Over the years I have heard some of the most amusing excuses coming from one or two Bafana Bafana coaches who were on the ropes, but the best to date has to be the one that is probably an international phenomenon at this point: “We don’t have enough time with the players.”
I think the public and us journalists take this at face value sometimes. Sure, often the coaches are looking for a way out and trying to put out fires after a run of bad results. But when I board a flight to a major tournament on this continent or receive my itinerary ahead of a World Cup qualifier, I honestly can’t help but wonder whether national team coaches deserve a bit of leeway.
When you read this, I will probably be in Abidjan, Ivory Coast taking another flight to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, where Bafana will face The Stallions in their opening 2018 World Cup qualifier on Saturday. It will be my third one in an attempt to reach my destination for the weekend’s match having departed from OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday afternoon headed to Accra, Ghana.
I’ve got some mileage in me from several years of following the national team around as well as the rare opportunity to watch Orlando Pirates during their hunt for a second gold star in the 2013 CAF Champions League. At some point, on my way back from to Tunisia, where the Buccaneers had drawn 1-1 with Esperance to take them to the final of the premier club competition, I was stuck at the Dubai Airport for 10 hours waiting for my connecting flight home. The Pirates players and coaching staff didn’t have that long a delay because they could afford an earlier flight, but they, too, had to while away their time for a few good hours at that monstrous airport that looked like a city all on its own.
Two years later I was off to the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Equatorial Guinea, but had to take a detour to Gabon. Bafana had set-up there to acclimatise and to play a friendly preparation match against Cameroon in the scorching heat. The trip to Gabon and to Mongomo, where they would be based in Group C of the tournament proper, was actually quite pleasant. But returning home was a nightmare of note - I was in three different countries before I could finally see my family again and get a good night’s rest.
Once in a while the SA Football Association gets to splash a bit of money from their coffers to arrange chartered flights for the national teams, but usually commercial flights are the order of the day. This week being a case in point, where Bafana, while the travelling time isn’t all that ridiculous, have to fly to Ghana, then to Abidjan where they will spend the night and wake up the next morning to cross over to Ouagadougou and begin training for their encounter with Burkina Faso. Is coach Shakes Mashaba expected to bring home the three points? Of course, it almost goes without saying. No buts. No excuses. I don’t want to give the incumbent national team mentor and those who will follow in the hot seat in years to come with any ideas. Just making a point that Africa is not for sissies.
@superjourno
@extrastrongsa
The Star