By defeating favorites Morocco in the round of 16 of the African Cup of Nations, Bafana Bafana gave fans across South Africa cause for optimism 28 years after their 1996 AFCON triumph that united the country shortly after dawn of democracy.
They will now face Cape Verde in the quarter-finals in Yamoussoukro, with a chance to advance to their first semi-finals since 2000. If they defeat the Blue Sharks, South Africa will face Nigeria for a place in the final.
The South African Football Association (SAFA) has been heavily criticized for failing to ensure clear development pathways in the senior team for young players, with former Bafana Bafana striker Nathan Paulse among the most outspoken voices. He persisted with his criticism even when South Africa defeated Egypt 1-0 in the round of 16 of the 2019 AFCON, after which Bafana Bafana lost 2-1 to Nigeria in the quarter-finals and failed to qualify for the next edition.
This time around, Paulse credits SAFA for finding in Hugo Broos a coach who has been determined enough to withstand criticism and make South Africa dream of a better future.
“I still feel like we have to be careful to look at success as a whole process,” Paulse told ESPN.
“If you look at football, can you say that South African football has a clear path? If you are a 10 or 11-year-old child right now, do your parents have a clear path to go from where?” Are you right now and becoming a professional gamer, which lends itself to current success? I don't believe it.
“If you ask me where this comes from… when we were in Egypt, I remember that article I wrote [saying that] It's largely down to the players and I stand by all that. I think the difference now is that I think we have a coach who knows what he does. He has a very strong identity in how he wants the team to play. He is good. He doesn't seem to be swayed by any outside influences, which has been commonplace.”
Mamelodi Sundowns' success in Africa in recent years has been commonly cited as one of the reasons why Bafana Bafana have seen an upturn in their 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 CAF Champions League in 2016 and have been a regular contender in Africa's premier club competition.
“If you look at Sundowns from an analytical point of view, they have the best analysts, they have very good coaches in different spheres,” former Sundowns assistant coach Farouk Khan told ESPN. “I think that has taken this team to another level.
“Because playing both on the continent and in the local league, it is mandatory [Sundowns] to make sure his team is prepared at a very, very high football level. “If they hadn't played in Africa, I don't think they would be as prepared as they are now.”
Khan, who was previously an assistant coach at Kaizer Chiefs, once South Africa's dominant team, acknowledged, however, that many of Sundowns' competitors “have not kept up with the times”, which has been detriment of South Africans. football as a whole.
Paulse agrees and both also feel, regardless of Bafana Bafana's success, that it is no easier now than at any time in the last 28 years for young South African players to find clear paths to the top of the game.
The difference of opinion concerns the impact of Sundowns' financial power on South African football: Khan says Sundowns are using it effectively to produce quality players, which ultimately serves the national team, but Paulse is sceptical.
“Can you really compete against the best in the world when you buy all the players for yourself? Compete against who,” Paulse said.
“I think that [Sundowns] What they have done in the short term seems good to them. If you are a player and you play for them, you are happy; but I also know that there are players at Sundowns who are not happy. My concern with the way they do it is that as much as it seems good for South African football in general, can we say that the standard of the PSL has improved because of them? I do not think.”
Khan says, however: “It would be grossly unfair to say that simply because of their financial power, the team is doing as well as it has. Take a player like Mothobi Mvala for example. He played at Highlands Park. He has improved in jumps and boundaries. , [as well as] many of the other players who came to them. The players who came from SuperSport United were good players and they turned out to be excellent players.
“I think a lot of praise should be given to [Sundowns] because of how they have improved those players. “I think a lot of clubs that sign players are not really improving them.”
Teboho Mokoena is one of the players signed by Sundowns from local rivals SuperSport United, who has come to live up to his potential.
The midfielder, who scored the decisive stoppage-time goal against Morocco, putting Bafana two goals ahead and effectively out of sight, is emblematic of the promise of a golden generation that reached the semi-finals of the African Under -20, 2017. of the Nations in Zambia. That team repeated the feat two years later, in Niger, after Mokoena moved to the senior team.
Bafana Bafana are now one step away from reaching the same level at senior level for the first time in 24 years, but Mokoena is the only member of the two under-20 teams currently representing South Africa in the Ivory Coast.
There may still be a lot to fix in South African football on a structural level, but in the short term there is genuine hope that Bafana Bafana can win the AFCON.
“If they play as a team tomorrow afternoon, I am sure we will advance to the semi-finals,” Khan said.
“Yes, I think they can go all the way and win the tournament. fallingtothesideThisisatournamentofunderdogs[irhastaelfinalyganareltorneoEnelpasadolosequiposmásgrandesmostraronsupedigríEstavezhemosvistoaEgiptocaeraunladoHemosvistoaMarruecoscaeraunladoEsteesuntorneodelosmenosfavorecidos[goallthewayandwinthetournamentInthepastthebiggerteamsshowedtheirpedigreeThistimearoundwehaveseenEgyptfallingtothesideWehaveseenMoroccofallingtothesideThisisatournamentofunderdogs
“This is a tournament where the team that is most hungry to win will win the tournament.
“It's a mental game. Do we have the right mentality? Yes. We have until now. We lost to Mali and everyone thought it was the end of the road, but they got up. They said to themselves: 'Listen. We're going.' to do. That mentality has gotten us here. I just hope that after the victory against Morocco we don't become complacent.”
