The hype and glory of the African Nations Cup created new enthusiasm for soccer in South Africa. Now it has to be harnessed for the good of the local game
SOCCER: Mark Gleeson
IT is amazing how quickly the poor crowd attendance, erratic shooting and errant referees were forgotten in the euphoria of South Africas African Nations Cup victory last Saturday.
And so it should be. South Africas players were brilliant in their victory and created a week of hype and hysteria nation-wide that has had few equals in the past.
It was, in all honesty, a polished footballing performance from a team whose discipline, organisation and commitment are oftentimes hidden under all the ballyhoo about flair, skills and trickery.
South Africa won, not only because of home advantage, altitude and all the other plus factors of being domiciled in familiar surrounds, but because they were the better team.
The semi-final victory over Ghana showed all the hallmarks of a team who had come of age on the internatinal stage.
It was a win that came in spite of great pressure and gives great hope to South Africas chances of a place in the Word Cup finals in France in two years.
What fine finishing was shown that night with superbly taken goals by Shaun Bartlett and John Moshoeu. What maturity was displayed in the final 15 minutes when Ghana launched a late counter- offensive that was so swiftly smothered. What about the way they kept possession and frustrated the much-vaunted Ghanaian midfield?
It was the tournaments deciding match, even if South Africa still had to win once more to take the title, and an absorbing affair at that.
The final against Tunisia was always going to be a lot less attractive on the pitch, although the sense of occasion certainly made up for it. A cagey, far-from-ambitious team, Tunisias style of play deserves to be banished from the world of soccer.
They make little, if no, attempt to force the opposition into mistakes, waiting instead to capitalise on unforced errors. It is a negative approach that attempts to hide a lack of playing talent and confidence in the teams ability.
South Africa might have looked a little shaky in the early stages of Saturdays final, but in the final 10 minutes of the first half all the signs of the impending victory were there.
Moshoeu created at least three chances with balls in from the flank, the best one falling to Doctor Khumalo after Bartlett had headed against the crossbar.
In the second half the goals came, both from Mark Williams who had shown admirable stoicism after having broken down in tears earlier in the day when Clive Barker left him out of the starting line-up. There were tears again for him at the end, but this time of joy, as there were for a whole nation revelling in the joys of a second successive sporting triumph.
What is forgotten among all the euphoria now is how much pressure there was on the soccer fraternity to do well after the Rugby World Cup last June.
Soccer is always compared to its white-market counterparts cricket and rugby and its foibles and follies always contrasted with the apparent efficiency that the establishment sporting codes enjoy.
Soccers administration is admittedly in dire need of a good tune-up, and there are too many side and hidden agendas standing in the way of its being a well-oiled machine, but it has had an unfair deal, always being told to copy what the others do.
Had the Nations Cup not been won, then the administration would have been castigated from here to Mogadishu and back.
But most importantly, the Nations Cup served up a great sociological revolution with whites heading back to the stands for the first time in decades. Most commentators said it was because they were finally shedding their fears, but I think it was more because finally South African soccer was beginning to deliver a properly marketable product.
Face it, league soccer and the majority of past national team performances have been mediocre at best. This event was something special … and people, whatever their colour, pay good money to watch that. Now maybe they might be interested in league games too, but the newcomers will quickly discover that the standard there is nowhere near the drama and excitement of the Nations Cup.
For South African soccer to really capitalise on what the Nations Cup has done for the domestic game, it is now time to bring in the much-planned and long-discussed premier league, throw out the old incompetent dinosaurs who retard the game, and get the hype flowing.
Winning the Nations Cup was easy this is the real challenge.