UTTERLY BAFANAS: Mashaba suspended, Rubber Doll in charge... but it won't end there for South African football

SUSPENDED: Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba

Bafana Bafana Head Coach Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba will not join the team on their trip to Mozambique as the Association has deemed it necessary to employ disciplinary measures after a regrettable incident at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday, 12 November 2016.

Assistant Coach Owen da Gama will take charge of the team in the above-mentioned international friendly match against Mozambique on Tuesday, 15 November 2016 in Maputo.

As is our custom in matters such as these, the Association will not be making any further comments on this matter out of respect for the dignity of the Head Coach and the Association and the legally privileged nature of such proceedings.

This short statement from SAFA on Sunday, less than 24 hours after South Africa’s head coach Ephraim Mashaba had engineered a morale-boosting 2-1 win over mighty Senegal, came as a bit of a shock to football fans - and his Bafana Bafana team, who left for Mozambique for Tuesday night’s friendly in Maputo.

But in truth, the tide had been rising against Shaky ever since his abject failure to qualify for AFCON 2017. The battle raging within the walls of SAFA House over Mashaba’s future will not end soon.

Flash back to early September: After the 1-1 draw against Mauritania, a result which left South Africa in third place behind Group M qualifiers Cameroon, Danny Jordaan famously said: “This cannot be the beginning, this must be the end” and we waited, endlessly, for the failed Mayor of Port Elizabeth to swing his rusty axe.

Then came the BBC Africa interview with Nigerian-based Osasu Obayiuwana which included the immortal line from Jordaan: “Mashaba has to go, the uproar is too much.” SAFA head of communications rushed to Mashaba's defence, insisting nothing of the sort had been said. He was wrong.

Somehow, Mashaba survived to lead Bafana to their opening World Cup Group D qualifier in Burkina Faso. A farcical game, featuring a penalty-that-never-was against South Africa, ended in a 1-1 draw.

For months, I had been told SAFA’s warring factions had agreed a compromise solution: If Mashaba could get four points from his opening two games on the Road to Russia 2018, he would survive. Otherwise: OUT.

Then came Saturday’s farce. After 40mins under the cosh, Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey awarded another penalty-that-never was when Eleazar Rodger’s dive-header quite clearly hit Senegal defender Idrissa Gueye on the thigh.

Captain Tyson Hlatshwayo stuck the spot kick away and Thulani Serero added a second goal before the interval to give South Africa a deeply undeserved 2-0 lead. Senegal fought back to 2-1 but somehow Bafana survived to the final whistle to claim all three points.

Mashaba’s response was predictable… but understandable. He raved about the “football intelligence” of his players and ended by telling the SABC (he refused to speak to SuperSport): "Let me say to you, I've got to celebrate this win. It’s my second lease of life in football. I was already buried. The media had bought a casket for me. We weren't given a chance.”

That might have been enough to get Mashaba through the next 10 months - Bafana’s next World Cup qualifier isn’t until August 28 next year against Cape Verde - but Mashaba was simply unable to contain his glee.

With SAFA officials - and Mamelodi Sundowns billionaire chairman Patrice Motsepe - trying to offer their congratulations, months of fear and anxiety surfaced. Mashaba felt the need to ram his dubious victory down the throats of all present, including Jordaan and his CEO Denis Mumble.

Ever since Jordaan’s defeat in the mayoral race in Nelson Mandela Bay, Jordaan has been angling to get rid of Mashaba, if only to re-stamp his authority on the national football association. Shakes complained - vehemently and publicly - about Jordaan's "lack of support". He embarrassed his bosses. Though many would feel there was justification.

This was his excuse. Then came the press statement. And Bafana left for Maputo without their mentor, Rubber Doll Owen da Gama found himself thrust to the front of the queue.

Suspension for wagging a finger. Cut short in his prime for daring to have the last word. Mashaba will not go quietly. He earns millions as National Head Coach and many other avenues of income have opened up since he took over from Gordon Igesund.

HAPPIER TIMES: Mashaba and Jordaan, 2014

SAFA said yesterday: “Coach Mashaba has asked that we convey to the NEC, and the president of the Association, in particular, his sincerest apologies if he has offended anyone and he unreservedly asked for forgiveness for Saturday’s actions.”

That won't be enough. The longer-suffering SAFA media men (all Mashaba disciples) cannot end this dispute so easily. Expect another abject (but not quite genuine) apology. Expect legal threats. Expect weeks of turmoil around our national football team once more.

The only bright side is that SAFA have plenty of time to either re-instate Mashaba or appoint a replacement before Group D grinds back in to action with Bafana behind Burkina Faso on goal difference and Senegal lurking.

The question is: will Mashaba’s petty suspension shatter SAFA House or unite them? The victory over Senegal - no matter how it was achieved - has put Bafana in pole position in the Race for Russia.

We can’t afford a technical failure. Don’t think for a moment Jordaan, as president, will have the final say. His stock has fallen both in football and politics. This may be a battle Mashaba will win, if he plays his cards right.

MASHABA STANDS AT THE CROSS-ROADS: South Africa v Senegal will make or break Shaky

IN HIS FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS:
Lars Veldwijk, born in Holland,
sets foot in South Africa for the
first time today before joining
Dean Furman and Bafana Bafana
for Saturday's World Cup clash
against Senegal in Polokwane

DANNY JORDAAN and his national coach Ephraim Mashaba stand at a cross-roads on Saturday night. When Bafana Bafana face Senegal in Polokwane, one sign-post will read “Vision 2022 Avenue”, the other simply “Exit Road”.

It is, quite simply, Mashaba's glorious chance for redemption. Win, and be a hero. Lose (or draw) and Shaky is GONE.

Shakes, who has been shaky for sometime now, has long ignored the 86-page South African Technical master plan put forward by newly elected SAFA president Jordaan in October 2013. But for much of that time, it didn’t matter: Mayor Jordaan was off trying to save Nelson Mandela Bay for his beloved ANC.

During his lengthy absence from the hot-seat at SAFA House Jordaan famously said football was “just a hobby” and that he had “never earned a penny” from the job, despite evidence of an R80,000 honorarium just last year.

But once Jordaan had seen a man called Athol usurp him in the Eastern Cape, he came back with a bang, carrying the weighty Vision 2022 guide-lines like stone tablets from his political burning bush.

Having said “this cannot be the beginning it must be the end” after a final humiliating draw against Mauritania in AFCON 2017 Group M and having told BBC Africa’s correspondent “Mashaba cannot go on, the outcry is too great”, Jordaan finally made his Shaky frustrations clear on October 13.

And yes, the old Vision 2022 was at the heart of it. No matter than Mashaba continues to pick players who are not good enough for their club teams. Or that he got his son Thabo, a restaurant owner, to answer questions at a SAFA press confernce.

It was the dreaded Vision 2022 on the mind of Jordaan. He explained that Mashaba, after two years at the helm of South African football, had not fulfilled two of the major requirements of our nation’s footballing master-plan.

1 Mashaba was asked to provide a dossier on all South Africa’s foreign stars. Travel was required, and extensive research. Jordaan fumed: “We have a lot of overseas-based South African players that we don’t know much about and they are playing good football for their respective teams.”

2 Shaky was required to produce 24 names suitable for Qatar in 2022. This would consist of 8 players aged Under 17, Under 20 and Under 23. Again no progress: “He knows I want that list but I have not received it.”

Jordaan fumes: “This is what I’ve asked for and until today neither have been delivered. I asked him to give me a pool of players that we need to work on for our Vision 2022. The second plan was for him to go and assess players who are playing overseas.

“Neither of these programmes have landed on my desk yet, and I asked for them a long time ago.

“I believe these programmes are key elements to take Banana forward. I still want them and he knows it. If this doesn’t happen, I cannot be responsible for what happens.”

Typically, there was no response for Mashaba, other than to pick another squad laced with players who will be approaching 40 when the 2022 World Cup comes around. 

While Kamolhelo Mokotjo at FC Twente has just won Player of the Week, NONE of the foreign contingent picked by Mashaba - Andile Jali, Ayanda Patosi, Veldwijk, Thalani Serero and May Mahlangu - actually played for their clubs sides last weekend.

As for Vision 2022, Mashaba prefers to look for experience. Some of his domestic selections are understandable. 30-somethings Itumeleng Khune and the recalled Daine Klate are potential match-winners against a Senegal side packed with stars who perform every week in Europe. Keeper Khune has even started taking free-kicks around the opposition box for Kaizer Chiefs, perhaps he will argue over who takes with dead-eye Klate on Saturday.

Given Mashaba’s Afcon 2017 failure - Bafana finished third in Group M behind Cameroon and Mauritania - a significant improvement will be required to top World Cup 2018 Group D where the going is a lot tougher.

The heart-breaking 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso led to reports that Jordaan already had Mashaba’s replacement lined up - former England boss Roy Hodgson was mentioned along with the usual suspects - but from deep within the bowels of SAFA House, my source informs me Mashaba has allies.

Jordaan's blustering was ignored and publicly refuted. The compromise plan was hatched before the World Cup campaign began: if Mashaba could manage four points from his first two qualifiers, he would remain in place and Vision 2022 would have to take a back seat.

But if that four point target is not reached - in other words if Bafana don’t beat Senegal at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday evening - Mashaba will be GONE.

Worryingly, that would mean the new coach taking over for the two matches against Cape Verde with Vision 2022 strapped firmly to his back and Jordaan cracking the whip.

For that reason alone, we must pray for Mashaba’s success. A win over a Les Lions de la Teranga squad featuring just one local player plus the likes of Liverpool’s Sadio Mane and Lazio’s Diao Balde Keith - not to mention Stoke City’s recalled Mame Biram Diouf - will change everything for Mashaba.

With just one competitive win (over minnows Gambia) in 10 Afcon games since the 2-2 draw with Nigeria at the end of 2014, it’s a tall order. Mashaba can point to the early World Cup qualifying wins over Angola back in November 2015 as a hopeful sign, and a current unbeaten run of 13 games including friendlies and COSAFA clashes since the unexpected 3-1 defeat in Mauritania.

But Senegal's lions are not pussy cats. Already ahead of Algeria (35), only Afcon champions Ivory Coast (31) are above them (32) on the FIFA rankings, in 2012 they were languishing in 77th spot.

Mashaba has allowed South Africa to slip to 62nd on the rankings - our average since 1992 is 51st  — and the 12th best team in Africa can hardly expect to join the top five for the trip to Russia.

Mashaba says: "I think we have a team to stop Senegal. If you look at the players who played against Burkina Faso, their commitment was very high.”

But then in June, when the World Cup draw was made, he famously said: ““We could not have asked for a kinder draw. I am happy, but that does not mean it is going to be easy.”

The dry words of Vision 2022 do not allow for such self-delusion. They call for development, focus and discipline. The head-stroking, flashy-dressing Mashaba knows: it’s win or bust next week.

Though it looks a long shot, we can only pray for success on Saturday.

SHAKY'S DROOPY DRAWS: The Bafana Bafana verdict... and a word for Dean Furman

FURMIDABLE: Dean Furman scored Bafana's goal

"It was a silly goal to give away. But there is no need to cry over spilt milk. Overall, I think we had things under control after surviving an early onslaught early in the first half. But having grown in confidence, I think we could have scored a famous away win" Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba

IT takes a special talent to let three vital World Cup points slip when you’re 1-0 up in Burkina Faso after the home team have missed two penalties. But South Africa’s Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba has that ability. Never doubt it.

Remember AFCON 2015 when Bafana Bafana were ahead in all three games but came away with one point? Yup, Mashaba’s got a knack for this sort of thing.

On Saturday in Ouagadougou, Shaky - who should never have survived after his awful AFCON 2017 qualifying failure - and our comparatively blessed Bafana Bafana were struggling. No plan, nothing wide, Keagan Dolly lost in a bizarre tactical quagmire and Eleazar Rodgers desperately trying to make his presence felt on his own up front.

It was not a great night for South Africa. An hour before kick-off the nation’s once-feared rugby Springboks had lost 57-15 to New Zealand’s All Blacks, conceding nine tries and scoring none.

We hoped for better from Mashaba’s much-maligned Bafana Bafana and when the ageless custodian Itumeleng Khune saved an unwarranted early penalty from Jonathan Pitroipa, hope sprung eternal.

SHAKY: Mashaba after the draw in Ougoudougou

But in truth, Burkina Faso, with a dodgy referee, are a tough nut to crack at home. With Senegal and the Capo Verde Islanders to come, anything less than a draw would have been disastrous with only the five CAF group WINNERS qualifying for Russia’s 2018 World Cup.

Rodgers, in for the curiously absent Tokelo Rantie, had a couple of chances. So did Mamelodi Sundowns African Champions League finalist Hlompho Kekana. At the back, with Rivaldo Coetzee injured, Tower Mathoho - after the death of his brother - looked out of sorts, his handball offering the Burkinabians hope from the spot.

By half-time, the former Chelsea, Rangers, Oldham Athletic and Doncaster Rovers midfielder Dean Furman - who left for Britain from Cape Town as a nursery school kid - was subjected to widespread nastiness from South Africans on social media. The only pale outfielder picked by Mashaba was being castigated for failing to pull his weight in a midfield that was visibly struggling.

At half-time, I felt the need to point out Furman was doing the job in the midfield, unlike some in the Bafana team - and that he has been our most consistent performer over the past four years, despite being dropped from the squad regularly since Gordon Igesund’s departure for no apparent reason.

And when the SuperSport United midfielder popped up to score what should have been the winner it was a moment which lifted our Rainbow Nation - Furman and I often exchange messages when times are hard. He has never been less than wholehearted in his approach, on and off the field.

It should have, could have, been the victorious icing on a very poorly constructed cake.

But with a win looming Oupa Manyisa, the Orlando Pirates captain who has done little for the Buccaneers since returning from injury. missed an easy chance to make it 2-0 and then gave away ANOTHER penalty after coming on for Dolly.

The second penalty was clear-cut, Mathoho’s first half handball had been marginal. Manyisa's tackle in the box was that of a rank amateur given the situation. But the experienced Alain Traore sent his spot kick so far over the bar you might have glimpsed it over Gauteng had the first rains of summer not crept over the horizon.

But still, somehow, in those final seconds, there was time for Bouna Diawara to produce an injury-time equaliser, dashing South Africa’s hopes of opening their World Cup campaign with a win for the first time since Stuart Baxter was in charge over a decade ago.

With SAFA president Danny Jordaan threatening Mashaba’s job security after the 1-1 draw against Mauritania last month, the word is that Shaky will go if he doesn’t get four points in his opening two World Cup qualifiers.

That means he has to beat a substantial Senegal side at home on November 7. The intervening clash against Ghana this week is meaningless, though Shaky loves a friendly win.

Okay, we’re told locusts, bees, visa problems and Rantie’s ungrateful no-show didn’t help Bafana this week. 

But given Mashaba’s inability to hold on to a lead, his lack of tactical acumen, bizarre selection process and clueless substitutions, surely Jordaan, who failed to beat a man called Athol in the NMB mayoral race, must act. The nation deserves better.

WHO DO WE BELIEVE? SAFA or the BBC: Is Shakes Mashaba a dead boss walking?

SUITS YOU: Mashaba on Saturday with SAFA's Mumble

WITH time running out before the start of Africa's 2018 World Cup qualifiers next month, South African football remains in limbo, caught between #shakyin, #shakygone and #shakyout.

Amid the bickering between shaky SAFA and the highly respected BBC Sports website on Saturday, we can narrow the chaotic argument over Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba’s future down to three alternatives.

1 Shaky could be fired on Wednesday night by the SAFA technical committee. This is the TRUTH according to the BBC’s African football correspondent Osasu Obayiuwana, who quotes a Saturday morning conversation with SAFA president Danny Jordaan.

2 Mashaba will stay on for the World Cup qualifiers despite his disastrous AFCON 2017 qualifying campaign which left South Africa third in Group M. This is the TRUTH according to SAFA communications chief Dominic Chimhavi, who says Shakes must be left to “complete his mandate” by qualifying for Russia 2018.

3 The national head coach will be fired if he fails to manage four points against Burkina Faso on October 8 and Group D favourites Senegal on November 7. This appears to be the compromise option suggested by those who fear a civil war between Jordaan and the Shaky faction at SAFA.

There is no official line on Mashaba’s future, despite Jordaan saying after the draw against Mauritania last month: “I think it’s a disappointing performance. This must be the end of the journey, not the beginning, because this cannot lead us into the World Cup campaign, where we will play the giants of the African continent.”

After the friendly win over Egypt four days later, Jordaan went silent despite reports he had a replacement lined up for Mashaba, the man he called “our cheapest option” on the day of his appointment in July 2016.

But on Saturday morning, Osasu Obayiuwana dropped a series of devastating tweets followed by a story on the BBC African Football website suggesting Mashaba’s turbulent, head-rubbing reign was indeed over.

He quoted Jordaan saying: "Mashaba just has to go. The outcry is too much. The SAFA exco will discuss this matter on Wednesday.

"In the case of non-performance, he is entltled to a pay-off of 3 months wages.

 "We have to get a new coach in place, before our opening World Cup qualifier. This is very important.”

SAFA’s Chimhavi exploded in to action. He called me to insist “the Nigerian is being malicious” and said I had to back him as I had “so many twitter followers”, he asked me to call him “a SAFA spokesman”.

But that was difficult. On Twitter, the excitable Chimhavi said: "What you are saying is ill-advised, wrong and malicious. IT'S NOT TRUE” and he said Osasu was “digging his own grave”.

But Mr Obayiuwana calmly responded with the EXACT time of his interview with Jordaan, and how long it took (6mins and 28secs). He told Chimhavi to take his complaint directly to the BBC. He asked: “Are you saying I manufactured the convo?”

While that battle rages on, long-suffering South African football fans remain in the dark. Chimhavi insists Mashaba will name the Bafana squad for the trip to Burkina Faso as usual and that SAFA will not discuss his future this week.

Chimhavi is nothing if not enthusiastic. He tweeted: “Statement by sensationalist Nigerian journalist is malicious and incorrect. I'm with Mashaba & SAFA CEO as we speak.”

While Jordaan, who called football “just a hobby” when he went off to lose the ANC mayorship at Nelson Mandela Bay, replied to my asking if Mashaba was gone with one word: “No.”

The truth, from where I sit, has to be influenced by this message from Osasu: “Neal, I stand by every word I have written.” Our debate, both openly on twitter and via direct messages, clearly indicates he spoke to Jordaan.

And as we head towards the World Cup qualifiers, SAFA remains in chaos. The president is directly contradicted by his communications director. Chimhavi denies Mashaba is a dead boss walking.

Yet I know of at least one coach claiming he has been offered the Bafana Bafana job. And another, foreign-based, who is in contact with somebody at SAFA about the role.

Somebody, please. Save us from SAFA. Nobody wants another World Cup qualifying failure.

EXPOSING THE SHAMBLES AT SAFA: was AFCON 2017 qualification mandatory for Shaky? Will NOTHING be done before the World Cup qualifiers?

WHAT A TWIT! On Sept 6, Chimhavi says Mashaba's
only mandate is Russia 2018, Afcon 2017 failure is
clearly of no consequence to SAFA

THE rumblings at SAFA House have been bothering the nation since it our national football body built its R150m headquarters with FIFA Legacy Fund money before the 2010 World Cup had even kicked off.

It’s an uncomfortable place, lying in the shadow of Soccer City, the fading edifice now called the FNB Stadium, where crowds are becoming more and more difficult to draw as South African football tumbles down the slippery slope of maladministration.

Dominic Chimhavi, SAFA’s Head of Communications, neatly sums up the mess in a organisation where the elected president Danny Jordaan turned his back on football to lose the mayoral election in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Jordaan and I have been through the mill. I backed him to the hilt in the SAFA presidential elections, we met for lunch a couple of times at Nelson Mandela Square, he showed me how much of the FIFA World Cup legacy fund remained (I still have the documents, I’ve displayed them on television, still not seen significant grass roots spending) and when I stood up against national coach, Gordon Igesund for being influenced by agents, Danny came calling.

As the only journalist to actually give evidence to the Arendse Inquiry, I expressed concern when Ephraim Mashaba, know to be a client of super-agent Tim Sukazi, was given the biggest job in South African football in July 2014 after Igesund’s contract was not renewed.

But, as Jordaan explained, Shaky was the cheap option, Carlos Queiroz only heard the news that he was too expensive throught the media, having agreed to return to South Africa during Igesund’s CHAN 2013 failure on home soil.

Jordaan promised Mashaba would be tutored in modern tactics and methods by FIFA’s technical guru Gerard Houllier, he said a closer eye would be kept on agent influence, Dr Irvin Khoza came out and said Shaky was the first Bafana coach NOT to listen to agents.

But the predictable soon happened. After a successful 2015 Afcon qualifying campaign, Mashaba’s selection for the tournament in Equatorial Guinea was laughable. Strange names cropped up, Thulani Serero was thrown out. He rotated goalkeepers and captains, had no idea how to maintain a lead, and came home after a five-day disappearance with just one point.

By then SAFA was scrabbling for cover.  Jordaan told me Mashaba had NO mandate when he took the job, though Igesund was told finish top four in Afcon 2013 and qualify for Brazil 2016.

But as we drew with minnows Gambia at home and lost to Mauritania 3-1 on an artificial surface we weren’t prepared for, it became clear Mashaba had no idea how to run a national football team in the modern game. In 10 AFCON games since the away draw against Nigeria in late 2014, Bafana have won 1, drawn 6 and lost 3.

After the final draw against Mauritania at home this month, Bafana Bafana found themselves with 7 points, everyone knew they were OUT weeks before, yet SAFA hung on, saying they would not act until after the final game.

Curiously, after that match, the returning Jordaan (who said as mayor football was “just a hobby” and he “had never been paid a penny” in his SAFA role) said: “This must be the end of the journey, not the beginning, because this cannot lead us into the 2018 campaign, where we will play the giants of the African continent."

That led to some serious speculation. It look like the Mandela Challenge would be Mashaba's last game in charge, there were reports of a big-name foreign coach being appointed, from sources within shadowy SAFA House.

But the #shakyout campaign had about as much hope as #feesmustfall. The friendly 1-0 win over Egypt followed and there was Chimhavi telling me SAFA net would NOT  be discussing Mashaba’s future at the meeting over the weekend and that “the coach has to see through his mandate of qualifying for Russia 2018”. Fortunately I have a picture of this stunning tweet, which was retweeted by @safa_net.

So that, it appears, is that, for the #shakyout campaign. But people keep asking about Mashaba’s demise, so I tweeted THIS on Saturday:

Yes, as I've said repeatedly, @dchimhavi says #shaky's mandate was to qualify for WC2018, not @AFCON2017 @WASINATOR_95 @SAFA_net

Unbelievably, Chimhavi then tweeted: “When did I say that? Don’t put words into my mouth Mr Collins; teaching young journos bad traits”

DROWNING IN DENIAL Chimhavi digs deeper

So what’s a man to do? Look, I like Dominic, we travelled together with the AmaJimbos and I did a lot of work with the U17s thanks to him, and enjoyed his company.

But subsequent promises of travelling with Bafana to see Shakes in action first hand came to nothing on numerous occasions.

How can this man accuse me of misleading people when his tweet is clear as a bell: MASHABA’S MANDATE WAS RUSSIA 2018. Chimhavi said it. Afcon 2017 failure, a deep and significant blow which saw us come THIRD in the group, was rendered meaningless.

Now we go in to a World Cup qualifying campaign against might Group D rivals Senegal, Cape Verde and Burkina Faso, a far more daunting prospect than Cameroon, Mauritania and Gambia in AFCON 2017 Group M.

And Chimhavi tells us Mashaba’s failure will not matter. Has the report on South Africa’s disastrous campaign been delivered? Why did Shaky keep picking players not good enough for their clubs? Why did he treat Kamohelo Mokotjo so badly he retired from Bafana? Is there a correlation between certain agents and selection? Why is Shaky still involved in KeYona after being clearly told it wasn’t acceptable by SAFA?

But none of these questions matter. According to SAFA’s “head of communications” Mashaba’s mandate was World Cup 2018. In other words, he hasn’t even started yet.

Unbelievable.

From Shaky to shakier: Mashaba said "something special is brewing" but it was just decomposing

TIME TO GO: Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba

ONE win in months. An endless list of excuses. Failure to address deep-seated failures in the organisation. Lacking qualified leadership. No, we're not talking Kaizer Chiefs. Or even the ANC. It's SOUTH AFRICAN FOOTBALL we have to worry about.

Our PSL ground to a halt after one game, with the opening round suffering record low attendances. For the first time in living memory we don't have a player in the top 5 leagues in Europe. Our national football team continues to hit new lows.

Thank God for Mamelodi Sundowns, I say. And yes, they are coached by the coach SAFA threw out.

Like a broken record, Pitso Mosimane's successor Ephraim Mashaba drones on. And on. A 1-1 home draw against a 10-man nation of slave owners. But listen carefully. Mashaba’s saying nothing. He’s going nowhere.

Third in Group M. Out of AFCON 2017 months ago, though neither coach nor president appeared to notice. One point from two games against Mauritania, ranked 104 in the world.

No admission of guilt from Shakes. No apology to the nation. Just a bizarre utterance concerning Zimbabwe’s Kharma Billiat, when Dino Ndlovu and Kermit Erasmus, resurrecting their striking careers on foreign fields, are ignored again and again by our national head coach.

As a lesson in motivation, Mashaba’s views on his strike force are best ignored. But here it is: "All the top strikers in the league are foreign. If I can have a player like Khama Billiat, then maybe we’d score more.”

But then Mashaba’s post-match comments cannot be expected to measure up to somebody like, say, Kaizer Chiefs coach-cum-poet Steve Komphela.

On June 5 this year, Mashaba said: "Can this be one of the best Bafana Bafana teams ever? Something special is brewing." Arrogant. Delusional. Out of touch. His current squad rarely rises above the awful.

He's even talked about winning the World Cup, in his mind, his team "completely dominates" every team Bafana plays against, he eagerly suggests the non-playing stars in his line-up will come good, it’s been this way since the 2-2 draw with Nigeria in 2014.

Up to that point, we were happy to put up with his bizarre lack of tactics, his weird decisions, that inexplicable head-rubbing goal celebration.

But by the time he’d selected his AFCON 2015 team, throwing out Thulani Serero in a deceitful rage, we were starting to suspect Mashaba wasn’t all he seemed. We finally began to understand why he hadn’t been snatched up to manage a club or left South Africa’s youth set-up apart from a brief failure with Swaziland.

There’s more: after the Mauritania debacle, the decision to let his old favourite Thamsanqa Gabuza take the penalty, the fact we didn’t try to exploit the visitors’ red card, the total lack of imagination.

Here’s more: “The way the boys are playing, I don’t doubt we’ll qualify for the World Cup,” he boasts, just before our qualifying group rivals Senegal became the ONLY side to qualify for Gabon next year with a perfect record.

And then: "We are really looking forward to qualifying with the team we are setting up, but we have one problem; how are we going to sort out the scoring problem?”

But that’s where this all started. We go in to the Mandela challenge against Egypt full of hope. South Africa have been winning friendlies and losing competitive games for decades. Remember the 2010 World Cup warm-ups? Unbeaten for months. The dodgy 3-0 win over Mali in Gabon just before AFCON 2015?

Best not examine those games too closely. They have given Mashaba an apparently impressive overall record 37 games, with 17 wins, 16 draws and just four defeats.

But look closer. Go back to that last AFCON 2015 qualifier in Nigeria, drawn 2-2 after two superb Tokelo Rantie goals. Since then, Bafana have played 10 Afcon games. Just one win, 7 draws, two defeats. You get a clearer picture. The real picture.

Mashaba is tactically bankrupt. He has no idea how to change a game with substitutes. Mr Rotation doesn’t even know who his captain, goalkeeper or penalty taker might be. He chooses players, as so many Bafana coaches before him, by listening to the loudest agent.

And for those, like me, who thought a technical director might help control a man who gets his son to ask questions in press conferences, Neil Tovey has been the biggest disappointment of all. Silent on all fronts, apart from SuperSport TV where he is paid for his views while pulling a big salary from SAFA. Unbelievable.

I have little doubt Shaky, who apparently still subscribes to Danny Jordaan’s Vision 2022 philosophy, will beat Egypt on Tuesday with five or six players close to 30.

And the SAFA President, just back from losing Nelson Mandela Bay to the DA, will no doubt tell us how wonderful everything is. It’s isn’t. We finished THIRD in AFCON Group M. Only ONE side qualifies for Russian 2018. Senegal are coming.

REMEMBER WHAT NAPOLEON SAID ABOUT THE ROAD TO RUSSIA: From COSAFA to Rio Olympics... to the World Cup qualifiers

PENALTY KING: Gift Motupa scored twice from the spot

ARISE Sir Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba. You lifted the COSAFA Castle Cup in Namibia with a young, untested Bafana Bafana squad. Nobody can EVER take that great night away from you.


But remember the words of another famous man who reached Russia with a squad of 600,000. Napoleon Bonaparte, who got to Moscow but paid the price, said: “To be defeated is pardonable. To be surprised? NEVER!”


Though it took penalties to defeat quarter-finalists Lesotho, ranked 155 in the world, the emphatic 5-1 semi-final win over Swaziland, ranked 117, was emphatic. And the gritty 3-2 win in the final at the Sam Nujoma Stadium was more entertaining than anything Euro 2016 could manage on Saturday.

We can safely ignore the bleating of Botswana’s coach Peter Butler, who said after his side had conceded two penalties and a goal that looked off-side: "This tournament will never gain any credibility when we have disgusting, atrocious, shameful refereeing.”

Butler conveniently forgot to mention the gift Reyaad Pieterse handed his side for their second goal, allowing an innocuous cross to slip through his gloves. And the first penalty was a clear-cut foul.

Though Butler, who played 70 games for West Ham in the early 90s, claimed Botswana “were the better side” and the refereeing was unquestionably poor, Bafana deserved their first taste of silverware since they last won the COSAFA Cup in 2008.

Mashaba was far calmer afterwards as his young squad danced with joy in Windhoek: “Well done to Botswana, they played very well, but we expected this.

“Since COSAFA started for us, we always came from behind and that shows the character is there.”

After a brief questioning of how COSAFA can actually improve football in South Africa, Mashaba should now shift his attention to the World Cup qualifiers, instead it appears he will now focus on the Rio Olympics with these youngsters, who fly straight out for a friendly in Japan with a week off before travelling to Brazil.

Rio will give South Africa some idea of where we REALLY stand in world football after a torrid two years under Mashaba’s leadership. Whether he will recall some of the heroes of Senegal or stick with the COSAFA squad remains unclear. Obviously Keagan Dolly will be roped in, but names like Norodien, Farmer and Lakay have quietly faded.

On their return, the U23s may or may not form the spine of the new Bafana side who face a tough task qualifying from Group D of the African World Cup qualifiers.

Worryingly, many in the South Africa media described Friday’s draw in Cairo as “easy”, but it’s not. In terms of world rankings alone, we are stuck in the 3rd toughest group of five. And only the group winners go to Russia.

Mashaba must accept vast improvement is needed. Having failed to qualify from Group M for AFCON 2017 in Gabon, Group D presents more serious problems.

The AFCON group WAS easy. Look at the world rankings. Cameroon 58, Mauritania 121 and Gambia 165. Compare that to the World Cup group: Senegal 41, Cape Verde 49 and Burkina Faso 73.

And we couldn't even manage a best runners-up spot for Gabon next year.

It appears Mashaba has coasted through his AFCON qualifying failure with a little help from the COSAFA success. We go in to the World Cup with a coach many are questioning and SAFA, with their President involved in the PE Mayoral race and Technical Director analysing Euro 2016 on TV, apparently unconcerned by what has gone before.

Mashaba himself says: "We could not have asked for a kinder draw. I'm happy but that does not mean it is going to be easy.

"There is no second best at this stage, only top teams in the group will be at the World Cup. We should be among them.”

But clearly he hasn’t noticed how many top level stars now play for Senegal, or how Cape Verde have gone to great lengths to attract players to strengthen their national squad. And Burkina Faso, the only side ranked lower than South Africa’s 68, are no pushovers either.

It’s not a matter of “we should make it”, Bafana Bafana under Mashaba remain minnows in the continental pool. If he gets our boys to Russia, Mashaba will confound the experts, tear up the form book. If only he realised that. Just look what happened to Napoleon after Moscow.



KAIZER CHIEFS NEW SIGNINGS

Below are the 21 names who have been in talks with Bobby Motaung since he discarded 20 players on the club web-site on May 31.

I believe the first 11 are CONFIRMED for 11am tomorrow when Football Manager Motaung announces his names, with the two youngsters taking the count to 13.

TWO of the additional players requiring fees may be unveiled, Anthony Laffor is close to moving from Mamelodi Sundowns. Apparently Motaung is hoping the stated fees for the remaining players will fall closer to the start of the season. 


The big overseas names like Steven Pienaar, released by Everton, and Tokelo Rantie, unwanted at Bournemouth last season, are not among them, though May Mahlangu and Anele Ncongca are "nearly affordable".

Bobby is keen on naming 20 players - equal to the number of unwanted - but will ultimately hand over a far more economical squad to Steve Komphela for the new season.

CONFIRMED:

1 Keagan Buchanan, 25, Bloemfontein Celtic (free) Midfield

2 Sbu Khumalo, 26, SuperSport United (swap with Keagan Ritchie) Defender

3 Ramahlwe Mphahlele, 26, Mamelodi Sundowns (free, signed pre-contract) Defender

4 Mitchell Katsairo, 26, Chicken Inn (R3m deal) Striker

5 Edmore Chirambadare, 24, Chicken Inn (R750,000 deal) Striker

6 Lebohang Mokoena, 29, Mamelodi Sundowns (free, released) Striker/wing

7 Kudakwashe Mahachi, 22, Golden Arrows/Mamelodi Sundowns (free) Midfielder

8 Evans Rusike, 25, Maritzburg United (possible fee) Striker

9 Joseph Molangoane, 28, Chippa United (free) Midfielder

10 Ennocent Mkhabula, 27, SuperSport United (released, free) Midfielder

11 Siphelele Ntshangase, 23, Black Leopards (disputed) Mid/striker

KIDS

1 Emmanuel Letlotlo, 18, Asidlali (new contract, promoted) Striker

2 Aviwe Nyamende, 23, Shumba Academy (new contract) Defender

FEES REQUIRED

1 Thamsanqa Sangweni, 27, Golden Arrows (R4m) Midfielder

2 Sibusiso Vilakazi, 26, Bidvest Wits (R12m) Midfielder

3 Justice Chabalala, ??, Free State Stars (R5m)

4 Thapelo Morena, 22, Bloem Celtic (R6m)

5 Prince Nxumalo, Ajax Cape Town (R4m) Striker

6 Anthony Laffor, Mamelodi Sundowns (R4m) Striker

7 Charlton Mashumba, Jomo Cosmos (R3m) Striker

8 Bantu Mzwakali, 22, Ajax Cape Town (R6m) Midfielder