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PODCAST: Neil Tovey Talks Bafana, Hitting Clive Barker In The Balls and 2023 AFCON on African Football Unfiltered
Nov 18, 2024 - 12:25 pm
By Kamogelo Motecwane
Tune into the African Football Unfiltered podcast as we welcome 1996 Africa Cup of Nations-winning captain Neil Tovey to hear his thoughts on the current Bafana Bafana, his surprising Clive Barker story, as well as South Africa's potential at the upcoming AFCON!
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Hugo Broos' charges have begun their journey to 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, opening their Group C campaign with encounters against Benin and Rwanda, but before they look to secure the nation its first World Cup berth in what will be 24 years, South Africa will be headed to the latest AFCON, which will be held in the Ivory Coast early in 2024.
African Football Unfiltered, SNL24's newest football podcast, recently had the opportunity to sit down with Bafana's most successful skipper, Tovey, and the Durban native delivered his verdict on how well the nation could do at the continental showpiece.
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"I think that the team needs to have a similar attitude and thought process, similar to what I just mentioned," the Kaizer Chiefs legend said.
"About just taking it a game at a time, having a really good start to the tournament and then you'll gain in confidence.
"They had a really wonderful result against Morocco, so they are capable of beating the best on the continent.
"They must just have belief in themselves, but they've got to manage the game better, they've got to manage the processes within the game better.
Neil Tovey amassed 52 caps for Bafana Bafana, according to Transfermarkt.Gallo Images
"The mentality and everything that goes with it and when they're up against it, have the ability to get out of those situations effectively well, as well as being able to maintain the situations which are going well."
Tovey worked alongside the now late, great Clive Barker when South Africa were able to attain continental glory 27 years ago, and the ex-defender was kind enough to delve into how superstitious the AFCON-winning tactician was, even if it was to his own detriment, funnily enough.
"Clive was very special as a coach," he started off by saying. "He was superstitious, if he was winning and his team was winning, he would like the build-ups to the matches to be the same.
"At AFCON, when we had pre-match breakfast, he would come down obviously and he would come sit there on a chair and invariably it was next to me and we were just chatting and talking and he would lean back like a schoolboy riding his chair in the class.
Neil Tovey is the first and only captain of Bafana Bafana to lead the nation to an international trophy.Gallo Images
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"And I said: 'Clive, you can't do that, you're the coach'.
"He would keep riding on his chair and just by instinct I picked up the spoon next to him and hit him on his balls.
"I told him not to act like a kid and he says: 'No Neil man, I'm nervous a little bit and you know, it's my way.'
"So I said: 'Well, you're going to have to suffer a bit week in, week out.'
"And that's what he did, he suffered week in, week out because he wanted a routine, so he kept doing it and I kept hitting him on his balls."
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