FINDING THE NET
MNINAWA NTLOKO: We cannot give up and accept 1996 was Bafana at their peak
We need to return to the lab and search for that misplaced winning formula that allowed SA to ascend to the top of the continental food chain 22 years ago
Saturday February 3 marked 22 years since Bafana Bafana won the Africa Cup of Nations and the silence was deafening. Apart from a few people who took to social media to reminisce about SA football’s most famous afternoon, the day went by almost unnoticed. The response to Bafana’s 1996 triumph has certainly become increasingly muted each year and that image of captain Neil Tovey hoisting the trophy, with jubilant former president Nelson Mandela, King Goodwill Zwelithini, FW de Klerk and coach Clive Barker looking on, is starting to fade into distant memory. In the immediate years after that glorious afternoon, the achievement was mythologised in SA as the high point of our footballing achievement. and the two goals Mark Williams scored after replacing Phil Masinga with 25 minutes to go were a staple diet on our television screens in the days leading up to February 3. Coaches, analysts and talent scouts used the game to motivate aspiring players who also dreamt of making it big overse...
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