In Gordon We Trust: two great levellers and a place in the quarter-finals. Hallelujah!

Good Gord: Igesund celebrates a place in the quarter-finals

FOUR months ago, when Gordon Igesund was talking at The New Age Business Breakfast at the Sandton Convention Centre, the conversation started.

On Sunday night, it hit some kind of peak as Bafana Bafana came from behind TWICE to get the point they needed to top Group A and qualify for the quarter-finals against Mali on Saturday night at 8.30pm. After twittering #ingordonwetrust for weeks on end in the face of the army of Bafana Bafana cynics, it finally started to trend.

And last night, as he found a quiet corner at the  Moses Mabhida Stadium during the Mali v DR Congo draw, he told Udo Carelse and I on www.702.co.za SPORTSTALK: "That scene at the end there? When we were all gathered in a circle? That was a prayer. We have some good Christian boys in this squad.

"You know me, I've always been positive. And I'm hoping it's rubbing off on the team. I believe we can go a long way in this tournament. There have been a lot of negative comments, but we are positive."

Right from the start, the odds were stacked against the no-nonsense coach from Durban. An opening “friendly” against Brazil, a trip to face Poland just before the European Championship on home soil, the retirement of Steven Pienaar, the tragic death of his assistant Thomas Madigage.

But Igesund battled on. He tried players like Riccardo Nunes, who took all his dead-balls before the Portuguese-South African-Slovenian was bombed out. Like Dino Ndlovu. And whatever happened to the PSL legends Andile Jali and Teko Modise?

Come Saturday night it was all to play for. The final game of AFCON’s Group A, South Africa needing a draw against Morocco. All those weeks of hope and desperation bubbling on the social networks with the media hacks hacking away.

And who could blame them? The pre-tournament friendlies against Norway and Algeria were hardly impressive. The opening clash with Cape Verde saw a third successive game without a goal.

Then the two-goal extravaganza at the Moses Mabhida Stadium gave renewed hope, gave us optimists a glimmer of light.

But when Morocco dominated and scored in the first ten minutes on Sunday night, the lights were going out all over South Africa. We prepared, stoically, for another elimination by the narrowest of margins of home soil, just like the World Cup in 2010.

Our only hope was that little Cape Verde would NOT beat their Portuguese pals in Angola. 

Then, suddenly, at around the 71^st minute in both Durban and Port Elizabeth, the world went mad.

I was in the TalkRadio 702 studio with Udo Carelse. Chaos. Our controller Owen Matjie let rip with a few roars right in the middle of a dramatic interview with EP Kings rugby icon Luke Watson. Papers flying, microphones shoved in faces. Were we in? Were we out?

Let me quote the BBC at this point. They describe it as “a night of unrelenting drama” as first May Mahlangu and then the tournament top-scorer Siya Sangweni – a centre-back - equalised for South Africa while the verdant Verdians produced two late goals to win 2-1 against Angola and send Morocco home with three points - and nothing to show for an unbeaten campaign.

In those last twenty minutes, any of the four sides might have gone through – at one point it looked like Morocco would go out on the fact they’d suffered more BOOKINGS than the tiny Cape Verde Islands.

Ultimately, through the tumult, South Africa emerged as Group A winners and they head to their quarter-final at the Moses Mabhida on Saturday with every chance of achieving Igesund’s initial target: a place in the last four of AFCON. Even if they don’t make it, they’ve given a sceptical nation a lift.

As things stand, the path to a repeat of 1996 sees Mali on Saturday, Ivory Coast in the semi-final - also in Durban - on February 6 before a possible final against Ghana on February 10.

Igesund remains apparently unfazed by the huge reaction to his side's unexpected qualification as group leaders. He said: "We had to dig really deep, the lads fought really hard today.

“Itumeleng Khune? Fantastic job, but the whole team did well. It’s a great occasion for the home team and I think we made the country proud."

“We still got work to do, but we’re in the quarter finals now, just two games to go until the final. At the end of the day, I’m proud of my players.”

The final word goes to Gordon. Asked by a journalist: “Do you believe anything is possible?” Igesund responded: “The question is, do you believe?” In Gord we Trust.

The boot is on the other foot: goalless Gordon finds himself in Pitso's shoes

Remember when: Gordon Igesund celebrating a goal, circa 1872

Suddenly Gordon Igesund finds himself in Pitso Mosimane’s shoes. And they’re not very comfortable. By Wednesday evening, he'll have his own footwear. Question is: will they be flip-flops or stillettos?

The awful goalless draw against Algeria after a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Norway’s unwanted youngsters was “very Mosimane” but excusable. A pair of meaningless, friendly slippers.

Gordon reassured the nation: “We are improving. You haven’t seen my best side yet. We are hard to beat and we will score goals,” just a week before Saturday’s big kick-off at the rechristened National Stadium.

Then, like Pitso, Carlos Alberto Parreira and a cast of hundred haplesscoaches before him, Igesund was entirely incapable of raising the game for the opening clash against minnows Cape Verde.

Awful. Embarrassing. Toothless. Boring. And those were the polite verdicts. The government has apparently declared all goals in South Africa “national key points” until the AFCON final at Soccer City on February 10. But that's okay, none of us have seen one in nearly 300 minutes.

Ghana and that famous medic Dr Congo shared four goals between them on Sunday to lift a tournament which started with that record goal drought on Saturday - but that is not enough for soccer-mad fans in the host nation.

Forced to endure traffic jams, ticket scares and bus disappearances in the build-up, what did Gordon offer to console the fans after his side’s drab opening? “My players froze up. We can’t afford to play like that again. The nerves got to them and a lot of players were hiding.

“They are very disappointed but we win together and we lose together. With Angola and Morocco drawing 0-0 too, we are now all on an equal footing in Group A. Let’s see how we can rectify the situation.”

Very Pitso isn’t it? The initial knock-kneed approach has morphed in to a genuine mistrust of the media, and if really thinks those two goalless draws on Saturday are good for Bafana, he’s fooling himself.

The scenario is this: South Africa draw against Angola on Wednesday, Morocco will crush the vocal Verdians. Then we’ll draw against Morocco in the final game – remember Gordon’s words after Algeria “we are becoming difficult to beat” – but Angola will then polish off the volcanic islanders to qualify with Morocco.

And that will leave an unbeaten South Africa waving goodbye to another tournament despite their privileged position as hosts.

Nobody wants that to happen. Gordon least of all. Even Pitso, wiping the smile of his face somewhere in Mamelodi or Chloorkop, doesn’t want that to happen.

Gavin Hunt, the SuperSport United coach who won three successive PSL titles and was short-listed for the hottest seat in South Africa outside of Nkandla, doesn't either.

He appeared on our new show SportsTalk on www.702.co.za this week and told presenter Udo Carelse: "I feel sorry for Gordon. Some of his players look like they couldn't be bothered. Siphiwe Tshabalalala needs a long holiday on a Mauritian island. With a one-way ticket. The guy needs a break from football.

"And Thuso Phala is okay. But he's a fireman. He's always putting it out."

Now only victory against Angola tomorrow night offers Gordon the chance of redemption.

And the last flickering flame of hope lies in these words: “We have to move on. We can’t harp on about Saturday. Football is a funny game (many English coaches have resorted to that one over the years) once we score a few goals and get the country buzzing, I believe we can go all the way.”

Wednesday evening, Gordon gets the chance to remove Pitso’s shoes and wear his own. Whether they will come back to kick him up the bottom remains in doubt.

To hear podcasts of our new show go to: http://www.702.co.za/podcast/podcast_sportstalk.asp.

In Gordon we trust: the 23 men who must do South Africa proud

Dream team: Gordon Igesund

Gordon Igesund’s big announcement did not disappoint. Sunday’s naming of South Africa’s squad of 23 for the African Cup of Nations left us shaken and stirred.

For Moeneeb Joseph, the Orlando Pirates goalkeeper who featured in Igesund’s first Bafana squad in Brazil barely four months ago, a gaping chasm appeared between January 19 and February 10.

But for his Buccaneering replacement Senzo Meyiwa, AFCON 2013 will be a reality, though Itumeleng Khune remains in charge of the gloves.

For two of the nation’s biggest names – Teko Modise of Mamelodi Sundowns and Sea Robber Andile Jali – Igesund could find no opening. Sifiso Myeni, Siyanda Xulu, Daine Klate and Riccardo Nunes, all new recruits to Bafana, were left disappointed too.

But Platinum Stars’ 26-year-old attacking midfielder Thuso Phala appeared from nowhere after guiding his unfashionable Crocodiles to the PSL’s Q2 bonus and May Mahlangu, Sweden’s player of the season, got his foot in the door too.

And there was even a place for Katlego “Killer" Mphela – no relation to adidas’s Katlego football launched for this tournament – despite an injury which has reduced him to four appearances and two goals for Mamelodi Sundowns this season.

Just before I went on eNews on Sunday to discuss a squad which sent a tsunami across the social networks, I got hold of Gordon to talk about his “dream team”.

After a morning which saw my #ingordwetrust hash tag dominant, Igesund was still riding the wave. And most importantly, he appears to have no doubts about 23-man squad which kicks off against lowly Cape Verde at The National Stadium (aka FNB Stadium and Soccer City) 19 days’ time.

He laughed: “This is a fantastic team, I have complete confidence in these lads. For the fans, it’s easy to say I should pick this player of that player. But to those who keep asking why Joe Soap isn’t in the team, I can only say 10 different coaches would give you 10 different squads.

“Look, only time will tell if I’ve made the right decisions… but we’ve been in camp, we’ve seen the players. There have been some sleepless nights, some very marginal decisions. But now I have no doubts in my mind.”

Amid calls for a six-week amnesty on club fanaticism, it’s worth pointing out PSL leaders Kaizer Chiefs have a record SEVEN players in the squad – alongside the same number of foreign-based stars. Orlando Pirates are second with four and Mamelodi Sundowns, after the disastrous reign of Johan Neeskens, offer just two of their highly-paid stars. Igesund of course, will be fighting for his future.

Failure to qualify on home soil from a group which features the Cape Verdians, Morocco and Angola could spell the end for a reign which began with a 1-0 defeat against Brazil in Sao Paulo on September 7.

But we can only take the word of the man himself as Modise and Jali fade in to the sunset with big names injuries like Benni McCarthy, Morgan Gould and Tower Mathoho: “I believe I have selected the cream of the crop in South African football at this point in time.”

To the cynics who refuse to join the chorus of approval, pointing to South Africa's early exit from the World Cup in 2010, I say this: Mexico, Uruguay and France were a lot tougher than Cape Verde, Angola and Morocco. And even then, Bafana were the width of a post from qualification. It's time to back the nation. In Gordon We Trust.