Broos' plan came together beautifully for Bafana

"BUNCH OF LOSERS!" 

These were the headlines that greeted Bafana Bafana, with the comments coming from none other than the then Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, after the team’s 3-1 defeat to Nigeria in the 2014 African Nations Championship.

Mbalula also claimed Bafana were "useless", made reference to their "mediocrity", and stated that "we indeed have a crisis of monumental proportions".

Contrast this to the jubilant celebration scenes, led by current Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie screaming into the cameras “Siyaya e-America” on Tuesday evening at Nelspruit’s Mbombela Stadium after Bafana qualified for next year’s Fifa World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

For Bafana to have come this far is staggering. It’s pinch me, wake up, everybody’s dreaming territory.

Qualification for a first Fifa World Cup since 2002 was achieved despite the off-field sagas of Safa being debt-ridden leading to the national football’s governing body needing a R5-million bailout from McKenzie’s portfolio last December to settle outstanding player remuneration.

This was on top of President Danny Jordaan facing fraud charges.

And lest not forget the Mokoena-gate dramas that threatened to derail Bafana’s entire World Cup campaign after the team suffered a three-point penalty due to fielding an ineligible player against Lesotho. 

It’s no wonder Bafana team manager Vincent Tseka - the man reportedly responsible for the inexcusable gaffe - was the first to embrace coach Hugo Broos when the final whistle blew at the zebra-painted stadium.

It now becomes clearer what Mbalula meant all those years ago when he said "We don't have a crisis of talent, we have a crisis of putting everything together."

Talent we certainly do have. Oswin Appolis’ creative energy was the heart of everything Bafana did well on Tuesday evening with his crackerjack of a goal that bulged the Rwandan net, capping a performance that will be etched into Bafana Bafana folklore. 

Appolis, of course, plays for Orlando Pirates, and formed part of an entirely local-based Bafana starting XI that lined up against Rwanda.

In the past this may have been viewed as a negative, with players always urged to further their careers overseas, but the performances of clubs such as Mamelodi Sundowns, Pirates and even Stellenbosch FC - whose players make up the majority of the squad - in reaching the knockout stages of both the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup over the last couple of years has given players the confidence and experience to tackle the big matches on the continent. 

The Fifa World Cup will, of course, be a step up in quality and pressure. Defences will be a lot tighter and more structured. Analysis a lot more technical with players such as Appolis no longer unknown quantities, but marked men now.

But there’s no doubt Hugo Broos will prepare his team accordingly. It was just a fortnight ago on these very pages that I criticised Broos for the management of players outside of his squad due to comments made in the public domain.

The Belgian though is a shrewd tactician and motivator. And along with his co-pilot Helman Mkhalele, who played in the first-ever Bafana team to feature in the Fifa World Cup back in 1998, together they will formulate a plan.

Broos doesn’t resemble Hannibal from the 1980s US sitcom ‘The A Team’ for no reason. 

Back then Mbalula also pleaded that as a nation "we must never wake up to that again" in the midst of his tirade.

Thanks to Broos and his Bafana A Team, I and 66 million other people in Mzansi, woke up on Wednesday morning with a smile as broad as the Grand Canyon. 

Siyaya e-America!