Former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper coach Farouk Abrahams (pictured) reckons he has a blueprint for the SA national team that could see them progress beyond the group stages – it’s nothing fancy and radical, but it could be effective once applied to the ‘T’.
Hugo Broos (coach) and his SA troops will be in action in two friendly matches against Panama on Friday 27 March in Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium, followed by the second match at the Cape Town Stadium in the Mother City four days later (Tuesday, 31 March) – before they embark on their world cup journey where they will come up against the host Mexico in their opening match followed by South Korea and a European nation yet to emerge from the play-off stages.
Abrahams was part of the Bafana Bafana technical team in 2002 when he served as goalkeeper coach in Jomo Sono’s coaching squad in Korea/Japan. That was the last time that Bafana Bafana successfully navigated the qualifying campaign for a World Cup.
The 71-year-old Abrahams, also the founder of the Farouk Abrahams Goalkeeping Academy (FAGA), is one of the most experienced football legends in the country and there is very little, if any, that he’s not seen or experienced during his time in football which spans over five decades.
As a player who played in the last line of defence as a goalkeeper, the former Cape Town Spurs shot stopper understandably cited the importance of a solid defensive structure as the key component for success in tournament football.
“Look, you only need one goal to win a game and to go onto the next one,” Abrahams explained to No Bones with Jones during a press conference held at the Athlone Stadium on Thursday. “Because at the end of the day, if you look back at our campaign in 2002, was it the first game against Paraguay, hey, we drew 2-2 …We scored two nice goals, but then we also conceded one soft one from a freekick, perhaps Andre (Arendse) could have done better with that long-range strike, but that’s the nature of the beast.
“The second game against Slovenia, we did not concede and got a scrappy goal – off the knee of (Siyabonga) Nomvete, but it went in. Again, because of the defensive structure, we needed basically a draw to go through.
“Unfortunately, against Spain, we scored two goals against a top country like that, but then again, you know, we conceded a soft goal towards the end, and that was it.
“So, that is the key in tournament football because one goal can win you a game if you defend properly. I don’t think they must go toe-to-toe with teams, because toe-to-toe, then they get excited and lose their shape. Because if you go-toe to toe it’s about showing the other guys we can also pass the ball around 20 times in slow build-ups. It’s fine if there’s a strategy to it, but ball possession without a purpose does not count for much.
“So, the important thing is … the Panama game will be a good exercise, but the people would want to see an open game, so it will be a good opportunity for them to practice that strategy to have a little bit of composure and hit them on the counter – and that is their strength as they are looking dangerous on the counter
“It’s not about pretty football, I mean, there were some World Cups that had many boring games because winning was the only objective. So, that’s the mentality you need to have. Don’t try to please the masses in the tournament because, ultimately, it is about surviving,” Abrahams concluded.
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY CONRAY SWAIL
