SPORT
A N A F A B P U G N I K SHA
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fana Ba , elected as coach of Ba lly sia re ve ro nt co t ha was, somew rform. When Shakes Mashaba he was destined to pe ll we w ho st ju d se es gu July, few would have
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he national side was in deep trouble, almost the laughing stock of the nation, and South Africa’s sports minister Fikile Mbalula had labeled them “a bunch of losers”. This followed their performance in the 2014 African Nations Championship, where Bafana, the host side, crashed out of the tournament following a heavy 3-1 defeat against Nigeria in their final group A clash at Cape Town Stadium, failing to make it passed the group stage. 30
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Enter Shakes Mashaba, whose previous stint with the national side ended abruptly when he was sacked on the eve of the 2004 Africa Cup on Nations. Rumours were that it was due to a dispute in team/squad selection. Since his current appointment, Bafana remained unbeated in ten games, earning the admiration not only of Mbalula but the entire nation. Mashaba has a long history in football. He led the SA U/23 side to their first
(and to date only) Olympics in 2000 hosted in Australia. They went out in the first round of the competition with only one win, but that one win was against the U/23 Brazilian team. From 2008-2010 he had a stint as the Swaziland national head coach before taking charge of the U/23 SA side again. In 2012 he became head coach of the national SA U/17 side before getting the Bafana Bafana job back in 2014 after Gordon Igesund’s contract wasn’t renewed.
