In a move designed to reposition the women soccer in South Africa, the South African soccer federation appointed former Bafana Bafana defender, Augustine Makalakalane to handle the team. Appointed in April, the dreadlock coach has transformed the team that could not win any match when they hosted Africa in 2004 into a winning giant. His team sent the warning signal when they spanked Algeria 4-0.
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In this interview, Makalakalane gave insight into his new assignment, the Banyana Banyana and the 2010 World Cup. Excerpts:
What is the big difference between managing a women's team and that of the men’s
AUGUSTINE: I try my best not to lay emphasis on the sex of the players. Yes, they are women and they are soft and they are nice. What I do is to train them properly .The only difference between them and men is in certain parts of the body. Men have bigger muscle and tend to work harder but women if you push them, they can endure the same kind of hard training that you give to men. They are supposed to play football like men and even though they have the flair of women it doesn’t stop them from expressing themselves in the tactics, the discipline and team formation that you apply. My ladies are coping very well with the challenges I put forward to them, they are willing to learn all the time
Nigeriasports: And just how often do you subject them to the rigours of training, like the men?
AUGUSTINE: Women in South Africa especially don't play the game everyday like the men do.Men will play everyday, climb the trees, run and do every imaginable thing but the women have the house chores to do and when they have time that is only when they play football. But you need to watch out for that opportunity when they do have time, to exploit them and challenge them in the game.
Nigeriasports: South Africa got to their only final in the AWC in 2000, any pressure on you to perform better
AUGUSTINE: Pressure will always be there. If it is good pressure I am enjoying it because being in football and wanting to be the best you must accept and concede the fact that you will always be under pressure and scrutiny. Everybody is watching us not only in South Africa but also throughout the world because South Africa is hosting the 2010 World Cup and everybody is keenly eyeing the football development in the country. Yes I'm happy to be under this pressure because it is good pressure. If there is no pressure, there won’t be challenges so I'm taking them in my strides.
Nigeriasports: Last time out, the Banyana Banyana did not win a single match when they hosted the AWC on home soil. This time around, playing away from home, how far can they go?
AUGUSTINE: They(the players) will tell you how far they can go after tomorrow (second match against Equatorial Guinea),because there is a limit to what the Coach can do .The players will decide which direction they want to go but I have tried to prepare them as much as possible, knowing the demands of the game and international expectations. But it is up to the players to go into the pitch and enjoy themselves and express themselves and give a good account of themselves as players.
They know what happened to them in 2000 and now its up to them to prove not only to me but the rest of Africa and say Banyana Banyana is out once again to make amends. We have blended some young players with the old ones and there are some experienced legs like Veronica Phewa, Jo-Anne Solomon, Portia Modise and Rose Tijani. These are some of the experienced lads that were around in 2000 and hopefully, their experience can rub-off on the young stars who are ready to learn. The experienced players can use their brains but the youngsters can turn the game around.
Nigeriasports: Equatorial Guinea looks like no hoppers coming up against your team that fired in four goals in the opening match
AUGUSTINE: I see every game differently. Everyone is here to compete. It is not going to be an easy ride for South Africa. Of course we started well and I am very happy that we started that well, not conceding a goal and actually putting pressure on others in the group. We can play better and we need to go on board tomorrow( against Equatorial Guinea) and play well again and compete and give respect to all other countries because they qualified in their regions to get this far. There are no pushovers, nobody is here to make the numbers, everyone is here to compete and represent their country.
Nigeriasports: What is your view on the development of the Women's game after six months in office?
AUGUSTINE: Over these past six months, I have noticed at close quarters the development of the game. We were in Namibia to play some six weeks with the under-20, we were in Zambia for the COSAFA Cup and we did very well. I have seen some young talents throughout Africa. I was in Russia to watch the FIFA Under-20 World Cup and I saw some extremely young African talents that need to be protected. All the Associations in Africa need to come together and start giving attention to the development of the Women's game in Africa, train them properly and give them proper facilities and infrastructures and generally make them feel to be on the same level with the men.
The men may have provided the benchmark and are role models but we don’t have to ignore the ladies development because they are very keen to compete and they are enthusiastic about their development. We don’t have to ignore them because if the community of football in Africa is growing, it cannot grow without our bringing the women on board.
Realistically speaking, what would delight you in terms of a result at the 5th AWC
AUGUSTINE: I have prepared for this tournament with a vision of winning the tournament. I have not come here to make up the numbers. I am going to compete in every game from now on until the end of the Championship. If I can win the Championship, I will be exceptionally happy. And if I get to the final, I will still be very, very happy because that’s what it takes to compete at this level and showcase your talent and your knowledge about the game
Nigeriasports: But even in competing, there are threats from Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroun
AUGUSTINE: The threat comes from all the countries that have qualified for this Tournament, otherwise they wouldn’t have been here. For me, playing Nigeria, Ghana or Cameroun, yes of course they are footballing countries while we all are the underdogs but we are prepared to fight against the so called big countries. It's left to be seen what happens when the tournament progresses.
Nigeriasports: South Africa is hosting the 2010 World Cup. Can the Bafana Bafana use this advantage and win for Africa its first World Cup
AUGUSTINE: We have to be realistic. After winning the Nations Cup in 1996, we had the opportunity to climb higher in the game. But when it was time to be realistic enough to put the infrastructures and proper development in place ,we could not. And that is why the performance of the team has been going slowly but truly down over the years and I think that was a wake up call.
We have won the right to host the 2010 World Cup but that does not mean our being capable of actually going out to win the Tournament. We have to work extremely hard, we have to double our efforts as a Nation to make sure that we put proper structures and proper approach towards improving the game and getting very ready. Not just the infrastructures and the rest of the stuff but we have to build a proper team that can compete against the rest of the World.
We have to start with the African Cup of Nations qualifiers which are currently on and if we are able to do well and improve at the African Nations
Cup, it will give a lot of confidence and hope to South Africans who will then start believing that we are almost ready to compete at the World Cup
Nigeriasports: And Bafana Bafana Brazilian Manager, Carlos Alberto Parriera is grappling with the issue of home-based and foreign-based stars
AUGUSTINE: It is always a major problem in African football when you have a Manager that must blend the foreign-based and home players. The challenge is for the Manager to look at the foreign-based players that he wants to use because they all have contracts with foreign Clubs and the domestic talents and balance the situation.
The rules are there on when the players are expected to report for their national team duties. He must be able to strike a balance, Once he is able to do that, he is heading in the right direction.,
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