Former Bafana Bafana striker, Phil Masinga, says current coach Shakes Mashaba must be commended for turning the fortunes of the national team around within a short space of time.
South Africa was knocked out in the first round of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations last night after going down 2-1 to Ghana in a Group C decider.
Bafana Bafana had a slim chance to advance to the next round of the tournament, but finished bottom of the group with just a single point in three matches.
Although Bafana Bafana were competitive in Equatorial Guinea, it takes several years to build a championship winning side.
Former Bafana Bafana Goalkeeper Coach, Deshi Bakhtawer, “Overall they performed well. I think a little bit of lack of experience in some departments let us down a bit, but we learn from that. But we have to learn from these things. We can’t go to the next competition and make the same mistakes.”
Former Bafana Bafana player, Phil Masinga, says, “Most of the players we had in ‘96 are the players who started playing for Bafana in 1992, when South Africa was readmitted into international sports. It did not take 4 months or 6 months to build a very strong team it took years to build a very strong team.”
“We learned a lot from this tournament and I can guarantee you that down the line, with this crop of players, a lot of positive results is going to show.”
Coach Mashaba selected an inexperienced team for the tournament.
Despite their premature exit at the tournament, the appearance at the continental showpiece was a learning experience for the players.
Bafana player, Bongani Zungu, says, “This is a learning curve. We are still young. We still have a lot to improve. It’s going back to the drawing board.”
Siyabonga Nhlapho says, “We are taking this with the experience and all the dignity and all the pride back home. We hope we made the country proud.”
Bernard Parker says, “We learned a lot from this tournament and I can guarantee you that down the line, with this crop of players, a lot of positive results is going to show.”
With the experience achieved, the future looks bright for this team.
Mashaba says, “Sixty to 70% well done to the boys. They did very well. We established ourselves … even our opposition, they talk. The only problem we didn’t convert the chances we created.”
The team is scheduled to arrive back home early on Thursday morning.
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