SUPPORT MATTERS

South Africa will be playing at home for the 2013 African cup of nations, but the manager of the national team – Gordon Igesund – is not entirely confident that his team will have the best support at this tournament.

The coach has said that he noticed a large section of the crowd that was unhappy with the striker Katlego Mphela in the recent friendly match against Norway. Katlego Mphela missed a number of good opportunities in front of goal in this match, which the Bafana Bafana team lost 1-0. Igesund has said that the players should feel the support from the fans and not the opposite.

He has said that fans should remember the fact that players are human beings as well and they are prone to making mistakes. The negative reaction from the crowd has an equal effect on the player, who will also start thinking negatively and this will affect his performances on the pitch even further. Even though the team did not manage to score many goals in the match against Norway, Igesund is extremely confident that his team will find the back of the net on a regular basis at the African cup of nations. The team will be playing in one more friendly match against Algeria before the tournament.

“There is a great vibe out there, but I don’t think it’s from everybody at the moment. To get a crowd behind you, they (the crowd) have to be realistic and support. The fans are not supporting Katlego Mphela at the moment. Players are human beings. When a player has the support of the crowd, the player wants to get into the opposition area again and again. When the crowd start booing and start saying things, the player starts thinking negatively and he no longer gets into the area, he starts hiding,” Igesund.