AFCON Bafana Bafana out to show they have truly turned new leaf in quarterfinals

By upsetting favourites Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations spherical of 16, Bafana Bafana gave their followers throughout South Africa purpose for optimism 28 years after their 1996 AFCON triumph that introduced the nation collectively shortly after the daybreak of democracy.

They now face Cape Verde in the quarterfinals in Yamoussoukro, with a possibility to advance to their first semifinals since 2000. Should they defeat the Blue Sharks, South Africa will face Nigeria for a spot in the ultimate.

The South African Football Association (SAFA) has been closely criticised for failing to guarantee clear improvement pathways into the senior nationwide workforce for younger gamers, with former Bafana Bafana striker Nathan Paulse among the many most outspoken voices. He continued together with his criticism even when South Africa defeated Egypt 1-0 in the final 16 of AFCON 2019, after which Bafana Bafana misplaced 2-1 to Nigeria in the quarterfinals and failed to qualify for the following version.

This time round, Paulse offers SAFA credit score for locating a coach in Hugo Broos who has been strong-minded sufficient to face up to criticism and get South Africa dreaming of a brighter future.

“I still feel that we have to be careful to view the success as a process in its entirety,” Paulse instructed ESPN.

“If you look at football, can you say that South African football has got a clear pathway? If you are a 10-year-old or 11-year-old boy right now, do your parents have a clear pathway to go from where you are right now and become a pro player, which lends itself to the current success? I don’t think so.

“If you could ask me the place this has come from… after we have been in Egypt, I do not forget that piece I wrote [saying that] it is largely due to the gamers and I stick by all that. I believe the distinction now could be that I believe we have a coach that is aware of his factor. He has a really sturdy id in how he needs the workforce to play. It’s good. He would not appear to be swayed by any exterior influences, which has been commonplace.”

Mamelodi Sundowns’ success in Africa in recent years has commonly been cited as one of the reasons Bafana Bafana have experienced an upturn in fortunes. Of the starting XI against Morocco, eight play for the Premier Soccer League (PSL) champions, while a ninth — Percy Tau — played there previously.

Sundowns won the 2016 CAF Champions League and have been regular contenders in Africa’s biggest club competition.

“If you take a look at Sundowns from an analytical standpoint, they’ve acquired high analysts, they’ve acquired excellent excellent coaches in totally different spheres,” former Sundowns assistant coach Farouk Khan told ESPN. “I believe that has taken this workforce to one other stage.

“Because playing in the continent as well as in the local league, it’s forced [Sundowns] to make sure that their team is prepared at a very, very high level of football. If they didn’t play in Africa, I don’t think they would be as prepared as they are now.”

Khan, who was beforehand an assistant coach at Kaizer Chiefs — as soon as South Africa’s dominant aspect — acknowledged, nonetheless, that lots of Sundowns’ rivals “haven’t kept up with the times”, which has been to the detriment of South African soccer as an entire.

Paulse agrees, and each additionally really feel, no matter Bafana Bafana’s success, that it’s no simpler now than at any level in the previous 28 years for younger South African gamers to discover clear pathways to the highest of the sport.

The distinction in their opinions comes relating to the impression of Sundowns’ monetary would possibly on South African soccer: Khan says Sundowns are utilizing it successfully to produce high quality gamers, which in the end serves the nationwide workforce, however Paulse is skeptical.

“Can you really go and compete against the best in the world when you are buying all the players for yourself? To compete against who,” Paulse stated.

“I think what [Sundowns] have done in the short term looks good for them. If you are a player and you play for them, you are happy; but I also know there are players at Sundowns who aren’t happy. My concern for the way they do it is that as much as it looks like it’s good for South African football on the whole, can we say the level of the PSL has improved because of them? I don’t think so.”

Khan says, nonetheless: “It would be grossly unfair to say that simply because of their financial power, the team is doing as well as it has. You take a player like Mothobi Mvala. He played at Highlands Park. He’s improved in leaps and bounds, [as well as] so many of the other players that came to them. Players that came to them from SuperSport United were good players and turned out to be excellent players.

“I believe plenty of accolades needs to be given to [Sundowns] for the way they have improved these gamers. I believe that plenty of golf equipment that signal gamers aren’t actually bettering these gamers.”

Teboho Mokoena is one of the players signed by Sundowns from SuperSport United, their local rivals, who has gone on to live up to his potential.

The midfielder, who scored the game-clinching goal in stoppage time against Morocco, putting Bafana two goals to the good and effectively out of sight, is emblematic of the promise of a golden generation that made the semifinals of the 2017 Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Zambia. That team repeated the feat two year later, in Niger, after Mokoena had moved on to the senior national team.

Bafana Bafana are now one step from reaching the same stage at senior level for the first time in 24 years, but Mokoena is the only member of the two U-20 squads currently representing South Africa in Ivory Coast.

There may be much still to fix in South African football at a structural level, but in the short term there is genuine hope that Bafana Bafana can win AFCON.

“If they play as a workforce tomorrow night, I’m assured we’re via to the semis,” Khan said.

“Yes, I believe they can [go all the way and win the tournament. In the past, the bigger teams showed their pedigree. This time around, we have seen Egypt falling to the side. We have seen Morocco falling to the side. This is a tournament of underdogs.

“This is a tournament where the team that is most hungry to win the tournament will win the tournament.

“It’s a mental game. Do we have the right mentality? Yes. We’ve had it thus far. We lost to Mali and everybody thought it’s the end of the road, but they stood up. They told themselves: ‘Listen. We’re going to do it.’ That mentality has brought us this far. I just hope that after the win against Morocco, we don’t get complacent.”