AFCON 2019 PREVIEW WITH EX BAFANA BAFANA STARS

21 June 2019, by: Leonard Solms

AFCON 2019 PREVIEW WITH EX BAFANA BAFANA STARS

Bafana Bafana’s Afcon 2019 campaign kicks off against Ivory Coast on 24 June. Thereafter they face Namibia and Morocco in further Group D fixtures.

South Africa are still chasing a repeat of their 1996 title glory, which was their first tournament after readmission.

So, where have Bafana gone wrong in the last 23 years and how far can they progress this time? Writer Leonard Solms spoke to former national team striker Pollen Ndlanya in an exclusive interview, whilst he also chatted to ex-South Africa goalkeeper Rowen Fernández.

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Ndlanya played in the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) where the heavily unfancied Bafana reach a second successive final. A commendable achievement despite their 2-0 loss to Egypt. The former Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates frontman is reluctant at first to offer answers on where South Africa have misstepped since. However, he wastes no time sharing an opinion on what they got right in the past.

“It’s all about individual talent and being passionate about what you’re doing, you know? Because those days, we didn’t have money. We were just playing for the love of it.”

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Although Ndlanya does not have all the reasons for South Africa’s recent struggles. He feels there is a clear gap in terms of enthusiasm between the Bafana Bafana teams he played in and the current batch.

“You can see from the body language of the players; you can see a player that wants to play and a player that doesn’t. We had a lot of players — the likes of Fani Madida, the likes of Lucas Radebe — brilliant players with passion. I think it’s gone a little bit, that passion.”

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So if Bafana Bafana have lost the plot since then, what can be done on a systemic level to bring the spring back into their stride?

“I guess the current players — they lack that momentum. They need a little bit of an injection in terms of knowledge. You need to involve all the legends who played this game.”

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Ndlanya admits that the South African Football Association (SAFA) has taken steps in the right direction by bringing in legends such as Neil Tovey (technical director) and Mark Fish (Bafana Bafana opposition scout and player liaison). However, he feels more attention needs to be paid to the attacking department.

“SAFA must be involved and utilise the legends in terms of scouting, so that they can go all over this country and scout the good players. I used to score goals myself. There are a lot of other players you can mention who have that skill and who understand — the likes of Jerry Sikhosana and Brendan Augustine.”

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With Ndlanya having given his perspective on Bafana Bafana’s past successes and failures, as well as how the team should build for the future, what does he think their Afcon prospects?

“We can go to the semi-finals — why not? We’ve got good players. Percy Tau is the one and we’ve got Bongani Zungu in the middle of the park. We’ve got players that can make sure we win these games convincingly.”

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There are dangerous teams such as Senegal, Egypt, Tunisia and Ghana who will have their eyes on the prize. So who does Ndlanya think the biggest obstacle to success will be?

“The favourites are the hosts, Egypt, but you can’t undermine any of the teams that qualified. They worked hard. We just need to focus on our game and take each one at a time.”

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Meanwhile, former Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Rowen Fernández, who was in Bafana Bafana’s 2008 Africa Cup of Nations squad which exited in the group stage, points out that South Africa can’t take positive results against the other teams in Group D for granted.

“Well we can’t do much worse than last time, can we? It’s a tough group. Let’s get past the group stage and then we can see what happens,” said Fernández, who was Orlando Pirates’ goalkeeper coach from 2015-2017.

“Obviously the first game is crucial, you’ve got to win your first game. It will set you up nicely. I’m just happy we qualified again. It’s been a long time. I wish Stuart Baxter and the boys all the best.”

South Africa can be backed to win the Africa Cup of Nations at 45.00 and are paying 7.00 to finish in the top three. Bafana can be backed to top Group D ahead of Morocco, Ivory Coast and Namibia at 3.95.

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Leonard Solms

Leonard Solms is a sports journalist who features regularly on various local and international platforms including ESPN, New Frame, FARPost, Tagged Online and Careers Magazine, as well as this one. He enjoys the occasional bet and the most important tip he can give you is to bet within your means.