Farouk Khan reveals the reasons he believes Bafana have done so well in the four months under Shakes Mashaba.
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Bafana Bafana’s first qualification for the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals since 2008 was as surprising as it was stunning.
Coming as it did without a single loss in six matches by a squad teeming with a bunch of unknowns, the success has served to confirm Shakes Mashaba’s status as a miracle worker of sorts.
Termed by some as ‘a cheap option’ for the Safa, who were initially chasing after big name, international coaches – Mashaba has not only booked Bafana a place at the continent’s top event but did so in style.
That his more revered predecessors had failed on two occasions, in 2010 and 2012, helped Mashaba serve large helpings of humble pie to his detractors.
This after all, is a coach who had previously earned the country a ticket to the self-same continental competition back in 2004, only to be kicked out before the tournament.
It is the same coach under whom the national Under-20 side became the first national team to qualify for a World Championship (in 1997) and the Under-23 side played at the Olympics back in 2000.
Before he took over the senior side, Mashaba had just seen to the under 20s qualifying for the continental tournament to be played next year.
So, while there were those who felt Safa made a financial decision in their choice of replacement for Gordon Igesund, the discerning soccer fan would have known there was a very good chance Mashaba would deliver.
Yet few, if any, would have foreseen him turning things around as spectacularly as he has.
Not when Bafana had become the laughing stock of the continent, the joke being that the only time our national team got to participate in competitions was as hosts.
Enter Mashaba and all that has changed, with Bafana likely to arrive in Equatorial Guinea as one of the dark horses. But how did he do it?
How did Mashaba turn a Bafana squad that sports minister Fikile Mbalula only last year called ‘a bunch of losers’ following their implosion in the African Championships (CHAN)?
Farouk Khan, a former member of the Safa technical team, has watched all of Bafana’s six qualifying matches and here the renowned TV analyst gives what he believes it are the three factors that Mashaba got right.
TACTICS
Too often most of us as coaches, we bombard players with tactics and the South African player tends to be overwhelmed by too much information. What Shakes got right was simplify the game for Bafana.
He was not too focused on the tactics but rather went back to the good old football basics of attacking and defending well as a unit. This approach allowed players freedom to play and that always gives them self-belief. He played players to their strength and you saw that mostly in how Tokelo Rantie was allowed to run at the opposition.
Player selection
Shakes brought in hungry players who had the determination to succeed unlike sticking with the prestigious ones who had let the country down previously.
You simply have to look at his decision to bring in young Rivaldo Coetzee to see that this was a man who chose his squad based on merit and not reputation. His selections were also based on players he could work with, players he knew from previous national teams such as Sibusiso Khumalo and Bongani Ndulula whom he coached at Under-20 level.
His willingness to give fringe players, like Kermit Erasmus, a chance was also good and he also filled his squad with players who have a fantastic work ethic, grafters such as Andile Jali, Dean Furman and Erick Mathoho, who were best suited for the tough terrain that is the Afcon qualifiers. Overall, Shakes got a fantastic balance in his squad both offensively and defensively.
Motivation
Shakes’ ability to get the best out of his team has a lot to do with his motivational skills.
He has this uncanny ability to bring a team together and he created harmony in the squad. Even from a distance you could see that the boys are proud to be part of the squad, you saw it when they sang the national anthem. Mentally, you could see that all was well with the squad. Most impressive in this regard was how he stuck with the players he had chosen.
When people complained that Ndulula and Rantie were wasting chances, he stuck with them and this really worked on their psyche and they wanted to play for him to thank him for the faith he showed in them.
Khan believes the approach Mashaba has taken was the best given the circumstances Bafana were in.
“After all the previous failures, the best thing Bafana needed was a ‘lift me up’ and Shakes delivered it. In the long term maybe people might worry that the squad will need more than motivation and the freedom to play as they believe. But let’s wait and see how he handles that.
“What I don’t agree with though is the notion that we’re building. We can’t be building at this level and while it is true we’re not the finished product yet, there’s some confidence to be gained from this feat. With so many players in the squad products of a development programme of sorts, it is very clear that the best way forward for our game is start identifying players at an early age and giving them the opportunities immediately, instead of waiting for much later”. - The Star
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