Let’s learn from this experience!
I always say football is a game of opinions and that’s not even debatable. I’ve seen and heard some of the top brass individuals in South African football sharing their views on what happened against France and I respect all their views because they are entitled to them.
Because one incident, after the final whistle, seems to have overshadowed the whole game, I will not talk about the game itself but try to paint a picture of my own view on the matter. Let me try and understand this because there are mixed feelings about some of our players taking pictures with Paul Pogba and other guys after the final whistle. Are we really going to be hammering the boys for something that happens all the time? Which of those Bafana Bafana players have come up against better and bigger players than those who were representing France that night? None! There may be a few who have played against some players, but at club level or at the Olympics, and this was a completely different story. These boys were up against players they admire. Do you want to tell me that our players went into the field with no courage, fighting spirit or the will to win the game? Did they go into the field to just marvel at their opponents and lose the game? Definitely not!
From where I am sitting, I’m looking at the fundamentals that influence performance. The main one is the mental factor, which talks to the tactical and technical implementation. Years back, the technique and tactical approach was the key factor. We had to make sure that it was executed correctly, but as time goes on and the game evolves, the mental factor takes centre stage. A player can’t perform if they’re not in a right frame of mind. They need to know where, what and how they want to go in terms of goals and achievements in the game and their career. Were our players mentally strong enough to face France? As a country, we tend to criticise and lambaste people without offering solutions. Yes, we can’t run away from the fact that our players aspire to be like some of the players they were playing against on the night. After all, these are players they look up to, but when it is time to get the job done on the field, that mentality has got to change. As both individuals and a group, the mentality has to change and be adjusted whereby you forget about the opposition’s quality or stature and just focus on getting the job done.
Coach Clive Barker, when we played the first game against Germany at the Johannesburg Stadium … I remember it so vividly as if it happened yesterday … made us aware and instilled a different mentality. He made us aware why we were sitting in that dressing room, why was the stadium so packed, who were the guys we were going to play against, what’s the difference between us and them and then he told us, despite all the differences,
when we get into the field, it is every man for himself and we will be fighting for the same thing on a levelled playing field. He said it will all come down to who needs it more. That’s when his words about them just being different in terms of their nationality and the jersey they are wearing, otherwise we are all equal but whoever shows up will have an advantage, hit me. Just because they played in bigger leagues and tournaments that we couldn’t play in did not make them better than us. I’m saying this because I was also in a similar position as these boys and I know exactly where they were coming from. Was it necessary for us to lambaste the boys like we did? Had the cameras not shown those images, would we know about them? It was not the first time something like that happened, but sometimes those things are left to the change rooms.
The minute you put on the national team jersey, you become a soldier and that’s something that we need to instill into our players’ minds. Look, I’m not pointing fingers at anyone, but was there a talk with the players to remind them of who they are and what this game was all about? I didn’t respect the Germans because coach Clive told me he wanted me to dance and that’s the language I understood. When he said, “Doc, Shoes and Phil (Philemon Masinga) – may their souls rest in peace – show them who we are,” the whole team needed no further motivation because he gave all of us individual messages and instructions. If people don’t remember that game, go to Google or YouTube and you’ll see for yourself. There are so many examples I can give about this kind of a situation. If you’re sitting on the fence, lashing out at these boys, you’re not helping anyone.
Liverpool FC came here to play Kaizer Chiefs and we were all gunning for John Barnes’ shirt and there was nothing wrong with that. Orlando Pirates hosted Tottenham Hotspur here, Steve Lekoelea and his teammates dribbled the lights out of their fancied English opposition and what happened? The English were swearing at us because that Pirates team showed them no respect, which is something Europeans don’t like. They were taken out of their comfort zone and didn’t like it one bit because they expected Pirates to play the English way. So, why not adapt what’s working and help the national team? Yes, it was embarrassing to lose 5-0, but it won’t help anyone to lash out at our players. Mamelodi Sundowns lost to Barcelona FC at FNB and how many of their players took pictures with Iniesta, Messi and them? This is something you can’t control because these are people we see on television and it is a dream come true for most of our players to see themselves sharing the field with these guys.
Look, I’m not trying to compare oranges with bananas here. I’m just showing what it means for the players to be in that situation. You must also remember the history of this country, where we were deprived such opportunities because of the apartheid system that even saw us being banned from the international football fraternity. Maybe if the likes of Jomo Sono and Ace Ntsoelengoe (may his soul rest in peace) got a chance to represent the country at international level, I don’t think we’d have witnessed what we saw after playing France because generations after them would have made it normal to play against these guys. Let’s not forget where we are coming from, guys. That incident should be an eye-opener for everyone because it really exposed us for who and what we are as a country. That speaks to the mental factor and development of our football. Instead of blaming the boys, let’s try to understand where they come from because it was a new experience for them, when they should have been sharing the field with these international superstars from a long time ago. Let’s learn from this experience!