Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Tovey blames Bafana’s weak mental state for poor performances
SOUTH African Football Association(SAFA) Technical Director Neil Tovey has slammed the mental state of the Bafana Bafana squad that failed to qualify for the last major tournaments. Currently, Bafana Bafana will miss out of the upcoming 2018 Russia World Cup showpiece, largely thanks to their back-to-back defeat against Cape Verde Island – a country that has a population of only 539 560 people.
“Their problem is their mental state when they go into games,’’ Tovey said. “They are all very good players but when they come to the national team their approach is different. You can’t go and beat Nigeria and come back and can’t beat Cape Verde at home. It’s not on. It’s totally a mental state that they need to get themselves tuned into because of the difference between professional football and international.’’
Playing for your country at times requires international experience and knowledge. But the scale of Bafana Bafana players returning from European football to play in the Premier Soccer League has been average in the past few years. As a result, the trio of Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs are not afraid to use big money to lure unhappy overseas-based players back. Hence, the 55-yearold former Chiefs defender believes that the comfort of the PSL is what misleads the players at times.
“I believe our major problem is that our players are very comfortable in the PSL.’’ “They don’t want to challenge themselves overseas. The challenges of the European leagues gives them the opportunity to better themselves. I believe the national team is not doing as well as it should because they are not challenging themselves enough.’’
With a crop of young players called into the current Bafana Bafana squad for their COSAFA Cup tournament that begins tomorrow in the quarterfinals against Madagascar in Polokwane. It means there could be new faces in the team building up to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. The South Africans are second in Group E and with three points after beating Nigeria in their opener. Their next assignment in the qualifiers is against group leaders Libya on September, 18. The 1996 AFCON winning captain says that players who do well in the COSAFA will likely be selected to fill in the gap currently in the squad.
“Doing well in the COSAFA creates confidence and opportunity building up to the AFCON qualifiers,’’ he said. “There are certainly gaps in Bafana Bafana, because the last bunch of players certainly have not done the job. So when coach Stuart Baxter sees that, he’ll have a chance to say that a certain player has answered the question through COSAFA.