The 10 bad boys of Bafana Bafana

Bafana Bafana have had some great talents down the years‚ but also a number of players who have never lived up to their full potential for various reasons.

Times Media Digital looks at 10 Bafana ’Bad Boys’ who either wasted their talent‚ or became infamous off the pitch once their careers had ended.

1 BRENDAN AUGUSTINE

Augustine was sent home from the 1998 World Cup in France for staying out late in contravention of the team curfew.

It was reportedly not the first time either.

The forward had started both of South Africa’s first two games‚ but was sent packing in disgrace‚ along with co-accused Naughty Mokoena‚ before the third‚ a 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia.

"It is the second time these players have done this and I cannot accept it. They have a responsibility to the team and the country‚ and they have to respect that‚" then coach Philippe Troussier said.

Augustine also turned down the opportunity to be part of the victorious 1996 African Nations Cup-winning squad to go on trial in Austria instead and ended up signing for LASK Linz.

He never played for Bafana again after his World Cup mishap.

2 JUNAID HARTLEY

Hartley made his debut for South Africa as a 19-year-old and was seen as a player with huge potential. But he would earn a total of only five national team appearances‚ the last of which came two years after his first.

Reports of off-field problems surfaced and his career petered out as he eventually retired in 2008 at the age of only 29. He moved to Europe to play for Lens (France) and Vitoria Setubal (Portugal)‚ but never featured in a competitive match for them‚ and returned to the PSL where he made a couple of starts for Orlando Pirates in two seasons.

He later moved on to play for Moroka Swallows‚ Ajax Cape Town‚ Maritzburg United and for Malaysian second-tier side Sarawa‚ but never really managed to get his career back on track.

3 MBULELO MABIZELA

Lucas Radebe who?

There are many that believe ‘OJ’ Mabizela could have been South Africa’s greatest ever defender were it not for crippling disciplinary issues that stunted his hugely promising career.

He still managed to pack in 45 caps into an international career that was effectively over at the age of 24‚ though he did play a handful of games after that.

He captained South Africa 13 times‚ becoming the youngest player to wear the armband‚ but was stripped of the honour after arriving late for a training camp in 2004.

There is no doubt of his quality‚ nor the fact that he should have been South Africa’s poster-boy at the 2010 World Cup‚ when he would have been in his prime at the age of 29‚ but he threw it away after a succession of disciplinary issues.

He won a move from Orlando Pirates to English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in 2003 and netted a screamer on debut‚ but found the bright lights of London too hard to resist.

Returned to South Africa and knocked about clubs‚ playing for Platinum Stars and BidVest Wits‚ but was last seen with National First Division side Royal Eagles in the 2015/16 season.

Arguably South Africa’s biggest ever waste of a talent.

4 NAUGHTY MOKOENA

Along with Augustine‚ Mokeona was sent home from the World Cup in France in disgrace‚ ending his hopes of an international career.

Mokoena never actually played a game for the national team despite being part of the squad for France‚ though he had featured for the country’s Under-23 side.

Was plagued by reports of ill-discipline all through his career‚ that included stints at Orlando Pirates‚ AmaZulu and Moroka Swallows.

5 THABANG MOLEFE

Molefe won plenty of notoriety during his career and then against after it.

It was his robust tackle on England star David Beckham during a 2003 friendly against Bafana Bafana that broke a bone in the superstar’s hand and made headlines around the world.

Molefe had earlier played at the 2002 World Cup for South Africa‚ and would win 20 caps in all‚ his last in 2004.

He started his career with Jomo Cosmos‚ later playing for Lyn (Norway) and Le Mans (France)‚ before a spell with Orlando Pirates.

It was reported in 2007 that he had appeared in court‚ accused of breaking into a house in Naturena and stealing a Plasma TV worth R12‚000.

6 BRYCE MOON

Moon was involved in a tragic accident in June 2009 in which he struck pedestrian Mavis Ncube with his car‚ causing her death.

After charges were initially dropped and then reinstated‚ Moon was convicted of culpable homicide‚ fined R60‚000 and had his driving license suspended for six months.

He was found not guilty of murder‚ attempted murder‚ drunk driving and reckless driving.

The incident forever changed the fortunes of the fullback/winger‚ who at the time had just finished a camp with Bafana Bafana after the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

He played a couple of national team games after that in the build-up to the 2010 World Cup‚ but having been a regular before‚ did not add substantially to his caps count and ended with 17.

He is still active today after a journeyman club career and plays for Premier Soccer League side Maritzburg United.

7 LEBOGANG MORULA

Morula was a member of the Bafana squad that went to the 1998 World Cup‚ though he only ever made a single international appearance in a friendly against Iceland just prior to the tournament.

He played in Peru for some time and reportedly acquired citizenship of the South American country‚ but gained notoriety back home with a string of crimes following the end of his career.

He has been accused of car hijacking‚ theft of generators and electronic goods‚ ATM robbery and armed robbery‚ and has a conviction for malicious damage to property.

In 2015 he was charged with being in possession of a cellphone jamming devices and a police uniform.

Locally he had three spells with Jomo Cosmos and also played in Turkey.

8 THANDANI NTSHUMAYELO

The midfielder won three caps between 2011 and 2013‚ but any further chances of wearing a national team jersey look over after he was found guilty of cocaine use and banned from football for four years.

His contract at Orlando Pirates was torn up and he will only be eligible to play again around his 30th birthday.

"It was a costly mistake by him‚" his agent Tim Sukazi said last year.

"He says he was lured into this thing by friends at a party‚ but now he has to live with this forever."

9 AYANDA PATOSI

Patosi is the source of great frustration both in Belgium‚ where he plays for Lokeren‚ and at home in South Africa.

Tipped as a supreme talent‚ Patosi has been accused of not showing the required commitment to a career as a professional football and as such has battled with fitness and weight issues.

It is often stated in the Belgian press that he would be playing at a far higher level had he shown the necessary application to training‚ but instead looks as though he will leave the club in disgrace at the end of this season after his latest trouble – skipping training for his club last week.

Patosi has a long history of truancy and often been in trouble with clubs for coming back late from international duty or skipping training.

He also missed not one but two flights when called up for national team duty in September 2014‚ missing an African Nations Cup qualifier in Sudan.

Former national team coach Shakes Mashaba was forgiving though and Patosi won the last of his 12 international caps in November last year.

10 ERIC SEPTEMBER

 Former Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns striker September won two caps for South Africa shortly after the team’s readmission to international football in January 1993‚ but saw his career cut short by a car accident.

He would go on to infamy afterwards though when he was jailed for the murder of his wife‚ Dikeledi Sebolai‚ and rape of another woman‚ spending 13 years behind bars before his release in 2010.

He had initially been sentenced to 27 years.

September was convicted of crushing his wife’s skull with an iron ball‚ while the rape was described by magistrate Johan Bosch as the most brutal he had seen in 30 years on the judiciary.

September had been out on bail for the rape charge when he killed his wife.

After his release in 2010 he claimed to be a born-again Christian‚ becoming involved in community projects.

- TMG Digital/TMG Sport