SUFFER WITH SAFA: How an untested 35-year-old got to take charge of South Africa's latest competitive disaster

Left in charge of the nation: Thabo Senong, 35

THE pertinent question after another disastrous weekend for the South African Football Association is this: why did our current national coach not take charge of Bafana Bafana’s humiliating 2-0 defeat against Angola at the Rand Stadium on Saturday?

When Danny Jordaan told me a year ago that Ephraim Mashaba’s main task was to lower the age of the South Africa squad, I never suspected he meant giving Thabo Senong - a 35-year-old coach with a trophy-free CV - full control of the national team.

But that’s the remarkable trick Shaky pulled on Saturday. Apparently Senong, the youngest ever to qualify for Safa's Level 3 Pro Licence in 2011 at 31, picked the CHAN squad (a gathering of unpicked PSL pros, several of them over 30), coached them all week and presided over an embarrassing first leg defeat.

The “Encyclopedia of Youth” even proudly gave the post-match talk, while Shaky hovered in the background, telling us: “I’m sure we can score twice in Luanda, maybe even three.”

In any other nation, the handing of the national squad to a man who has never coached a club would be a major story. There are great managers in the PSL - Gavin Hunt, Steve Komphela, Roger de Sa - who have NEVER been in the Bafana hot-seat.

But for SAFA, it was a mere detail. Another competitive failure after Algeria, Senegal, Ghana, Botswana, Malawi, Gambia and Mauritania hardly ranks on a Richter scale of quakes last week which included:

1 Bafana departing for their Central America tour TWICE. They went to OR Tambo without transit visas for the US and were forced to return to the airport the next morning and fly via Brazil.

2 The team played Costa Rica and Honduras without a recognised striker when non-playing Premier League striker Tokelo Rantie pulled out injured and the Orlando Pirates trio failed to join the squad on a later flight.

3 On their return, Mashaba and five of the technical staff took the early flights home, leaving the home-based players to arrive on Saturday, forcing the postponement of all but one of the weekend’s PSL fixtures.

4 Rantie, who hasn’t even featured on the bench for Bournemouth since their promotion, then went on twitter telling South Africans “you don’t understand football” when Marco Reus wasn’t booed while playing for Germany.

5 Amidst all this, former SAFA employee Ace Kika was handed a SIX YEAR ban for FIFA for his part in the 2010 match-fixing scandal. Their response: “He doesn’t work for the Association any more.”

Rather than conduct a post mortem to ensure such problems never happen again, SAFA just carried on as if nothing had happened. Mashaba issued a few quotes saying how wonderful the Central American tour had been. Bafana tweeted nice pictures and retweeted a few Springboks tweets about the Rugby World Cup.

At no stage did SAFA or Bafana Bafana explain why they had disrupted the entire weekend’s football. A brief apology appeared at 4.30pm on Thursday but by then I’d used other sources - including frustrated Bafana stars left behind by Mashaba in Honduras - to point out that SAFA are actually in breach of FIFA rules by bringing their players home more than 48 hours after an international fixtures.

There were similar shenanigans after AFCON 2015 of course. Humiliation on the field was followed by a FIVE DAY disappearance. The foreign-based players were home and in training by the time the PSL stars got back from Equatorial Guinea.

Sadly, nothing will be done. No questions will be answered truthfully. Did the new Technical Director Neil Tovey play ANY part in all this? Who gave Mashaba permission to put Senong in charge? Why did CONCACAF nations pay all the costs of those abortive flights?

We were just left with Danny Jordaan, the Mayor of Port Elizabeth and President of SAFA, telling us “the real Bafana” will turn things around in those two looming World Cup qualifiers against Angola next month.

While Mr Mashaba charged off, without a word, to an awards ceremony where he had been nominated for South African of the Year.

Close your eyes. Hum the national anthem. Try to find Siyaya TV. Hope nobody else gets banned. Try to track down the Africa Diaspora fund. Pray for three goals in Luanda. Pray the AmaJimbos did okay against Costa Rica at the Under 17 World Cup in Chile last night. Pray for Shaky against Angola in the World Cup qualifiers. And for further miracles against Cameroon in AFCON 2017 qualifying.

But for God’s sake SAFA, don’t tell the people what is really going on. It would be too much.

Signs of improvement for Bafana: but Shaky needs to be less friendly

THE LOCAL VIEW: Mashaba arrives in Honduras
Picture: @bafanabafana

SUDDENLY, South Africa's football team is a "well-oiled machine" according to Bafana Bafana boss Shakes Mashaba. A nation "which should be among the top sides in Africa" according to Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas.


My take? ALWAYS APPLAUD SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT. That was my reaction to those who wrote off Bafana Bafana’s win in Costa Rica in the wee hours of Friday morning as “just another friendly”.

And that will be my reaction if national coach Ephraim Mashaba manages to rouse South Africa to a similar triumph in central America against Honduras as Tuesday becomes Wednesday at San Pedro Sula.

Yes, coach Shakes does love a friendly to hide his shortcomings in competitive games. But then we all know that. We also know he likes to pick players based on agent’s recommendations rather than the evidence of his own eyes.

We also know he got his own son to ask questions at his last major press conference in this country as we recovered from the shock of that 1-3 AFCON 2017 qualifying defeat in Mauritania. 

We know he makes dodgy substitutions when the pressure is on, I’m told his team talks are a joke and the man himself freely accepts he’s no tactical genius, “more of a motivator” in his words.

But the win against Costa Rica, a tiny nation of less than five million people, WAS significant. Though they had barely won a game since their epic progress to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Brazil last year, this was on their patch, in front of 25,000 enthusiastic fans.

Remember, Bafana didn’t have a real striker in their squad. It took them two visits to the airport to actually get the impromptu two-nation CONCACAF tour underway because their US transit visas were not in order.

And then there was that abortive attempt to fly three weary Orlando Pirates - Mpho Makola,  Thamsanqa Gabuza and Thabo Matlaba - to Costa Rica via Brazil as late reinforcements.

To be frank the whole trip looked like a waste of time and effort (though not funds, apparently the CONCACAF nations are paying for the whole thing) until Andile Jali’s first half goal gave us hope of an away win against a nation ranked 42nd in the world despite their recent slump in form (they reached a high of 13th after the World Cup).

And so to Honduras. As far as I know, no reinforcements have been shipped out. Tyson Hlatshwayo has flown home after the death of his uncle. Apparently Shaky is happy to continue his crusade without a striker after the withdrawal of non-playing Bournemouth “star” Tokelo Rantie with a muscle strain (that’s another story).

We will play Honduras, a nation of just 8m, ranked 89 in the world (South Africa are currently 73) with George Lebese, Thulani Serero and Sibusiso Vilakazi pushing forward from midfield, perhaps even Kamohelo Mokotjo will join in the fun.

Another win is quite possible. Honduras reached the last World Cup but while Costa Rica won their group unbeaten and sent England and Italy home, Honduras ended bottom of their group with no points and a goal difference of -7.

If Bafana do win, expect Shaky to tell us once more how we can compete with “world-class opposition” and how we can “beat anybody on our day” and who can argue?

But then the Bafana boss must return to competitive football. On Saturday at the Rand Stadium, his home-based CHAN squad - a team of likely PSL substitutes rather than brave youngsters - begin their two-legged epic against Angola.

Then we have the two REAL games against the same nation in World Cup qualification. And, in the coming months. the prospect of home and away clashes with Cameroon where two wins are imperative to revive minuscule AFCON 2017 qualification hopes.

Those are the vital games. Friendly results against Costa Rica and Honduras will count for nothing if Shaky goes out of the World Cup and AFCON.

But if he returns from the Americas with two neat away wins in front of hostile crowds, we have to accept THERE ARE SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT.

Shakier and shakier: Bafana boss Mashaba's "second job" unsanctioned by SAFA and the nation is left reeling once more

Utter banker: Mashaba in his Nedbank KeYona gear

SHAKES MASHABA's appearance as coach for Sunday's KeYona defeat against Mamelodi Sundowns was NOT sanctioned by the South African Football Association.

SAFA's head of communications Dominic Chimhavi, when asked about the national coach's decision to coach the amateurs less than 24 hours after the Nouakchott humiliation, said: "The Nedbank Keyona match is something we must definitely look at . It is NOT a SAFA-sanctioned event."

Incredibly, Mashaba took charge of Nedbank XI in their 2-0 defeat against Downs without SAFA's permission and insisted: "It was a day off for Bafana." He appeared entirely unfazed by his unsanctioned "second job" where his select side have yet to score a goal against the annual Nedbank Cup winners.

Further credibility was lost when Mashaba came out wearing his Bafana mantle and insisting: "We still have a 50-50 chance of qualifying for AFCON 2017" after seeing his side manage just one point against Group M minnows Gambia (0-0 at home) and Mauritania.

It appears Mashaba is NOT AWARE that only the group leaders qualify by right for AFCON next year in Gabon. Only the best runner-up from the 13 groups will join them. If it wasn't so   serious, it would be laughable.

Bafana go in to their next two qualifiers against perfect group leaders Cameroon - who have NEVER lost a home qualifier in 30 years of African Nations Cup action - hoping to make up a FIVE-POINT deficit after the Indomitable Lions won 1-0 in Gambia on Sunday.

With Senegal to come tomorrow night in the Nelson Mandela Challenge at the Orlando Stadium, Mashaba insists: "We need to bounce back by scoring goals and winning, nothing else. I think winning the game tomorrow will change the mood. I was also happy that the mood was vibrant this morning playing on a field divided into three and combinations were there.”

Those are typical words from Mashaba, who has always insisted: "I'm doing a good job" in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The truth is, a friendly win over an under-strength Senegal means NOTHING. 

Before South Africa’s disastrous 3-1 defeat in Mauritania on Saturday, he told us "We will win this one" and the nation was left reeling once more by perhaps the most inept, passionless performance yet from our national team.

On their own, I wouldn’t attack our BafanaBafana coach for his ridiculous outbursts of optimism. But taken in conjunction with his outpourings before AFCON, the home-based COSAFA Cup and his promise that his ailing side would top the FIFA  rankings and win the World Cup, it has to stop.

Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba was looking for his 23rd win in charge of Bafana in Nouakchott, which would have pushed him beyond AFCON-winner Clive Barker at the top of the all-time rankings.

But from the moment we kicked-off in a nation infamous for being the world’s leading owner of slaves, the world’s 72nd best nation were struggling against a side ranked 114.

Best not even discuss captain Itumeleng Khune’s blunder for the early goal, a harmless long-distance free-kick which slipped through his hands.

And it’s no good lamenting the red card given to Platinum Stars debutant Siyabonga Zulu, the left-back cut down his opponent when through on goal. He had to go.

But in truth neither of those match-changing incidents are the fault of our controversial head coach, who was leaping about for Nedbank in the KeYona Cup match without a care in the world on Sunday.

Mashaba’s problems are many and varied, with one point in Group M after two games against the “minnows” just one of his major worries.

When he took the job, the man SAFA president Danny Jordaan described as “the cheapest option” sent South Africa roaring to AFCON qualification with some panache, though it might be argued ousted Nigeria were hardly at their strongest.

But since then, with one point earned in Equatorial Guinea with three goalkeepers and those COSAFA Cup penalty shoot-out defeats against Botswana and Malawi, things have dropped off alarmingly.

If you include the final AFCON 2014 qualifier against Nigeria, a 2-2 draw, Mashaba’s  Bafana have not won a competitive match for eight games, unless you count the CHAN qualifiers against not-so-mighty Mauritius.

And Mashaba has veered away from Jordan’s “Vision2022” concept, so carefully articulated, and gone for older, allegedly wiser heads as his team crumbles.

The one youngster he has stuck with, Ajax Cape Town centre-back Rivaldo Coetzee, was ruthless exposed by Mauritania’s 2nd and 3rd goals; two excellent finishes which involved more than a touch of poor defending in front of Khune.

We could talk about Mashaba’s selection process - all too often he goes for players who are not even playing for their clubs, mostly the clients of two major South African agents - and we could debate his rotation of both goalkeepers and captains.

We could talk about his strange substitutions - on Saturday he put on a second left back instead of a midfielder in the 52nd minute and pulled off Dean Furman instead of the ineffective Andile Jalie in the 62nd.

But ultimately the problem for Mashaba is this: South Africa after their initial success under his latest spell no longer look inspired. They were insipid from the kick-off in Nouakchott, they lacked urgency and played like a bunch of strangers who had never met.

In short, it looks like Mashaba has, to use a cliche, “lost the dressing-room”. His team-talks are nonsensical (I cannot reveal the two sources for this suggestion), his tactical nous non-existent and his ability to switch to Plan B has yet to be witnessed.

With Kaizer Chiefs former coach Stuart Baxter currently on the market after a chaotic two-match spell in Turkey, Mashaba should be looking over his shoulder. And with only one team assured of progress from Group M, things are already looking bleak.

But here’s the problem. SAFA net president Jordaan is embroiled in political affairs as the mayor of troubled Port Elizabeth. Neil Tovey has been appointed Technical Director but it’s clear Mashaba wants him nowhere near his team.

And the man who has never won a trophy or coached a club side has no mandate. Nothing was said as he tore up the Vision2022 blueprint, nothing was said when he banned May Mahlangu and appeared to punish Kermit Erasmus for a tweet while ignoring Tokelo Rantie’s no-show for the awful home draw against Gambia.

Nobody appears to be able to tell Mashaba what to do. His scouting before Mauritania consisted of “trying to search for information” and “they lost a tight game against Cameroon”. Though they played on an artificial surface, Bafana  trained on turf before the game.

After half-time, the players emerged waving their hands about, pointing, gesticulating as they tried to interpret Mashaba’s half-time team-talk.

There was no pattern to Bafana’s play, precious little in the way of goal attempts other than Thamsanqa Gabuza’s brave header for South Africa’s goal.

Since he picked his controversial AFCON squad at the start of the year, Mashaba has done little right. Friendlies apart, he has failed repeatedly to produce results as South Africa slide down the FIFA rankings.

But with a friendly against an under-strength, last-minute Senegal at Orlando tonight, Mashaba knows there is no threat to his reign. A win in the Mandela Challenge will have his yes-men whooping once more.

And nothing will be done to restore this nation’s tattered football reputation.