Bafana Bafana were beaten 4-2 on penalties by Nigeria in their Africa Cup of Nations semifinal at Stade de la Paix in Bouaké, Ivory Coast, on Wednesday night, but they made history reaching their first semifinal in 24 years, showing signs of life after years of underachievement.
The dramatic semifinal ended at 1-1 in full time and the same scoreline after extra time.
The achievement, from a team ranked 66th in the world and 12th in Africa, and who arrived at the Afcon without big-name European-based stars Lyle Foster (mental health issues) and Lebo Mothiba (injured), was a complete turn-up for the books.
There were several factors that came together that led to Bafana making history in Ivory Coast.
When Hugo Broos was appointed by the SA Football Association (Safa) to coach Bafana in May 2021, replacing Molefi Ntseki, who had failed to ensure Bafana qualified for the 2021 Afcon, the first thing the Belgian did was to dismantle the team almost completely.
The only notable players who survived the chop that are still in Broos’s team that has performed beyond expectations in Ivory Coast was goalkeeper Ronwen Williams and attacking midfielder Percy Tau. And the duo didn’t survive because Broos liked them, but they benefited because age was on their side and their record with the national team was not that bad.
Broos also didn’t care about where his new and young Bafana players were playing, he just wanted them to be on form so that he could pick them. Bafana’s first task under Broos was to try to qualify for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.
The Belgian told journalists that nobody should blame him if his young team failed to qualify for the World Cup, but he understood that some people “would want to kill him” if he also failed to take the team to Ivory Coast.
So Broos’s first year at Bafana’s helm was about building a new Bafana with these young players that he expected to respond to the demands of international football. While his team started well and won a handful of crucial matches to be on the cusp of qualifying for the World Cup, when his team failed to beat Ghana in the match that would have taken Bafana to final qualifying play-offs, he realised something was missing.
Broos had to endure poor or no co-operation at all from the PSL, as he constantly complained of the league not granting him a chance to meet PSL club coaches to outline his plans.
What was missing was an experienced player like Mamelodi Sundowns’ midfield maestro Themba Zwane, a player who could combine midfield and the striking force and provide many scoring chances for Bafana.
Broos was also very critical of the level of the DStv Premiership as he arrived at a time when Sundowns was the only team winning the championship, as it is still. He made comments that made supporters of the two most supported clubs in SA, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates sit up and listen. They had never heard a Bafana coach criticise the level of their clubs, no matter how far they were behind Sundowns.
Broos had to endure poor or no co-operation at all from the PSL, as he constantly complained of the league not granting him a chance to meet PSL club coaches to outline his plans. That meeting never happened, but Broos did meet a few PSL coaches before he went to Ivory Coast.
Broos avoided being “killed” by ensuring Bafana qualified for Afcon ahead of Liberia in a group that included Morocco, the number one ranked African side that Bafana managed to beat at home. It was a vital 2-1 win that Bafana managed to get against Liberia away from home that booked Bafana’s ticket to 2023 Afcon. That win came at a time when there was a growing belief that Broos’s team would not qualify for the tournament after they were held to a 2-2 draw against Liberia at home.
Once Bafana had sealed their Afcon place, Broos started to talk about a starting XI that he could trust, though the injury of Mothiba and absence of Foster because of illness looked to turn his plans upside-down.
Having told everyone that he was always left with no other option than to choose many players from Sundowns, Broos had no hesitation to make that call in his final squad for Afcon, selecting 10 Sundowns players for the tournament.
That has proven to be a stroke of genius as Broos didn’t have much to do in making sure his team understood each and knew their strengths and weaknesses. That Bafana managed to regain form quickly and beat neighbours Namibia 4-0 after losing the opening match 2-0 against Mali, was mainly due Sundowns players knowing the territory they were in.
Sundowns have been regular top performers in the Caf Champions League, winning with Pitso Mosimane for the first time in 2016. They are also a team that buys top SA players and is able to keep them at the highest level because of how they perform in the Champions League.
That’s the reason Broos so wished that Chiefs and Pirates that competed at their (Sundowns) level. But even without that he’s managed to revive Bafana, but for how long?
That will be determined by Safa and PSL, the two organisation that never see eye-to-eye on critical football matters. What Bafana achieved in Ivory Coast could just be wasted if it is not backed up by what Broos tried to do when he arrived in SA — give more chances to young players because they’re the future.
Broos’s task now is to build a Bafana that will compete at the 2026 World, if they manage to qualify. The team must also qualify for the 2025 Afcon in Morocco, to help build Bafana for the World Cup.
Bafana can’t afford to go underground for another 24 years. We simply can’t lose this momentum if we’re to be taken seriously on the continent.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.