PORT ELIZABETH — Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane was left seething after fans here inexplicably turned on South African striker Katlego Mphela and booed the national team player whenever he had the ball during the Nelson Mandela Challenge clash against Côte d’Ivoire at the weekend.
Mosimane — who was also booed by the same mob when the two teams were introduced on the stadium public announcement system before kickoff — said he could not understand why fans would turn on a player who has become SA’s main source of goals in recent years.
The fuming Bafana coach eventually got up from the bench during the game and faced the baying mob behind him, berating them for their relentless abuse.
But moments later, the same fans celebrated and toasted Mphela when the striker scored the equalising goal that enabled Bafana to draw this Nelson Mandela Challenge encounter.
Mphela would hear none of it and signalled to the delirious fans in the stands that he was not interested in their applause or their praises after he scored a sublime free-kick goal.
The animated striker furiously indicated to them that they could to go jump in the lake behind the Port Elizabeth Stadium for all he cared.
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| Bafana Fans |
South African soccer fans have a notorious tendency to turn on their own players, most notably the Bafana strikers.
While former midfielder Augustine Makalakalane and Teboho Mokoena were notable exceptions, it seems the boo-brigade reserve their venom mostly for the strikers.
Philemon Masinga, Benni McCarthy, Nkosinathi Nhleko and now Mphela have all had to contend with abuse from their own supporters. All have rescued the country on numerous occasions and their goals have led the national team to victory, and yet the boo-brigade think nothing of their contribution.
Masinga scored the famous goal against Congo Brazzaville in 1997 that enabled SA to secure a first-ever appearance at a Soccer World Cup — the 1998 showpiece in France — yet the supporters who proudly waved South African flags and screamed after the milestone, were booing the same man weeks later.
Mosimane said while he could handle criticism from anyone, as the media and the nation’s soccer lovers have a right to demand a top performance whenever the national team represents SA, that did not give anyone the right to abuse players.
"You (the media) have the right to criticise us and I understand that. I am the coach of Bafana Bafana and I expect this kind of thing."
Bafana drew this encounter 1-1 after an own goal from Siboniso Gaxa in the first half and Mphela’s excellently taken kick ensured that the hosts shared the spoils with the pedigreed Ivorians.
While there was a decent crowd at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, the attendance level was still several thousand less than the South African Football Association’s (Safa’s) claims that the game was sold out on the eve of the encounter.
Just under 25000 people — the stadium’s capacity is about 48000 — in this soccer-starved region showed up and it was clear supporters here were still as upset as the rest of the country that Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for next year’s African Nations Cup.
Given the fact that the star- studded Côte d’Ivoire are the continent’s top-ranked side and still could not get a full house, it is clear that Safa was always going to struggle to sell out this game wherever it decided to take the match.
"At least it was not an empty stadium and we still had a good vibe," Mosimane said. "Maybe it could have been better. But at least it was not empty."
Bafana travelled to Zimbabwe yesterday to face their regional rivals in an away match scheduled for tomorrow. Mosimane said he expected a tough challenge as he would release most of his senior personnel and allow the fringe players to challenge for places.
Kagisho Dikgacoi, Steven Pienaar, Anele Ngcongca, Siyabonga Sangweni, Siphiwe Tshabalala and Reneilwe Letsholonyane will be allowed to return to their clubs and the likes of newcomers Bradley Grobler and George Lebese, among others, will finally get a chance to show what they can do.
Source : www.businessdayco.za
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