Merryman Kunene SOCCER
After many unsuccessful attempts to get a friendly game against Bafana Bafana, Swaziland will finally test their might against their more celebrated neighbours in a Cosafa Cup quarterfinal on Sunday in Witbank.
Swaziland’s national team, popularly known as Sihlangu Semnikati (The King’s Spear) have longed to engage Bafana Bafana.
However, they might feel that the game has come at a bad time. Last year’s victories over Mozambique, their perennial conquerors, and later Zimbabwe buoyed the spirits of this tiny kingdom, prompting calls for better-quality opposition – namely, South Africa. Presently the situation in Swaziland is hardly conducive for such a task.
Sihlangu have not won a single match since their famous victory against Zimbabwe, recently lost 7-1 against Angola in a World Cup qualifier, and hosted a King’s Millennium Cup where they finished third behind Botswana and Lesotho after two draws (to Botswana and Mozambique) and a defeat against Lesotho in a four-nations tournament.
Apart from shabby preparations by the National Football Association of Swaziland (NFAS), Swazi companies have not been as enthusiastic about the tournament as they were last year when they provided incentives to the players. As a result Sihlangu have been forced to seek refuge in the reclusive Impala Arms hotel in Tshaneni, more than 100km away from Mbabane, the capital.
However, the NFAS has acquired the services of German technical adviser Rainhold Mathy, who has been assisting part-time national team coach Francis Banda.
Banda, a former Zambian international, is a long-ball proponent and strict disciplinarian who coaches a prison side called Green Mamba. Both Mathy and Banda agree that it is huge ask to beat South Africa.
Mathy says the gap between the countries is too wide (South Africa is ranked 20th while Swaziland lies at 133).
“South Africa runs a professional league, and most of their national team players play in Europe, whereas Swaziland have only two pros who play in South Africa,” said Mathy.
Mathy is not overly impressed with the quali-ty of players at his disposal, yet he thinks South Africa can be beaten by resolute defending and swift counter- attacks. That sounds typically German – but it will depend on how well the players adapt to the tactic.
Mathy believes Bafana Bafana are very good in offensive play yet their defending is not up to standard. In the recent Nike Cup, Bafana conceded 10 goals in three matches.
It must be said, however, the quality of the opposition in the United States was much better than anything South African coach Trott Moloto has encountered in Africa.
Banda, like his players, seems very excited about the prospect of playing South Africa. He thrives on adversity. Here is man a who has not been offered a contract by the NFAS, knows that whether the team wins or loses the players will get a combined pay of less than R20E000 and has had to endure criticism and abuse throughout the year. “I do not need to motivate the players or myself for this one,” he says. “Everyone knows what’s at stake here. A win for Swaziland could yield remarkable spin-offs for all of us.”
They all know that professional contracts in South Africa or overseas are potential rewards too good to ignore. Perhaps Banda knows that patriotism is a meaningless word in a country awash with apathy and self-doubt.
“It is better for us to approach the match as underdogs and I have told my players to forget last year and focus on what we could achieve this time,” says the man who has already axed Stopper Mthethwa and Tholeni Nkambule, the two wayward stars of the last Cosafa campaign.
In South Africa, Swaziland may be facing a country whose confidence has been severely damaged by series of defeats and are looking at this particular match to show why they are rated number one in Africa. Moloto has picked a squad largely dominated by locally based players – which might be an encouraging sign for Sihlangu, some of whose players are on the fringes in the South African premier league.
One player who has attracted the attention of many South African teams is Dennis Yuki Masina, the Umtata Bush Bucks striker who recently captained the Jomo Cosmos Under-20 side on their overseas tour. Masina, at 18 years old, is arguably Swaziland’s best prospect.
Bush Bucks player Siza Dlamini, and the Manzini Wanderers duo of John Shisa Mdluli and Maxwell Zikalala are the players to test Bafana Bafana’s shaky defence.
Both Zikalala and Mdluli had brief spells with Israeli sides last year and Sunday’s match will provide another opportunity for them to showcase their wares. Whether that would be enough to help Sihlangu to pull off a major upset is another matter.
Swazi squad: Goalkeepers: Sipho Dube, Nathi Dlamini; Defenders: Sifiso Mkhulisi, Bongani Masangane, Jabulani Maseko, Mlungisi Ngubane, Mgonodi Sidell; Midfielders: Bright Zondo, Bongiswa Nhlabatsi, Maxwell Zikalala, Jerry Gamedze, Mfan’zile Myeni, Dumisa Dlamini; Strikers: Dennis Masina, Siza Dlamini, John Mdluli, Menzi Sibiya, Abel Shongwe, Mfan’zile Dlamini, Sibusiso Dlamini.