Bafana 1996

20 year sago, on 3 Feb ruary 1996, Bafan a Bafan a captain Neil Tovey received the African Nations Cup from president Nelson Mandela. Mark Glees on recalls the Afcon triumph, game-by-game, with some of the heroes of South Africa 96.

How Barker’s men brought home the trophy

DREAM START

South Africa made a dream start to the 1996 Nations Cup with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over a much-vaunted Cameroon side at Soccer City. Phil Masinga and Mark Williams bagged first half goals before the brilliant John Moshoeu added a third in the second half. It set the tone for three weeks of fevered support for the national team, which seemed to ride on a wave of national pride and confidence. Left-back David Nyathi (above) was one of those Bafana Bafana players who terrorised Cameroon on the day and he says the seeds of this victory were sewn months earlier. “Our last warm-up match ahead of the tournament was against Germany about a month before, and we played well in a 0-0 draw,” Nyathi says. “After that game we felt that we were ready for the Nations Cup and could hold our own against any team. “It gave us the confidence in what we were doing and the belief that we could maintain the right intensity through the Nations Cup.” Nyathi says a pep-talk by president Nelson Mandela the day before the Cameroon clash enhanced the squad’s determination to excel. “Mandela spoke brilliantly, about how we did not just represent ourselves, but the whole nation. He made us believe in ourselves. I guess it also put us under a little bit of pressure because we did not want to disappoint! “On the day of the game we were nervous – there is no other way of putting it. But the drive from the hotel in Johannesburg to Soccer City … we saw the support that the people in the street had for us. “When the game started, everybody just wanted to touch the ball. The minute you make your first pass, you feel you are in the game, in the zone, and everything else doesn’t matter. “We knew we needed to start well to take the pressure off us and also to settle the crowd, who were desperate for us to succeed. “Once Phil got the early goal and Mark scored the second, we were well on our way to winning. Cameroon just did not have the same energy as us on that day. “Shoes and Doctor worked their magic and we never let up the pressure on Cameroon. It was the perfect start to the tournament for us.”