Let’s be honest, we were all hoping that our Under-23 men’s football team would upset the odds at the Rio Olympics this month. But the reality is that we were aware that their chances were slim against hosts Brazil, Denmark and the like.
So, it’s only fair to say the expectations were quite manageable - a gold medal would have been a moment to celebrate until Jesus comes back. But when the decisions made by the head coach are highly questionable, it is quite difficult to ignore the fact that our boys might still be at the Games as I hammer this keyboard writing this column. Oh, Owen da Gama, what have you done.
You see, folks, that’s the thing sometimes about jobs that fall from the sky like manna from heaven. When you are thrown deep into the pressure cooker, it doesn’t take long before you are found wanting. Da Gama became the Under-23 mentor by association. His bosses at Safa implemented what I think is a clever little synergy for all national teams when they appointed Shakes Mashaba as the Bafana Bafana coach in July 2014. It was Mashaba who picked Da Gama and Thabo Senong as his two assistants. There wasn’t so much of an outcry with Senong, who is seen as a whiz kid there to learn and has also been given the role of Under-20 coach.
But Da Gama immediately attracted attention because of his average track record at club level, as well as the allegations that, while coaching Platinum Stars, he solicited bribes from players in order to select them for the team. Now, “Rubber Doll” was cleared of any wrongdoing in May 2012, but parted company with the club regardless. This negative publicity was almost a mere footnote in his CV, until the trip to Rio, particularly the final group game where South Africa needed to beat Iraq to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Games.
Da Gama was clueless.
SA held Brazil to a goal- less draw in the opening game despite finishing the match with 10-men after midfielder Mothiba Mvala was sent off just before the hour mark. I suppose this raised our hopes and covered up the fact that one or two players were played out of position and that perhaps the man who was given his marching orders shouldn’t have started the game in the first place. We lacked a little bit of quality in the 1-0 defeat to Denmark, but the game that exposed Da Gama for his lack of know-how was the 1-1 stalemate against Iraq.
You should have seen the reaction on social media from South Africans who ditched their warm beds for a 3am kick-off to watch the coach literally throw the game away with his poor selection choices. As the two sides went into half-time, it was crystal clear that Da Gama had to ring the changes to give his men a fighting chances. He emerged from the change-room seemingly quite confident that his team talk would do the trick.
It didn’t, but what is most disappointing in this scenario is that there will be zero accountability as Da Gama returns to his comfy job as Bafana’s No 2, where it’s Mashaba who is under the spotlight instead.
@superjourno
The Star