Bafana Bafana played so well though 😆
I love how the conversations in these football groups (particularly from Central, North and West Africans) went from, "Bafana Bafana won't make it past the group stages," to, "Bafana Bafana is doing well because South Africa has a good league," in a matter of weeks.
So, it's only now that you realize that South Africa has a good league? Only now?
Not when Marumo Gallants was languishing in the relegation zone in the DStv premiership, but tormenting teams all over Africa and got to the final of the CAF Confed? Not that?
Not when Kaizer Chiefs managed to reach the final of CAF Champions League despite not having signed any players in two years due to the transfer ban?
Not when Surprise Moriri dismantled Rijkaard's Barcelona?
Not when two grootmans from Sebokeng were dribbling the life out of the Tottenham Hotspurs' defence?
Not that? Not when Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates were constantly challenging Fergie's United?
Not when players started leaving South America for Mamelodi Sundowns? No?
Not when your own brothers left your countries to play for teams like Baroka and Maritzburg United?
Not when the same goalkeeper that became Nigeria's hero last night could only manage to sign for Chippa United here in South Africa?
Not even when Zambia won the very same AFCON with the crux of their squad made up of PSL based players? I mean, that should have been the biggest indication, right?
See, our domestic league is poor when you compare it to a lot of leagues in Europe, but it's still one of the best leagues in not just the African continent, but the world at large.
Bafana Bafana's struggles at previous AFCON tournaments had less to do with the quality of the players we have in our country, but more to do with politics.
It was the "small things", like using South African based players to qualify for major tournaments, and then sidelining them by calling overseas based benchwarmers to participate in those tournaments.
Allowing a Brazilian coach to TELL us who should be his replacement, and doing nothing about it even when his replacement proved to be one of the worst coaches in the history of our national team.
Dividing the camp by giving certain privileges to overseas based players and treating locally based ones like nonentities.
Allowing agents, club bosses, and scouts to forcefeed the coach with their own preferred players for selection.
Our struggles were never related to low quality products. It was maladministration and mismanagement.
We've always had players who could represent the country well, but they weren't selected. And when they were selected, they were mismanaged. And when they weren't mismanaged, they were badly coached, and etc...
It took an old, brutally honest, and stubborn, white man from Belgium to change all that nonsense, and it paid off.
We just need to build on that legacy going forward.
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