Reneilwe Letsholonyane and Pitso Mosimane (Gallo Images)
- It has been eight years since the South African Football Association (SAFA) sacked Pitso Mosimane as head coach of Bafana Bafana.
- Reneilwe “Yeye” Letsholonyane believes SAFA should not have fired Mosimane in 2012.
- Bafana Bafana would have been in a much better state now under the Mamelodi Sundowns coach, Letsholonyane believes.
- Letsholonyane urges SAFA to start taking players seriously to improve the state of football in the country.
Last week – 11 June – South Africa celebrated the 10th anniversary of hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup – the first and only on African soil.
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During that tournament, Bafana Bafana were mentored by Brazilian legend and World Cup-winning coach Carlos Alberto Perreira, with Julio Leal and Pitso Mosimane as his assistants.
After their 1-1 draw to Mexico in the opening match at Soccer City, Bafana Bafana and the rest of the country still had faith that the national side could progress beyond the group stages.
That dream was short-lived.
A heavy defeat to Uruguay (3-0) and a shocking but welcome 2-1 victory over France was not enough to see Bafana through to the Round of 16, as Mexico advanced on goal-difference.
After 2010, the South African Football Association (SAFA) had to start all over again and Pitso Mosimane was then handed the reins, tasked with guiding Bafana through qualification for the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) in 2012.
“Obviously, for consistency, you need a coach that will be their long-term. Things won’t go your way all the time… you will lose games,” former Bafana Bafana midfielder Reneilwe “Yeye” Letsholonyane told Sport24 exclusively.
“Yes, results are important, but there are other things that are more important than results. Coaches should be given time to settle in and figure out what he wants.”
Letsholonyane believes that Mosimane was the perfect long-term candidate for Bafana and that, in hindsight, SAFA probably rues their decision to fire the current Mamelodi Sundowns head coach.
Mosimane has now won four PSL titles, two Telkom Knockouts, one Nedbank Cup, one CAF Champions League and a CAF Super Cup in the eight years he has been at Chloorkop.
In 2016, he was also the first South African to be named the CAF African Coach of the Year.
Four and half years prior to Mosimane receiving that prestigious award, he was fired by SAFA, less than two years into his four-year contract after Bafana Bafana’s shocking failure to qualify for the 2012 Afcon.
“After the 2010 Soccer World Cup when Pitso (Mosimane) took over, I think we as the national team played a very good type of football – exciting, entertaining and we were passionate about doing our job,” said Letsholonyane, who has 50 caps for Bafana Bafana.
“Every player that was coming into the national team knew what they were brought in to do.
“I think coach Pitso had a plan, he knew what he wanted the national team to look like in the next four years.
“I could see in every national camp that he would always include five or six young players.
“He had a plan to groom the young players as well, but unfortunately he got fired.
“I think if Pitso was still coach Bafana would be in a much better state than we are right now.”
SAFA is often criticised by the South African public, and various former Bafana Bafana players have previously spoken out about the association and its lack of urgency in turning around the country’s football.
With his experience in dealing with SAFA and Bafana Bafana, Letsholonyane has now urged the association to start listening to the players in order to get the national side on the right track.
“I think it starts with taking players seriously or just in general, SAFA should start taking things seriously,” he said.
“They should try and take care of things properly.”
