How Mashaba lost the plot in his quest for glory

WHEN Ndumiso Mabena ran on as a substitute for Bafana Bafana in Tuesday night’s crucial Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Cameroon, it seemed to epitomise coach Shakes Mashaba’s unravelling strategy that has cost South Africa a place at Gabon 2017.

Mabena is an honest, hard worker at Platinum Stars, where he has scored seven league goals this season.

But any follower of South African football would surely acknowledge the striker has never progressed to international class.

Bafana were revitalised, young and fearless, qualifying for the 2015 Afcon unbeaten at the expense of champions Nigeria. They have gone from that to bottom-placed, winless and on the verge of not reaching the 2017 tournament in a group including Gambia, Mauritania and a rebuilding Cameroon. How? After his appointment, Mashaba bravely axed all of a 2010 World Cup generation who had reached their sell-by date, and also never actually qualified for a tournament other than as hosts.

The coach then promptly steered South Africa to their first major tournament since the 2008 Afcon in Ghana. Mashaba’s adherence to Visions 2018 and 2022 was not just aimed at rebuilding, but also at producing results.

Youngsters Fagrie Lakay, Siyanda Ngubo and Ayabulela Magqwaka stood no chance of making the first team, but brought a notable energy to the squad.

It was harsh on this revolutionary brigade to be drawn at the Afcon with Algeria, Senegal and Ghana and they never won a game.

But Mashaba’s stubborn streak — which sometimes inspires his teams — had seen Ajax Amsterdam’s Thulani Serero left out after a fallout. Some players, as much as Mashaba hates to admit it, are thoroughbreds and require a little massaging.

There were concerns Mashaba had not learned from past clashes with Benni McCarthy, Quinton For- tune and others. There were question marks over the rotation of goalkeepers and selections in defence.

Things degenerated from there. The Cosafa Cup in Rustenburg was a chance to field players from SA’s successful U17s and U20s. Instead a hotch-potch of PSL no-hopers lost against Botswana and Malawi.

In June, Mashaba clashed with PSL clubs as he attempted to retain frontline players from the 0-0 Afcon 2017 qualifier against Gambia in Durban and the friendly against Angola in Cape Town ahead of an African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifier against Mauritius, of all teams.

Then Bafana fielded PSL benchwarmers in the next round, losing to Angola in a competition the SA Football Association clearly had little SHAKY GROUND: Shakes Mashaba has emotion and gusto, but is it enough?

Mashaba admitted not researching Gambia or Mauritania in the 2017 qualifiers

interest in.

Mashaba’s most astonishing admissions were that he had not researched Gambia or Mauritania in the 2017 qualifiers. Worse, the coach did not know Bafana would play on an artificial surface in Nouakchott, where they lost 1-3 to 113th-ranked Mauritania.

Mashaba returned from that trip on the offensive, having his son, Jabu, sit in on a press conference after a 1-0 Nelson Mandela Challenge win against Senegal to question the press’s national pride.

The coach’s tenure has been rescued to some extent by an impressive 4-1 aggregate victory over Angola in November to reach the group stages of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. Last Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Cameroon in Limbe was another indication Bafana can play stirring football under Mashaba.

The jury is out, though, on whether pure emotion and gusto, sometimes at the expense of common sense, are enough to take Bafana forward.