the squad,” Furman insisted.
Furman has become one of the senior players in the Bafana set up, having earned 47 caps. In those appearances, Furman has participated in two Afcons.
“It is for a long time now that we’ve let ourselves down, Bafana Bafana and the country down, by not qualifying for tournaments. Until we improve on that and take advantage of these kind of games where we should be picking up three points, we are going to cause ourselves problems going forward. Mentality is everything. We have to approach everything game as if it is a final, “Furman said.
We need that winning mentality. I think that’s what top teams have got ... They don’t celebrate 0-0 draws ... DEAN FURMAN Bafana Bafana midfielder