The ebullience Bafana Bafana have effected in the national mood is a welcome change of mood.
Before you chastise me for glorifying a team that has not won anything, hear me out, won’t you. I believe these boys are up to something special.
We are in the second last day of March, a month that mirrors opposite memories for our senior national men’s soccer side.
It is worth shouting about Hugo Broos and his boys who have come a long way to get to this point, overcoming a rollercoaster of heartbreaking, humbling and heartwarming emotions along their journey.
The heartbreak took place in Ghana, at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium in the Gold Coast on November 14, 2021. Bafana arrived at the venue needing a point to advance to the 2022 World Cup play-off.
Brash, bold and brutally candid, Broos has earned the respect of his supporters who appreciate his honesty
A bolt of lightning
Controversy ensued when, from a minimal touch on his back by Rushine de Reuck, Ghana defender cum midfielder Daniel Amartey dropped down as though struck by a bolt of lightning.
Referee Maguette Ndiaye bought the dummy hook, line and sinker. He awarded a penalty. Andre Ayew converted. Ghana finished above South Africa on goals scored and progressed to Africa’s play-offs.
Bafana’s World Cup dream was deferred. Safa screamed blue murder. They filed a complaint which was thrown out by Fifa.
The humbling happened in the disastrous 5-0 drubbing suffered during a one-sided goal show against France at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on March 29 in 2022.
Kylian Mbappe ran riot on the night with two strikes on either side of half-time – the second from the penalty spot – while Olivier Giroud, Wissam ben Yedder and Matteo Guendouzi added a goal apiece.
The hammering left Bafana, who finished the match with 10 men following an 84th minute red card for Khuliso Mudau, hanging their heads in shame.
It was 10 months into Broos’ tenure. These experiences were crucial crucibles the Belgian used as building blocks in his project of reconstructing Bafana from the Cape Coast Sports Stadium loss to Ghana, when they needed only a draw to advance to the 2022 World Cup.
Back-to-back triumphs
The heartwarming took place this past week. Broos called for six out of six points from Bafana. They responded with back-to-back 2-0 triumphs over Lesotho in Polokwane and Benin in Abidjan.
The victories cushioned Bafana in a commanding position, perched pretty at the summit of group C log, standing five points ahead of second-placed Rwanda with four matches left to play in pursuit to seal the deal for a place at the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the US.
There is a bravado about this Bafana Broos that has been built on a cornerstone of brotherly bromance and a camaraderie that courses through the camp.
Brash, bold and brutally candid, Broos has earned the respect of his supporters who appreciate his honesty. The Silver Fox has earned the trust of his technical staff with whom he works in tandem.
In pursuit of a chance
Most importantly, he has won the hearts, minds and loyalty of his players who appear to be prepared to go to the ends of the earth for him.
He has restored respect to the Bafana brand. The precision with which Broos has mastered the pursuit to qualify for the quadrennial spectacle in north America is undermined by the inefficient misadministration of Safa suits who perform a festival of failure with flying colours.
If they are not fighting to fend off fraud charges in court or failing to timeously pay Bafana and Banyana Banyana players their bonuses, they are informing the staffers that they will receive their salaries late.
Yet not once have we heard that members of the Safa national executive have received their handsome honorariums later than they should.
Broos has been able to keep the boys focused on business despite the shenanigans of the silky suited souls. May 5 will mark four years since Broos was appointed to replace Molefi Ntseki in 2021. He has lifted us from hanging our heads in shame to puffing up our chests with pride.
We have won nothing but are hopeful that we can go two steps better than the bronze at Afcon 2025 in December.
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