Bafana Bafana Head Coach Molefi Ntseki says that as coach he needs to take responsibility after Bafana lost to Sudan on Sunday, ending their hopes of qualifying for the Afcon finals.
Sudan beat Bafana 2-0 to end above them in Group C and go through to the finals with group-winners Ghana.
Ntseki says it is a huge disappointment, as a nation, for the team and for him personally.
“Ja, I think as a head coach of Bafana Bafana, I came up with a turnaround strategy. And I think everything started very well, because we managed to accumulate the 10 points. And we just needed a point to qualify,” Ntseki said after the game.
“And yes, as a coach, as head of the selection committee, as head of the team, my disappointment, it’s huge.”
“It’s very huge for my personal growth, my personal achievements as a coach of Bafana Bafana, because the success of the team also is my success and the failures of the team firstly starts with me to say, I have failed as a coach.”
“Because in football, we need to own up. Because when there is success, you become everybody’s favorite. But when there is failure, you become an orphan.”
“And everybody’s looking up to you to say you failed the team. You could not qualify. But things like this do happen in football.”
“And we own up, we own up and we need to be very strong to say ja, team did not qualify. And I wanted as an individual, as a South African to see my country and to see my team playing in the Afcon. It’s a it’s a big disappointment for myself.”