Bafana’s magic, Australia’s poison

It would not be unfair to say that a boxing match between Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki would have been far more exciting than watching Bafana Bafana against Australia. While both politicians cannot be said to be world-class boxers, the anticipation that the village lad might just pull his trademark Polokwane knockout punch is much more mouth-watering.

The good news is that Bafana gave a good account for themselves. But one wonders if there were really no better opponents to play than the Aussies. They are, of course, not a bad team. Their hard-work attitude makes them one of the most difficult sides to beat.

But if you are preparing for a game against the tantalizingly skillful Super Eagles of West Africa, playing against a “kick-and-run” football team like Australia is arguably self-defeating.

It’s really going to take a looong time before one witness a magical football moment being dished out by the Socceroos.

What do I mean by a magical moment? Well, look no further than Bafana’s second goal: the interplay and tricky back heel between Benni McCarthy and Bryce Moon, the well-calculated and rhythmically flowing lay-off to Teko Modise; and the world-class goal scored by the latter.

That second goal is exactly the kind of magic I’m referring to, and the Super Eagles of Nigeria are no strangers to those kinds of “footballing” moments.

However, the biggest positive from the game is that the pompous and ever-complaining Australian media will finally realise that their beloved bean-shaped country is in fact no better than our beloved Mzansi.

They had an opportunity to substantiate — on the field of play — their anti-South Africa/2010 campaign and they failed. I hope from now on they will put their poisonous pens to rest and start encouraging the soccer-loving Aussies to flock to South Africa for the 2010 tournament.

I have a feeling they might look forward to witnessing a very improved Bafana Bafana in flesh, because what they saw in London was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of South Africa’s “footballing” potential.