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Andrew Muchineripi : Soccer
What a difference two years makes. When South Africa hosted the 1996 African Nations Cup they had partisan support, familiar conditions, a settled team, a successful coach, and duly triumphed. While Jomo Sono, the former national star who succeeded Barker last month on a caretaker basis, speaks confidently of retaining the title in Burkina Faso, the odds are against Bafana Bafana repeating the feat.
Used to luxurious hotel rooms, superb cuisine and excellent training facilities, much could hinge on how a new-look squad reacts to the more spartan offerings of Burkina Faso.
The short reign of Sono, who makes way for Frenchman Philippe Troussier after the tournament, got off to a disappointing start with a 3-2 extra-time defeat by Namibia in the Southern Africa championship. Desperate to end a winless six-match run, South Africa appeared set for victory when they led entering injury time only to concede an equaliser direct from a free kick and lose to a “golden goal”.
Sono was surprisingly upbeat later, saying there were many positive aspects to the performance and he was convinced the Nations Cup could be retained. “There are still enough quality players in key position that are better than the best the other countries have to offer,” he told reporters.
“None of the other teams has a player of the defensive stature of Lucas Radebe. No other team has a winger that takes on defences like Helman Mkhalele and there are no other strikers like Philemon Masinga. On the African stage, I believe we are still ahead of the field and that we will win again.”
The major plus in Namibia was a sparkling performance by 20-year-old striker Benni McCarthy from Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam, who struck the woodwork twice and set up the second goal with a dazzling dribble.
Far less impressive was goalkeeper Brian Baloyi, who set a trend for South African footballers by dyeing his hair blond, but produced an error-ridden display guaranteed to give Sono grey hairs. Hopelessly inadequate when dealing with crosses, Baloyi was directly to blame for two goals and his failure to organise a defensive wall contributed to the second Namibia goal.
With former goalkeepers Andre Arendse and Mark Anderson on the scrap heap and reserve Paul Evans injured, Sono has called up John Tlale who has been warming the bench lately for Sundowns.
The coach, who owns and coaches Premier club Jomo Cosmos, has also recalled popular midfielder John “Shoes” Moshoeu, but there is no place place for defender Neil Tovey, captain of the 1996 cup-winning team.
Most Bafana Bafana supporters speak of reaching the semi-finals, but faced with rapidly-improving Angola, revitalised Ivory Coast and Namibia in Group C, the champions face difficult first-round hurdles.