Bafana Bafana 2022.Backpagepix.

Mashaba identifies Bafana Bafana's problem - 'Foreign coaches don’t like our dribbling culture'

  • Ex-Bafana coach Mashaba comments on the current team
  • The veteran trainer airs out his issues with foreign coaches
  • Says Bafana's dribbling culture has been ignored

WHAT HAPPENED? Bafana are currently under Belgian coach Hugo Broos. While giving reference to teams at the 2022 Fifa World Cup finals which Mashaba says are playing a home-grown brand of football, he feels Bafana’s play has lost their identity. He says foreign coaches come in and dismantle Bafana's football culture of dribbling.

WHAT MASHABA SAID: “I know that this topic always comes every time there’s a World Cup and Bafana are not in it,” Mashaba told SunSport. “But I think we need to understand one thing when it comes to Bafana. Each country in the world has their own culture of football. You can go to Brazil, Argentina, England and even European countries, they have their own culture of playing football and they stick to it all the time.

“Here in South Africa, our football culture is about dribbling while winning games but foreign coaches do not like it. So how are we going to do better while we are being stopped playing our culture of football? If you have been watching this World Cup, all countries have been playing good football with goals. The reason is because each country is playing their own culture of football.”

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AND WHAT’S MORE? Mashaba feels South Africa has a crop of domestic coaches who can assist in maintaining the Bafana traditional way of doing things. But he feels local football governing body Safa does not appreciate local coaches.

“I think former Bafana players need to equip themselves with education so that they can help,” said Mashaba.

“Playing in England or in Europe does not guarantee you a job within Safa. Look at Pitso Mosimane and Benni McCarthy, the duo played in Europe, but they worked hard after they retired to be where they are today. So other former players need to learn from them.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Bafana Bafana have been struggling to qualify for major tournaments of late even with a local in charge. Molefi Ntseki was at the helm the last time they failed to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. After Ntseki, in came Broos whose team failed to make it to the 2022 Fifa World Cup.

STORY IN THREE PHOTOS:

Shakes Mashaba and Bafana's technical benchGalloBafana Bafana players, November 2022BackpagepixHugo Broos South Africa.Backpagepix.

WHAT NEXT FOR BAFANA? After being involved in friendly matches in November, Bafana will be back in action in March 2023 for back-to-back 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Liberia.

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