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When Bafana Bafana scored a record 6-0 victory over the Seychelles, most South Africans were shocked at the result.
Given that Seychelles is a holiday island, known more for its exotic beaches than any sporting feat, we should not have been surprised.
But our amazement stems from how the generally underperforming Bafana team had picked themselves up for this comfortable win.
So when they predictably laboured to a zero draw against the same team away in Seychelles a few days later, most people were shocked.
But, for dedicated local football lovers, this was hardly a surprise. This is the Bafana we have become used to.
The same team that failed to qualify for the last African Cup of Nations tournament, as well as the World Cup.
The latter qualifiers were illustrative of the team’s lack of pedigree, as South Africa lost to Cape Verde twice, a small nation that still failed to qualify for the World Cup despite being gifted six points by Bafana.
So Tuesday’s result was more Groundhog Day. A telling picture of how football fans view Bafana was the empty FNB stadium seen when Bafana played Seychelles last Saturday.
A day later tens of thousands packed the Free State stadium as Bloemfontein Celtic took on Kaizer Chiefs in a meaningless match staged to mark the end of the Macufe music festival.
The message here is that Bafana have lost the confidence of the nation. The fun and excitement of watching our national football team has long disappeared.
Many would rather watch paint dry. And the latest Seychelles result explains why.
Safa, Bafana Technical Team and the players have a lot of work to do to win back football fans.
With the talent and resources at our disposal, we have no business dishing up lacklustre performances and losing to minnows.
