The last time Bafana ventured into the land of the Pharaohs the exercise was akin to extracting a tooth without administering anaesthetic.
Excruciatingly painful.
Egypt, the land of top-rated tourist attractions such as the Sphinx, pyramids and the River Nile, does not spark happy memories for South African soccer.
At least for Bafana Bafana.
Cast your mind back to 2006 when Egypt last played host to the Africa Cup of Nations.
In the last act of fine-tuning their preparations for the tournament, a squad assembled by the late Ted Dumitru exchanged friendly fire with the Pharaohs. At a packed-to-capacity Cairo International Stadium, Bafana won the match 2-1.
Drunk in delirium, Dumitru pronounced the now infamous words: "the package is ready for delivery". His boys were ready to take on Guinea, Tunisia and Zambia in Group C. Or so he thought.
What followed was a horror show that makes Friday the 13th look like the Big Bang Theory.
Guinea made Bafana guinea pigs. Strikes by Sambegou Bangoura and Ibrahima Bangoura secured a 2-0 victory at the Haras El Hedoud Stadium.
A second loss by a similar score at the same stadium followed as Tunisia triumphed courtesy of goals by Francileudo dos Santos and Ben Achour on either side of halftime.
Bafana's misery was completed by a solitary strike by Zambian marksman Chris Katongo in the final group game in Alexandria. Rock bottom. Three defeats. Zero goals scored. Five goals conceded. Straight up, it was a briefer than a
G-string north African sojourn. Thirteen years later, Bafana are back in Egypt.
Back home, from Alexandra to Amaoti, Cofimvaba to Chesterville, Daveyton to Dukathole, the people are itching for something to celebrate.
Our sporting joy is on life support in the intensive care unit.
The Junior Springboks bolted in the semifinals of the U-20 World Cup in Argentina. Their soccer counterparts Amajita suffered early elimination in the U-20 Fifa World Cup.
Banyana Banyana's maiden appearance at the Fifa Women's World Cup ended in three defeats.
The Proteas are producing their best version of self-mutilation at the Cricket World Cup in England.
Our sporting joy is on life support in the intensive care unit
That's why, tomorrow, the attention will turn to Stuart Baxter's men to give some mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Even the most optimistic fans should curb their enthusiasm and err on the side of caution. Bafana get their Group D gig under way with Ivory Coast.
It would be interesting to see how captain Thulani Hlatshwayo and company deal with the threat posed by forwards Nicolas Pepe and Wilfried Zaha.
One of the hottest properties in Europe, Pepe ran rings around defenders in French Ligue 1 last season.
In 38 games he scored 22 goals and will be looking to replicate his club form for his country, for which he has scored four goals in 11 showings.
Percy Tau has been a roaring lion and dragged Bafana over the qualifiers as he promoted himself to the profile of the poster boy of SA football.
Lars Veldwijk got himself a glut of goals, 24 in 34 games to be exact, as he helped his club Sparta Rotterdam gain promotion to the Dutch Eredivisie.
He displayed glimpses of his scoring prowess by hitting a hat-trick when Bafana played against Bafana in a kickabout among themselves after an arranged friendly against Angola fell flat on its face.
From Cape to Cairo, they will be playing in front of a highly demanding gallery that has been more than tolerant of Baxter's failure to qualify them for a major international tournament.
Tomorrow, Bafana get a chance to exorcise the ghost of 2006. It is a chance for some cleansing.
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