It was an exciting 2023 Afcon in Ivory Coast, where we saw good football on display, great goals and passionate supporters who travelled to support their respective countries. I think there is so much that one can pick up from this tournament in terms of growing as a coach and someone who wants to make a mark in football. We saw a lot of unpredictable results and I would like to believe that Africa has made a lot of people eat humble pie with the way this tournament was organised and how it turned out to be one of the best football events in the world. This tournament also proved that there are no more minnows in football when you consider how some of the continent's big guns were eliminated and couldn't even make the Last 16. These are teams with a huge reputation and have big-name players plying their trade in Europe, but they were humbled by so-called no-name players.
The SADC region must also be proud because they were represented with pride. For South Africa to go all the way and finish third is unbelievable. They were 90 minutes away from reaching the final, only to succumb to Nigeria on penalties in the semi-finals. I must congratulate Cote d'Ivoire for winning the trophy, and they proved that it is not how you start but how you finish that is important. Just like us, they didn't enjoy a good start to the tournament and almost didn't make it out of the group stage, only to go all the way to finish as eventual champions. This tournament was full of surprises and left a lot of people shocked and mesmerised. The game was the winner, and what a wonderful tournament it proved to be!
Afcon: Everyone played their part
To CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe, and his leadership, congratulations, guys! This was, by far, one of the best, if not the best Afcon ever! I'm not just saying this because one of our own, in Dr Motsepe, is heading the Association. Everyone can see for themselves the good job done by everyone at CAF. Apart from the people we see on television, there are so many unsung heroes and heroines that have worked so hard to ensure this tournament becomes a success. They did all of that quietly, in the background, and the fact that some of them come from the SADC region makes me even prouder. You guys have really outdone yourselves and brought the African pride and dignity back. The world will start looking at us differently now and they will take our tournament seriously. They can now see what Africa is capable of because everything was just unbelievable about this tournament.
From organisation to performances on the field of play, everything was just on another level. I'm saying this because it has been a while since everything went so smoothly in our continental football. There were instances where one would suspect foul play or suspect cheating, but we've not experienced anything like that in this tournament. Another feather on CAF's hat! The middlemen were on top of their game and so was the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). Everyone really played their part in ensuring that our football is elevated to another level and becomes a sporting code everyone wants to watch. It is good to see how Africa has evolved and how CAF's leadership has managed to steady the ship and rid our football of all the evil and negativity. There were people who viewed playing for their countries at Afcon as a waste of time because almost everything was pre-determined. This time around, no one can point a finger and accuse anyone of wrongdoing. We've seen so much improvement and professionalism in this tournament, which is why I give credit to CAF.
I really need to give credit to the match officials because they were outstanding and made a success of this tournament. It didn't matter who the player was, where he plied his trade or which country he represented, the rules were applied fairly and consistently. Fair Play was the order of the day throughout the tournament and, once again, no one can point a finger at anyone for their loss. It was so amazing to see that our national team, Bafana Bafana, went to the tournament as underdogs but went on to surprise a lot of people. They said a lot about South Africa, criticising almost everything to do with our national team, but those people were left to eat humble pie. A country like Mozambique gave some experienced campaigners a run for their money. It wasn't easy to play Mozambique at all.
You look at Zambia and Namibia, and I must commend coach Collin Benjamin because no one expected his Namibian team to surprise Tunisia the way they did. Yes, they couldn't go as far as they may have wanted, but they certainly left a mark. This tournament will be remembered for years to come because it gave us everything we wanted to see and more. Everyone tasted the ups and downs and it is so difficult to even single out one team and say they stood out. This is what we want to see in every tournament so that we can elevate our football. That's the only way to ensure that we get more eyeballs on our football, we attract more sponsors and keep our people interested in the game. That is how we can improve and restore our pride. That is how we can take our football back to the glory days.
Bafana Bafana: We suffered a lot!
I must say, I am proud to be South African! I'm so proud of the boys because they gave it their best shot. After almost three decades of Afcon drought, they came back with a bronze medal. Honestly, we were just unlucky not to beat Nigeria in the semi-finals because we should have wrapped up that game in regulation time. We created enough chances and the boys really played well and I felt they deserved more. When it comes to penalties, well, that is anyone's game because it is all about converting your spot-kicks and hoping that the opposition misses. It was unfortunate that we finished on the wrong side of the result.
However, the boys redeemed themselves in the third/ fourth place play-off against DR Congo and we have to congratulate them on the job well done. Now it is going to be very important to see where we go from here. We have to build on this performance and make sure that we don't lose the momentum. I must give Bafana credit. You guys showed a lot of character in this tournament. You showed up, raised your hand and restored our pride and hope. You protected our national colours, you protected the image of our country and raised our flag high. You can walk tall and block out any negativity because you've really made us all proud. Don't let anyone make you feel like you've underachieved because you took this team from not qualifying for the Afcon to reaching the semifinals and finishing third. That is a massive improvement by any means. The results are there for everyone to see and we would have accepted any position you may have finished in because you left everything on the field. That's all we could really ask for.
The bottom line is that you, our young soldiers, showed a lot of character, fought a good fight, brought smiles to our faces and almost reached the final and we can't take any of what you have done lightly. I'm very proud of you, boys. To coach Broos, Helman Mkhalele and the backroom staff, you have done us proud and we can't thank you enough. Job well done, guys! Just like your players, you all gave it your best shot and we can't ask for more. This team was one of the best at this tournament and you have left a mark that will never be forgotten. Yes, we all wanted to see our team in the final and winning it, but finishing third, from where this team comes from, is no mean feat. Your input in this team is there for everyone to see. You got our team playing some really good and attractive football. Those who have watched previous encounters between Bafana and Nigeria will agree with me when I say we've always been underdogs because Nigeria always had an upper hand against us.
However, for the first time in years, I saw Nigeria playing with a reinforced defence to try and stop Bafana's attacks. They couldn't play their normal game because they were worried about us and that's all credit to the technical team's meticulous planning and the execution by the players. They hardly threatened us and our boys showed Nigeria what South Africa is made of. I know Nigerians always believe they are better than us, but they will never forget how lucky they were to beat us in the semifinals. We were all over them and the stats can attest to that. Aside from the penalty shootout, we reduced them to a small team and they really felt our presence. Whenever they tried to press, we mesmerised them and they ended up deploying, at times, a 5-1-3-1 because they were scared and 'parked a bus'. They've never done that playing against Bafana, but these boys were so all over them they had to resort to playing defensive football. What does that mean?
It means they were scared of going pound-for-pound against our boys. They might have bigger name players, but our locals proved that it is not about who you are or where you are from but what you can do on the field. These boys surpassed my expectations and showed Nigeria no mercy at all. I wasn't surprised to hear what their coach and some players had to say about our team after that match. This is what makes us one of the best, when we use what is in our DNA. I'm short of words to describe how I feel, but I salute all of you, guys. I really hope we don't lose the momentum so that we can build form this performance and take our team to greater heights. I just hope we don't repeat the same mistake we made in 1996, dismantling a winning combination and losing the plot. The current team reminds me so much of our team because of the unity that we saw. Even players on the bench get so involved in celebrating goals and encouraging those on the field.
Those are the signs of a united team and we really can't afford to miss this opportunity to take our football to the next level. We've been failing at this tournament for so long, now what is our way forward? How do we avoid repeating the same mistakes? We need to apply our minds and ensure that we do whatever it takes to build on this performance. We have to have continuity and that needs vision. We have learned our lessons over the years and the last thing we want is to see the same mistake reappearing in our football again. We have suffered a lot!
It had been almost three decades since we last had an Afcon medal, so those who are in power need to make sure that we don't lose our momentum. Thank you, Bafana Bafana, for the brave hearts you showed and I wish you everything of the best in the World Cup qualifiers. It starts at club level, so now that you are going back to your respective teams, continue with the good work so that the coach keeps you in the system. To South Africans in general, thank you for the support you showed to our team. As much as we didn't get to reach the final, we really left an impression, and the unity that I saw from our people in support of Bafana was like we did for rugby and cricket. To me, it looks like Mzansi sport has woken up and I really hope we keep it going.
