While the Springboks are back-to-back world champions and been the trendsetters in South African sport, Bafana Bafana were on the opposite end of the scale since hosting the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
In fact, it seemed as if things were so bad that the players themselves put in more effort for their clubs than the national team.
That may be one of the legacies of apartheid, where club football was all local fans could watch and shout about.
There was a glorious period after readmission to international football, which led to the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations triumph and qualification for the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, as well as the staging of the 2010 edition in Mzansi.
But since those heady days, things have just not been quite right with Bafana, despite the odd good tournament or result.
It was portrayed in the empty stands at national team matches, and missing qualification for all the World Cups since 2010.
There was hope that the 2016 Olympic team that held a Neymar-led Brazil to a 0-0 at the Rio Games would become a powerhouse on the African continent again, but it never quite happened – with only a quarter-final spot at the 2019 Afcon a rare highlight.
From the 2016 Olympic squad, only Mothobi Mvala is in the current Bafana group, with others such as captain Keagan Dolly, Rivaldo Coetzee, Abbubaker Mobara, Lebo Mothiba and Eric Mathoho all having had stints in the national team at various stages.
When Hugo Broos took over as head coach in 2021, he had to understand the lay of the land first before he could imprint his vision on the team.
Mixed results followed, and he was castigated in some quarters for not picking crowd favourites and Kaizer Chiefs players, while they were controversially knocked out of the 2022 World Cup qualifying after Ghana received a questionable penalty.
But the Belgian mentor persevered, and things started changing slowly.
The 2-1 Afcon qualifier win over Liberia in Monrovia may have been the turning point under Broos, with goals by Zakhele Lepasa and Mihlali Mayambela securing the three points.
That victory was followed by a significant 2-1 triumph over 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco at the FNB Stadium, with Lepasa again on the score-sheet, which would’ve given the South Africans real belief that they can be truly competitive once more.
Fast forward to this year’s Afcon campaign in the Ivory Coast, where a remarkable run was ended in a semi-final penalty shoot-out defeat to Nigeria, and it is clear that Bafana are now operating on a much more professional level.
No longer are clubs more important than the national team, based on the evidence from the Afcon tournament and the unbeaten 2025 Afcon qualifying campaign.
Broos cut out some of the dead wood in the side over the last few years, and now there is a host of young stars chasing every ball and showing terrific commitment to the cause.
“The big achievement that I think this team made is mentality. When I started two-and-a-half years ago, I was sometimes very disappointed when I saw trainings,” Broos said following this week’s comfortable 3-0 win over South Sudan at a packed Cape Town Stadium.
⏪🅸🅲🆈🅼🅸 ⏪
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) November 20, 2024
Bafana Bafana finished at the top of #AFCONQ2025 Group K following their 3⃣➖0⃣ victory over South Sudan in Cape Town!#SABCSportFootball pic.twitter.com/DZg1VVG5Vi
“I had the feeling that some players were coming to the national team as a holiday. ‘Phew, we are out of the club now, and now it’s holiday’ – a little training, a game.
“That was the feeling that I had. Most of the time that happened with players of a certain age, and it’s normal.
“So, the hunger is a little bit less because you always had it already. That’s why I changed so much, because I wanted that mentality that when you are at training, you train.
“You are not coming to have an hour-and-a-half of fun. Yes, there can be fun, as it doesn’t have to be very serious every time.
“But it can’t be all fun. With those guys, you see the training, they just do what they do in the game. Sometimes you have to say to a guy, ‘Hey, calm down, don’t injure your teammate’.
“But it’s better if you have to say that than to say, ‘Hey, come on! You’re sleeping!’.
“There is so much change in mentality in the team, comparing with two or three years ago. That mentality makes us progress.
“The quality was always there... I saw good players. But they are not (in the team) anymore because they didn’t have the right mentality.
“There were some requests of journalists, ‘Why not this one? Why not that one?’, and it was not because the quality was not there, but I thought in that moment, this is not the guy who fits in my team.
“Sometimes maybe people don’t understand that... okay. It’s sometimes frustrating for me that I got the criticism of (selecting) this one, and not this one. But I know what I’m doing: I think I have enough experience for that.
“I think the result is there, and we now have the team – won the games, friendly games, training. The mentality is there because they know this is a job. You play for your country – that has to be another (responsibility).
“When you put that shirt on, you are playing for your country – not three or four days’ holiday. No, no, no. It is a job, and those guys are doing that. I am very proud that I am the coach of those guys.”
🥲 ℙℝ𝕆𝕌𝔻 🥲
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) November 20, 2024
🗣️ "𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚠𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢 - 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚍"
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos reacting to their win over South Sudan in Cape Town!#SABCSportFootball #AFCONQ2025 pic.twitter.com/fC7Yi8QJtB
Not only that, they have added some dazzle to their make-up too. While lowly South Sudan were totally outclassed, Bafana still had to put them away in Cape Town – and they did in style.
The almost telepathic interplay between the likes of left back Fawaaz Basadien and left wing Oswin Appollis, and Khuliso Mudau and Thapelo Morena on the right, was something to behold.
Stalwart Teboho Mokoena and Bathusi Aubaas added the cut and thrust up the middle, and Iqraam Rayners and Patrick Maswanganyi got their goals – and could’ve scored many more too.
“I think there was movement in all the team. There was a high tempo, good passing, which is what I asked also,” Broos said.
“When you try to make little passes and create chances, it was not possible against this team. So, we asked (them) to play deep, make action on the wings and to have much movement in the team.
“Everything that I asked, I saw today. You can ask a team or players to do something, but when you don’t see it on the pitch, then you are always a little bit disappointed as a coach.
“But today, what I asked them in the pre-match meeting this afternoon, they wanted to do it, and they did it also.
“When you play that kind of football, then it’s very difficult for the opponent, because from everywhere, there were players coming – one goes deep, the other comes back. There was always movement in the team, and we only lost a few seconds of focus – that was the moment in the first half when they got a chance.
“But for the rest, everybody stayed focused, stayed concentrated for the 90 minutes. This is what you want as a coach, and I repeat it again: I am very proud today.”
Now Broos’ ‘mentality monsters’ return to their clubs for the next three or so months, before gathering again in March for their next World Cup qualifier against Lesotho.