Bafana Bafana need a coach who is going to be able to build a team for the future around the junior internationals who have played in international competitions and blend them with some players in the current team.
This is the view of South African Football Association (Safa) President Danny Jordaan following Bafana’s dismal performances so far at the 2019 African Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament currently underway in Egypt.
Part of Safa’s Vision 2022 was to build a strong national team around the players coming from the Amajimbos team that went to the U17 FIFA World Cup, Amajita 2017 U20 World Cup team and the 2016 Olympic squad.
But in this current squad, only Lebohang Mothiba fits that profile.
Bafana have lost two of their Group D matches against Ivory Coast and Morocco 1-0, managing to only beat neighbours Namibia by the same score line.
They are now waiting to see if they will be able to reach the Last 16 stage after Tuesday night’s final group stages matches where they’re also hoping for some favours.
Jordaan reiterates that they need a coach with a long-term vision.
Prior to announcing his squad for the Afcon, Baxter had promised to include about four players from the U23 squad played at the Cosafa Cup. But he changed his mind when settling for the final squad and Jordaan didn’t have answers when asked about that.
Baxter replaced Shakes Mashaba in 2017 to come back for his second stint as a Bafana coach after he failed to qualify the South African men’s senior national football team to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
He was not part of the five coaches who were shortlisted for this job and also failed to take the team to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, having been in charge of five matches out of six in that campaign.
What is clear at this stage is that Safa and Baxter’s relationship is heading for a premature end, long before its expiry date in 2022.
It’s just a matter of how and when it will happen after this tournament. When asked about the newly-appointed Minister of Sport Nathi Mthethwa and Jordaan’s comments about Bafana, the following was Baxter’s response:
– Report by Velile Mnyandu
