Football is about results.
They define whether a team is successful or not.
If results are favourable, nothing is said about the future of a coach. Should results not be forthcoming, everyone calls for the coach' head to roll. This is currently the case with Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba, whose litany of errors has led to his future at the helm suddenly looking bleak
While getting rid of Mashaba may be a step in the right direction, it will not entirely cure Bafana's problem. There are plenty of reasons why South Africa have suffered on the international scene.
Since results are connected to emotions - happiness or pain, they have somewhat been the focus. If South Africans, Safa in particular, did a thorough assessment devoid of emotions, things would have been different. Mashaba may have done wonders for Bafana and juniour national teams but was he the right man to lead the country looking at the dispensation that we are in?
Football keeps evolving. Mashaba has been around for decades. The man was captain of Orlando Pirates and has coached for a long time in the country. But the question is has he kept up with the latest methods of the ever-changing game? Is he the man to lead a national team in an era where competition is on another level? Some players have, privately, questioned some of his tactics and training methods. How can players give their best when they are not agreeing with his methods? When Mashaba qualified for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, he was hailed a national hero because it came as a huge surprise. South Africa performed dismally at Afcon but he was forgiven.
One of the problems with Mashaba is that he is emotional. Most of the decisions he took had a lot to do with his emotions. The clashes between him and certain players have cost the nation. Mashaba has snubbed players such as Kamohelo Mokotjo and Kermit Erasmus. This is because these two players have voiced out their frustration and they never got picked by Mashaba. Mokotjo, Erasmus and the members of the class of 2009 Under-20 World Cup ought to form the core of our national team as they are in their prime.
Selection of the players has been a big problem in this country. Some things are questionable. How can Mpho Makola, who scored against Egypt on Tuesday night, make his Bafana debut at the age of 29? How can Ramahlwe Mphahlele, captain of the class of 2009, have just four caps? Clayton Daniels and others are in and out of the team. Where is the consistency?
South Africa’s problem is that they have focused on results at the expense of building a team. Spain, European Champions in 2008 and 2012, and World Champions in 2010, were called under-achievers for years but they rebuilt their team by finding their playing model and incorporating the youth.
So what is important for Bafana Bafana now? Is it to fire the coach and qualify for 2018 Fifa World Cup or focus on building a team? Will it be wise to get a new generation of players or continue with the same players that come 2022 would have retired or not at their prime? Truth be told, the current generation of South African players are not good enough in comparison with other generations. That’s not a typo. They are talented but not good enough. They are ordinary and ordinary players achieve ordinary results.
Forget about qualifying for the World Cup. Get a new coach, find new ways of doing things and renew the team. Maybe in 2022, we will have a competitive team. Otherwise it will remain the same movie, with just new characters.
The Star