Bafana fever

IT SEEMS like eons ago that the nation had any

hope of Bafana Bafana making the news for

the right reasons. A string of coaches, internal

squabbles, strange selections, dubious man-

agement, too many losses and boardroom politics

have all led to the public throwing their arms up in

despair.

But, as in politics, much can change in a short

time. There’s a breath of fresh air blowing through

the national team’s camp and the country remains,

as always, optimistic as the team prepare for the

start of the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Equa-

torial Guinea today.

Our optimism isn’t fuelled by blind patriotism.

A run of good form and success including a victo-

ry over 2012 champions Zambia and a 3-0 win over

Mali in a warm-up game this week has raised our

hopes and expectations. Head coach Shakes Masha-

ba seems to have instilled a sense of pride, commit-

ment and passion. This has been proven through

results – the team is unbeaten in 10 games since

Mashaba took the reins.

“We are all friends in this team, that is the differ-

ence with the Bafana Bafana of then and now: we

treat each other the same way. No one is better than

the others, just that 11 can start which makes us all

hungry to play,” captain against Mali Andile Jali

said after the game.

Jali’s statement is borne out by Mashaba leaving

out possibly our most talented player, Thulani

Serero, for the Afcon showpiece. What a difference

in attitude over previous teams and tournaments.

Our hope is that it remains that way throughout,

because Bafana have to contend with a tough group-

ing that includes Ghana, Senegal and Algeria if they

hope to make it through to the knock-out stages. No

small task.

As a country that has high expectations of its na-

tional teams we have full confidence in their ability

and wish them the best when they open their tour-

nament on Monday.