Zebras hit tunnel after the light
Mqondisi Dube | Friday November 21, 2014 11:54
The euphoria that accompanied the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations first ever qualification by the Zebras is long dead. Actually it only remains in the history books.
The sounds of the triumphant vuvuzelas are distant memory.
The fans are silent. The results are not forthcoming and scoring a goal is considered a dust of gold while earning a point equates to winning the World Cup. This is the Zebras’ story today.
Stanley Tshosane was forced to walk after an uninspiring run despite breaking records earlier when he took the team to Equatorial Guinea and Gabon in 2012. The Botswana Football Association (BFA) fished Englishman, Peter Butler to retrieve a lost cause after the departure of Tshosane.
Butler’s road map of rebuilding has instead produced a trail of disasters in a six game winless run.
Dawn has not arrived after the Zebras were plunged into a dark period that has produced just one point and a goal. In the process, the defence has been breached 11 times.
Fans thought normal service had been restored when the Zebras fought gallantly against Tunisia last Friday.
They pinched a point against the North Africans but the 3-0 defeat to Senegal on Wednesday night resurrected fresh debates on the direction the team is taking.
Butler without a doubt will argue his project is only morphing with qualification for the 2017 AFCON finals the ultimate goal. But the easy capitulation in the group stages of the just ended qualifiers has been the clearest indication of a spluttering rebuilding project.
The Zebras were officially the second worst performing team in the group stages of the qualifiers with just a point to show for their efforts.
War-ravaged Sierra Leone was only bottom after conceding one goal more than the Zebras.
Both managed one point.
The Zebras began their ill-fated campaign with a trip to Tunisia and received a narrow 2-1 beating, before trips to Egypt and Senegal piled more misery.
Butler has said the Zebras was in a tough group and are not yet at the same strength as the opposition in the pool.
But the recent record performance of a minnow like Cape Verde Islands will quickly contradict the Briton.
With virtually unknown players, the tiny nation has matched illustrious continental giants in two consecutive qualifiers.
They were emphatic in dismissing Egypt and Cameroon on their way to maiden appearance at the 2013 AFCON finals. With a population of just under 500,000, Cape Verde defiantly reached the last eight on their debut in South Africa.
They proved their 2013 success was no fluke when they booked a place in Equatorial Guinea next year, emerging top in a group that had 2012 champions, Zambia.
The BFA, no matter how much it throws around the rebuilding mantra, knows the Zebras must compete regardless of the opponent. The next draw might be even harsher.
The team has been making steady progress over the years and to regress, even against giants has left fans wondering where the Butler project is headed.
The coach might argue his side, a concoction of young, promising players and veterans has the gravitas to reach greater heights.
But results in the last six matches do not support the conviction, particularly the performance in front of goal, which continues to be the stuff of nightmares.
The Zebras found the net - for the only time - in the 43rd minute of their encounter against Tunisia on September 6 when a counter attack resulted in Joel Mogorosi becoming the only Botswana player to score in the group stages.
The only shining light has been the emergence of Segolame Boy as a genuine international. The BFA and Butler might swat away concerns over the national team’s poor showing, but a gargantuan task lies ahead if the historic 2012 AFCON feat is to be replicated.