The sooner the South African Football Association (Safa) invest in proper media relations training for their employees the better.
Of course, the discerning soccer fan would not have been surprised by Shakes Mashaba’s outbursts following Bafana Bafana’s defeat to Botswana on Sunday. The country’s senior national team coach is known for such behaviour.
You’ll all remember how he publicly lashed out at then Safa CEO Raymond Hack after the association ruled that the likes of Benni McCarthy and Quinton Fortune could not play for the national under-23 side amid qualifications for the 2000 Olymics. There was also that time when he literally talked himself out of his job as Bafana coach by insisting Tyrone (sic) Arendse is as good as David Beckham as the association tried to dictate to him which players to choose for a friendly against England.
Perhaps he had some justification to speak out then, albeit at a huge cost. But there are times when silence is golden and this was the one time Bra Shakesneeded to zip it.
Responding to claims by Roger de Sa that Cape Town players were overlooked did not do Mashaba any good, the outburst coming across as an effort from the man to deflect attention from the team’s failure in a tournament he had previously said we need to dominate.
What Bra Shakes needs to realise is that leading the country’s senior national team sets you up for scrutiny and often people will say things that you will not necessarily agree with. But to respond all the time is a sign of weakness and a lack of that thick skin necessary for such a lofty position.
Those who attended the post-match conference following that loss to Botswana reported that Mashaba was pretty agitated, his responses to questions related to football matters pretty defensive. On Monday evening he had an awkward interview on a Metro FM sport show that has traditionally been very kind to him and his handling of it told the story of a man under pressure.
Could it be that the talk of the looming appointment of a Safa Technical Director has got Bra Shakes fearing for his job? In any case in this country the term technical director often translates to coach-in-waiting, and Mashaba seemed to allude to this fact.
Whatever it is that has got Mashaba shaken, my advice to the coach is to steer clear from getting involved in media spats – be it with club coaches or even the media themselves. It is a battle you just cannot win. What you can win though, is the support of the public who have appreciated the fact you have brought some semblance of respect to our national teams. - Ths Star