CAPE TOWN – Today we bring you the next part of our Top 50 Bafana Bafana Players series which saw us rank players between 50 and 41 on Tuesday.
There will always be different opinions when it comes to naming top players over a certain period, and today’s rankings between 40 and 31 will shock a few people.
Hopefully the shock and awe will be enough to create an ongoing conversation, and we encourage users to hit us up on our social media platforms and let us know just how off the mark we are.
Part 1: The top 50 Bafana Bafana players (41 - 50)
Brian Baloyi comes in today so does Eric Mathoho and a certain Germiston-born defender who scored an own goal during South Africa’s first-ever World Cup game.
Sit back and enjoy the lockdown with our ranking of players between 40 and 31.
40. Matthew Booth (37 caps)
We were somewhat cheated that Matthew Booth only played 37 times for the national team. A tall, solid centre back who used to organise the defence well, Booth was a colossus at the back for Mamelodi Sundowns during the late 90s and early 2000s. Between 2003 and 2007, when he was at his peak, he only played one game for Bafana Bafana, which makes you wonder just what national team bosses were thinking at that time.
39. Pierre Issa (47 caps)
There’s a common misconception that Pierre Issa scored two own goals during Bafana Bafana’s opening game of the 1998 World Cup in France against the hosts. But, he didn’t. The second “own goal” was Thierry Henry’s first-ever in a France jersey. While he had the odd mistake in him every once in a while, Issa played well for the national team, featuring for Bafana Bafana when they were still a powerhouse on the continent.
38. Anele Ngcongca (53 caps)
Not many football fans in South Africa had heard about the lanky right back when he made his international bow back in 2009. When he came into the side and the South African public eventually got to see him, his quality was never in doubt when marshalling the right-hand touchline during the 2009 Confederations Cup, 2010 World Cup, and after.
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— Soccer Laduma (@Soccer_Laduma)
37. Nasief Morris (37 caps)
Nasief Morris was a reliable central defender who made his name at Cape Town minnows Santos in the late 90s. He left the club before their miracle season of 2001/02 for Greece and became one of Panathinaikos’ best players for a decade. While he was a solid defender, he did not enjoy the best of times in the Bafana shirt as he first copped a worldwide ban for attacking a referee in 2004, and was part of the 2008 Afcon side that was dumped out of the tournament in the first round.
36. Sibusiso Vilakazi (27 caps)
With the eye for the spectacular goal, the Soweto-born Sibusiso Vilakazi is currently one of the best midfield players in the local game. One of his most valuable traits, which makes him so important for Bafana Bafana, is his versatility, able to play on the right and upfront when the situation calls on him to do so.
35. Eric Mathoho (34 caps)
At almost two metres tall, Eric Mathoho towers over almost everyone he comes up against. He’s been one of the most reliable players since making his international debut in 2012. He’s been one of the main men in the heart of defence and was ever-present during Bafana Bafana’s unbeaten run through 2016.
34. Brian Baloyi (24 caps)
Just how Brian Baloyi earned just 24 caps for Bafana Bafana will always be a mystery. He was hands down the best goalkeeper in the country towards the back end of the last century and beginning of this one. But, he just couldn’t push the door hard enough to displace the duo of Andre Arendse and Hans Vonk. He used to pull off spectacular saves, which earned him the nickname “Spider-Man”. His time in the sun came in 1998 when he was Bafana’s first choice at the Africa Cup of Nations in Burkina Faso, where they were beaten in the final by Egypt.
33. Benedict Vilakazi (31 caps)
The diminutive midfielder was technically sound and a hard worker in the heart of the park. It’s always been said that had Benedict Vilakazi been a foot taller, he would have walked into the biggest teams in Europe, such was his class.
32. Hans Vonk (43 caps)
No one had heard of the Alberton-born Heerenveen goalkeeper when Philippe Troussier named him into the training squad ahead of the 1998 World Cup, but we were all impressed once we got to see him in action. A decent shot-stopper who used to bellow orders from the back, the Netherlands trained Vonk in his heyday was reminiscent of Edwin van der Sar.
31. Bradley Carnell (42 caps)
Bradley Carnell was a decent left-back who marshalled the left flank for Bafana Bafana on-and-off between 1997 and 2010. Had he held down the position and made it his own, it’s possible he could have played over 100 games in the national team jersey, but it wasn’t meant to be. He was one of the top left-backs in the Bundesliga throughout the first decade of the 21st century, but he hardly featured in this period, which was a lost opportunity.