Coach Clive Barker and Bafana Bafana have come through a torrid time triumphantly, but there is still much work to be done
SOCCER: Andrew Muchineripi
WHEN the Egyptian referee blew his whistle to end the South Africa-Zambia World Cup encounter, national coach Clive Barker must have longed for the solitude of his farm outside Durban.
Since April, Bafana Bafana have constantly been in the limelight with cup ties against Congo, Zaire and Zambia and high-profile friendlies against England and Holland.
The record shows that although South Africa lost three of these matches, they won the two that mattered most – the World Cup clashes with Zaire in neutral Togo and Zambia at FNB Stadium.
Barker may have seen a little gloss disappear from what remains a highly successful record in charge, but he is on the verge of leading South Africa into the promised land.
A victory or draw at home to Congo on August 16 would take Bafana Bafana to France in June 1998 as one of five African representatives. Nigeria, Tunisia and Morocco have qualified and Cameroon or Angola will fill the other slot.
Sometimes, Barker, his players and supporters must pinch themselves and wonder if it is all not just one never-ending dream. It seems like yesterday that Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Zambia and Mexico were humiliating us. Of course the heaviest home defeat came only a week ago when the Dutch dished out a football lesson on a freezing Johannesburg evening as they romped to a two-goal victory in a contest between severely weakened teams.
Not that the result could have worried Barker too much as one undisputed strength of the squad he has methodically developed is their ability to bounce back from adversity.
After consecutive losses in Australia, they became the first national team in 10 years to leave Madagascar triumphant; after losing to Egypt in the Nations Cup, they overcame Algeria to reach the semi-finals. After falling to Brazil in the unforgettable Nelson Mandela Inauguration Challenge, they defeated Malawi at home and away in the World Cup; and after the Congo debacle, they conquered Zaire to get back on track for France.
If a team mirrors its coach, then this attribute comes as no surprise. Whatever the technical shortcomings of Clive Barker (and his critics have yet to spell them out), the man born 53 years ago in Durban is a fighter and a patriot.
He may also have become over sensitive to what he considers “criticism”, but is often nothing more than comment from the print and electronic media.
Last Sunday we were told that Barker had proved his critics wrong. Wrong about what? No two football people, be they coaches, players, officials, members of the fourth estate or supporters, will pick the same 11 to represent Bafana Bafana and that is the way it should be. We are not living in North Korea.
Is the veteran soccer journalist who opined last week that Barker should have used fullbacks rather than midfielders in wingback roles a traitor? Rather that honesty than the ill-informed, sycophantic ramblings of certain media members.
You can understand the occasional annoyance of the coach because when he recently asked one Sunday newspaper reporter what system he used in the Congo, there was no reply, only a deafening silence. Talking of criticism, it would be constructive to note that while Bafana Bafana untimately overwhelmed Zambia, there are weaknesses needing attention in many areas of the team.
The quality of crosses is not exactly world class (Sizwe Motaung please note); too many Eric Tinkler passes go to the opposition; and too much “clever” football is being attempted in defensive areas.
While Helman Mkhalele was rightfully taking much of the praise last Sunday, it was the old warhorse, Neil Tovey, who provided some of the most telling contributions, especially the first-half tackle that foiled Kalusha Bwalya.
African qualifiers are fortunate to have almost one year to prepare for the finals and presuming Bafana Bafana take at least one point off Congo, Barker and his staff will have time to reflect and react. Teams that qualify for the finals often bear little resemblance to those that play in the finals and it certainly is not inconceivable that players on the fringe of Bafana Bafana selection will force their way in by June 1998.
What qualification will do is heighten awareness of the game throughout the country and the days when Shoes or Doctor could walk unnoticed through most northern suburbs shopping malls will surely end forever.
ENDS