Bafana Bafana
Joel Santana
Facts & History
Contents |
South African Men's Team Overview
South African Football History
World Cup 2002
The lineup for the FIFA World Cup 2002 in Japan and Korea consisted of the country's greatest footballers, recalled to play for their country from clubs in Europe and all over the world.
The Bafana Bafana showed their true potential at the 2002 World Cup. Unfortunately they failed to move out of the first round group but they had a solid performance. They scored five goals in a one win, had one draw and lost to Spain 3-2 in an exciting match that proved that South Africa earned the right to perform on the world's football stage.
Goalkeepers
Andre Arendse (Santos), Calvin Marlin (Ajax Cape Town), Hans Vonk (SC Heerenveen, Netherlands)
Defenders
Bradley Carnell (VfB Stuttgart, Germany), Pierre Issa (Watford, England), Aaron Mokoena (Germinal Beerschot, Belgium), Thabang Molefe (Jomo Cosmos), Cyril Nzama (Kaizer Chiefs), Lucas Radebe (Leeds, England), Jacob Lekgetho (Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia)
Midfielders
Delron Buckley (VfL Bochum, Germany), Quinton Fortune (Manchester United, England), Thabo Mngomeni (Orlando Pirates), Bennett Mnguni (Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia), Teboho Mokoena (St Gallen, Switzerland), McDonald Mukansi (Lokomotiv Sofia, Bulgaria), Steven Pienaar (Ajax Cape Town), Jabu Pule (Kaizer Chiefs), MacBeth Sibaya (Jomo Cosmos), Sibusiso Zuma (FC Copenhagen, Denmark)
Strikers
Benedict McCarthy (Porto, Portugal), George Koumantarakis (FC Basle, Switzerland), Siyabonga Nomvete (Udinese, Italy)
World Cup 2006
The team failed to qualify for the final round of 32 in Germany for the World Cup 2006.
World Cup 2010 Qualification
Having secured the right to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the South African Football Association went after a winning coach to ensure that the country's team does not disappoint its supporters.
Carlos Alberto Parreira was Brazil's coach when they won the 1994 World Cup. He also led three other countries to the finals. Parreira was tasked with getting the national team back on track.
Parreira succeeded in achieving his first goal when South Africa qualified for the 2008 African Nations Cup in Ghana, although the team had many ups and downs leading there. At the CAN the South Africans were eliminated after the first round. But they were making progress and did much better than they ended in 2006.
After Bafana Bafana's best result under Parreira, a 3-0 defeat of Paraguay, the Brazilian coach amazed everyone by resigning in April 2008. His official statement was that he wanted to return home to his wife, who just had cancer surgery.
Joel Santana replaced him. He was recommended by Parreira and is also Brazilian. Santana has a great record in Brazilian club football, but he lacks much international football experience. The South African Football Association has put him in charge of preparing Bafana Bafana to make a strong appearance at home at the the 2010 World Cup.
Stars of the Current Squad
Team Legends
Most International Matches Played
| Rank | Player | Career Dates | Caps | # Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Most Appearances
| Rank | Player | Career Dates | # Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|
Most Goals
| Rank | Player | Career Dates | # Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
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