South Africa gaffer, Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba has expressed that the Bafana Bafana must secure an outright win over the Super Eagles to pick a AFCON 2015 ticket.
Mashaba urged his boys must come to the party against Nigeria in order make their qualification for Morocco 2015 easier.
“It is a tough group and it became worse with the inclusion of Congo,” said Mashaba, referring to the Congolese taking the place of Rwanda after the Amavubi were disqualified for fielding an ineligible player.
“There is nothing else, but to win games. There is nothing that beats that. Consistency brings results and that will bring Bafana Bafana back to where it is.”
The Red Devils made the most of their unexpected reprieve by beating the reigning African champions Nigeria 3-2 in Calabar this past weekend. “I always knew that Congo’s inclusion would make it more difficult and their victory in Nigeria just confirmed that. Everybody in this group will have to play hard and double their efforts to succeed.”
On his appointment as the Bafana gaffer, Mashaba said: “I know that I can do the job, and I applied for the position, so why should I have been surprised. I am looking forward to being in charge of the team. It is an advantage that I have already been Bafana Bafana coach. I am particularly pleased as it gives me an opportunity and the chance to complete what I did not complete when I was coach before.”
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz and Stephen Keshi were among the names floated, but after much speculation authorities turned to the tried and tested and appointed Mashaba.
Mashaba tasted success both as a player – captaining one of South Africa’s glamour clubs, Orlando Pirates, to four titles as a 23-year-old in his first season with the club – and as a coach. He was first given the task of handling the South African national team in 1992, when he was appointed care-taker coach after Screamer Tshabalala was sacked. Ten years later, he was again appointed, but this time on a permanent basis.
However, after taking the team to the 2004 CAF Africa Cup of Nations finals, he was suspended and then dismissed just days before the start of the competition in Tunisia after refusing to bow to pressure from officials. He has now been given the job for the third time and Mashaba says he was a natural choice.
Mashaba has previously also been in charge of the South African U-20 and Olympic sides, and in 1997 he made history when he became the first coach to take a South Africa team to the world stage after his side finished runner-up at the African championships to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Malaysia.
He has also qualified a youth side for next year’s African U-20 Championships in Senegal. “It is an advantage having worked with youth teams, as I know many of the players who are now in contention for a place in the national side. I have been involved with these junior players for a long time. We are bringing in new players and will then decide how many we can throw into the deep end, so to say.”