South African national team coach Ephraim ”Shakes” Mashaba leads his side to Burundi knowing that a single point will be enough to secure a berth in the African Cup of Nations finals in Tunisia next year.
Yet for Mashaba, the significance of this match goes far beyond that. In May, the coach was at odds with the South African Football Association (Safa) over a 2010 World Cup Bid match against England which he badly wanted to use as part of his preparations.
”It is inappropriate to say I have a point to prove,” said Mashaba. ”I would rather concentrate on the job at hand and deliver on my promises.”
He is always keen to remind everyone that he promised to take Bafana Bafana to the finals and eventually win Tunisia 2004.
This quest has not been without pitfalls. At times Mashaba looked certain to banish some the foreign-based players from his team. Yet ultimately his mission has been largely aided by some of these stars.
”I do not have personal grudges against individuals or any of the overseas-based players,” he said.
Harmony is one of the key elements in Mashaba’s strategy. It is not uncommon for him to begin training sessions with a prayer and thus it would be out of tune for him to dwell on issues like players who miss training, the level of support from Safa and the latest outburst from Jomo Sono regarding selection.
Most of Mashaba’s team to face Burundi will come from the squad which did the business against Côte d’Ivoire two weeks ago.
By all the expectations the battle in Bujumbura, capital of Burundi, will be relatively easy. The Sparrows have lost all their group matches and managed only one goal, at home against Côte d’Ivoire, in the entire campaign.
And there is very little comparison between the two countries. Burundi are placed a distant 138 in the Fifa rankings while South Africa are a modest 33. Possibly the only connection is that both countries have slipped in rankings since they last met in Bloemfontein, where South Africa emerged with 2-0 win. Mashaba will be disappointed that under his reign Bafana are sliding.
There are more immediate issues for the coach to worry about, though. For instance, his team is battling to find rhythm in the middle and goals have been very hard to come by.
So far, Bafana Bafana have averaged a single goal per match in these qualifiers and will be looking to their strikers to deliver.
In Steven Pienaar, Mashaba has found a player blessed with creative instincts and grit to trouble the Sparrows. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Pienaar’s midfield partners.
Aime Kitenge who plays for Dynamos in the South African premier league, is likely to retain his position in goal for Burundi. The home crowd expects more from overseas-based players like Saidi Shabani, the scorer of Burundi’s lone goal in the qualifiers, and Felicien Mbanza who plays league football in Belgium. Mbanza failed to live up to top billing status in Bloemfontein and indeed throughout the
Nations Cup campaign.
For Bafana Bafana, Mashaba will expect his defence to cope with the threat from Shabani and Mbanza. His team has conceded one goal throughout the qualifiers, with captain Mbulelo Mabizela and Andre Arendse in goal, outstanding.
If the goals are hard to come by, Mashaba can still make his point through
resolute defending.