'A bunch of losers'

21 January 2014 - 02:35 By MAZOLA MOLEFE
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THAT WINNING FEELING: Bafana players celebrated after mistakenly thinking they had qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations with a 0-0 draw against Sierra Leone in 2011. Sadly, they had got their sums wrong.
THAT WINNING FEELING: Bafana players celebrated after mistakenly thinking they had qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations with a 0-0 draw against Sierra Leone in 2011. Sadly, they had got their sums wrong.
Image: GALLO IMAGES

Sport Minister Fikile Mbalula's comments about Bafana Bafana being "a bunch of losers" has been met with widespread criticism from the soccer fraternity.

Bafana, who needed a draw in their Group A clash against Nigeria on Sunday to qualify for the quarterfinals of the African Nations Championship, lost 3-1 at Cape Town Stadium.

Mbalula did not hold back during a press conference yesterday, calling the national team "useless and lacking patriotism".

The minister went for the jugular: "That performance was a disgrace and what I saw was a bunch of losers. Even I could have saved those two goals Moeneeb Josephs conceded. I love Moeneeb but I don't know what happened on the night. In some countries, these players would not be welcomed anywhere. They are useless."

President Jacob Zuma avoided trading punches with Mbalula. His spokesman, Mac Maharaj, said only that Zuma was impressed with Bafana's performance throughout the tournament "except for their poor performance against Nigeria. President Zuma hopes that their performance will get better and better".

Though SA Football Association president Danny Jordaan yesterday calmly fielded questions about Bafana coach Gordon Igesund's future, he lamented Bafana's third-place finish in a group in which they were expected to do well. He said Igesund and his technical team would know their fate next month.

Jordaan discussed the possibility of a name change for the national team in the aftermath of yet another humiliation.

"We need a comprehensive approach to and review of our national team. This tournament showed us that we know very little about African football, to the point at which we are dismissive of it and the quality of football," he said.

"For some time now we have been considering making changes, even as far as changing the name of the team from Bafana Bafana.

"The national executive committee will meet in February to discuss the position of the head coach and the technical team," said Jordaan.

But former Bafana coach Clive Barker said: "I thought we played well in the last 20 minutes [against Nigeria]. We dominated procedures and if we had scored a second goal during that period we would have probably got a third.

"It is going over the top to say things like that [referring to Mbalula's scathing comments].

"We must remember that Nigeria is a big footballing country. They are the defending African champions and they have the biggest population on the continent. They are going to the World Cup."

Bafana have never beaten Nigeria in tournament soccer.

Barker, however, noted that: "If you don't win a tournament like Chan, especially when playing at home, that means there is something seriously wrong."

"Right now Gordon and the guys need support and not judgments."

Polokwane City coach Boebie Solomons said he understood the minister's frustration.

"The government is investing a lot of money in the tournaments we are hosting. I understand where Mbalula is coming from because it is the third major soccer tournament we are hosting and we do not even reach the second round.

"We seriously need to do a review of our football.

"I can't blame coach Gordon Igesund for Bafana crashing out of Chan. Our soccer authorities must start prioritising development."

Another former Bafana coach, Ted Dumitru, said: "I sympathise with the minister's frustrations and understand why he reacted the way he did."

Bafana legend Phil Masinga thought that the comments by Mbalula were unfair.

"The statement by the minister is too hard. We've got a big problem here, which must be addressed as soon as possible," Masinga said.

"We can't have only two people as the brains of South African soccer in charge of Bafana Bafana - Gordon Igesund and Serame Letsoaka.

"You look at other countries globally; there are more people working with the national teams.

"For example, Brazil have close to 15 people being part of the technical staff of their national team.

"Even if we were to get Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho to guide the team, Bafana would still remain a laughing stock of the world under current conditions."

On Sunday night, hours after the match, Igesund met his employers at the team hotel.

But it is not known whether they told him what steps they intended taking, or whether they only raised the bar.

The coach has six months until his contract expires.

Goalkeeper Josephs urged Safa to stick with the four-times Premier League-winning coach.

"I have so many reasons to be angry at him for not picking me [until Sunday night, Josephs had not been in goal for Bafana since September 2012] but, to be honest, he is the most tactically astute coach I have ever come across.

"I take responsibility for the goals that we conceded because I really should have done better. But I think, if you want to judge Gordon, judge him on what he has done since taking over the national team.

"For me it has been nothing but remarkable," Josephs said. - Additional reporting by Sibusiso Mjikeliso and Ramatsiyi Moholoa

 

 

Failures

  • Didn't get past the first round at Afcon 2008 in Ghana
  • Didn't qualify for Afcon 2010 in Angola
  • Failed to get past the first round at the 2010 World Cup, which SA hosted
  • Failed to qualify for 2012 Afcon in Gabon; eliminated in quarters at 2013 Afcon, which SA hosted
  • Failed to qualify for 2014 World Cup in Brazil

 

Successes

  • Won 1996 Afcon
  • Runners-up to Egypt in 1998 Afcon
  • Qualified for 1998 and 2002 World Cups
  • Beat Spain in a friendly at Soccer City in November
  • Rose eight places in the recently released world rankings - to 54th position

The Reaction

Nozibusiso Sibiya @noddygemini

Fikile Mbalula on January 11: "Long live Bafana Bafana."

Fikile Mbalula on January 19: "Unbearable, useless individuals."

da kroniq P @PhumeMchunu

Mbalula has lost his mind. Find solutions, not criticism!

Batebang Moholi @Batebang

Mbalula needs to sit down. He can't be behaving like a loser himself. Saying useless things.

Lerato Africa @LeratoWaSphiwe

Death by Fikile Mbalula. Give that man a Bells! *lmao*

Dumisani @dumza1

[His statement] was so unfortunate as a leader.

Henderson @MphuthiH

"It's about time these guys take some responsibility. They get paid a lot of money after all"

Julio Garcia @juliogarciaSA

What was he supposed to do - call them winners?

Xolani Zwane ?@X_Zwane

"I applaud [Mbalula] calling a spade a spade. We are tired of this underperforming lot: Safa, players and coach.

Ling ?@Ling_14

Fikile Mbalula's speaking as a supporter and not as a minister.

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