Bafana Bafana Proud In Defeat To Brazil

Gordon Igesund be lieves Bafana Bafana handed South Africans a renewed sense of optimism, despite their 1-0 friendly defeat at the hands of Brazil at the weekend.

The visitors had the Samba Kings on the back foot for chunks of the game, with the locals even giving Igesund’s charges a standing ovation at full-time.

It was Hulk who eventually broke the deadlock with 15 minutes to go to earn Brazil the triumph, but their supporters still acknowledged Bafana’s brave performance.

“When I went into the post-match press conference, their journalists asked me how it felt outplaying such an expensive squad during parts of the game,” Igesund revealed.

“They asked how it felt to see the Brazilians cheering for South Africa and said we must be proud, because they hardly ever give praise to the opposition. If five-time world champions can respect how we played, we should too.”

Asked about the players’ state of mind after the clash, Igesund added: “They’re very disappointed, which is a good thing because it means they know how well they did. They wanted something from the game because they really deserved it.

“I am proud of how they conducted themselves against a team of Brazil’s calibre with some of the biggest and most talented stars in the game. The boys can look at themselves and be very happy with what they see – they played brilliantly.”

Igesund will now shift focus to tomorrow’s friendly against Mozambique, which will afford him another chance to assess the players at his disposal.