Err, let us talk about Shakes Mashaba & Bafana Bafana. I can say Africa in general is blessed with talent, sporting talent; but the most of the wisest can all agree that talent alone doesnt guarantee success. In Shakes, you have a former great, who represented Pirates in his heydays, once had a good spell with Bafana, coached national development sides, has been a technical director in a few PSL clubs; and vastly experienced; he fully knows the nature, history, culture & the gradual developments the local game has undergone from the yesteryear to now. South Africans are gifted with technical ability you know, they have all the resources at their disposal; be it financial or infrastructure; but they are their own enemies; they are the ones precluding themselves from moving forward; call Mourinho he wont even last. Coaches like Baxter & Perreira were good, but something has been missing all along. Identity. Or should I say appropriate local identity. The last big game I watched when Bafana played with their true identity was in 2004, when they beat Nigeria 2-1; Nelson Mandela Challenge. So in Shakes, theyve brought a coach who truly knows a South African player; both from the physical & the psychological facets. Hes been there, hes done that. So he knows how to get the best out of them, how to motivate them, how to make them believe their talents can take them places, how to deal with their egos. Its not a secret, North African sides are delivering, Id like to believe its the hunger in them which drives them, most of them football is the gateway from impoverished lives to the better life. And they quite have mental strength, even if they make it theyre still hungry for more. Now in SA players seem to get complacent when theyre about to reach their potential. Money changes them, unlike their North African brothers. So I believe what what Shakes has done so far is incredible. Are your current Shabbas, Gaxas, Modises & Khubonis the same as the ones who were upcoming & vibrant back then? And...What did they achieve with Bafana? Zilch. So it was high time change was implemented, from scratch; take a look at the current Bafana squad, not very experienced, but theyre hungry, willing to die for the nation, and in good hands of Bra Shakes; a man whos not flattered by your name but your hunger & ability to fully show out the Msanzi style. They have an identity. This is the team to build on & concurrently expect good results from, because theyre good. No one is guaranteed a place in the line-up like before, so no one has time to rest. I just hope that the continuity aspect is covered by hiring a brilliant technical manager, maybe Baxter to oversee youth development which will endlessly overfeed Bafana Bafana with players who know their play identity by the back of their minds, players who will see the Rainbow nation witnessing the repeat of the 96 heroics; players who will meet the then 30 year old Masango at Bafana Bafana & proudly tell him they represented all national sides from the U- 15 & that they want to continue the legacy. So yes, I fully back Shakes Mashaba to bring back the glory days, and sorry I made a mistake; the last time I saw Bafana playing with their true identity was last night, all thanks to Shakes.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 19:45:04 +0000
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