Aaron Mokoena Reveals the Stress of a Home World Cup
Bafana Bafana captain Aaron Mokoena has revealed the full extent of the nerves that troubled Carlos Alberto Parreira’s camp before Africa’s first World Cup kicked off at Soccer City last year.
As 2011 unfolds, Mokoena remembers 2010 as “the maddest year of my life” and remembers June 9 as the toughest moment. Two days before the big kick off against highly-ranked Mexico, the lowest ranked team to host a World Cup were preparing for their open-top bus parade through Sandton. He recalls, “We were concerned, myself and Carlos. Normally you go on a parade after you have achieved something.
“In the end, we just thought we’d go out there and thank people. We had to acknowledge them. But as we drove out of our camp, we couldn’t move, the crowd was so big. Our bus couldn’t get through. And we saw people of every race, which was something that shocked us.
“The only time we’d seen South Africans coming together like that before was when Nelson Mandela was released. And I was very young then, in 1990. At the age of 29, to see something like the crowds on that day, most of us were in tears. Carlos has been around, he’s won World Cups. But Carlos was amazed too.”
And then to Soccer City and the grand opening on June 11. After the glittering opening ceremony and a brief appearance from Mandela himself, Bafana Bafana appeared toy-toying from the tunnel, and Mokoena admits it was an attempt to calm the nerves, “Playing in the World Cup is stressful, but we thought: we can’t stop doing what we do because of nerves.
“We believe in having fun. Dance is in our football culture. The tunnel, the stadium, the national anthem, those vuvuzelas, that’s an experience. Amazing, wasn’t it?”
After 55 minutes, along came the glorious opening goal from Kaizer Chiefs’ Siphiwe Tshabalala, voted one of the best goals of the tournament. Mokoena admits, “Before this year, no-one knew Siphiwe overseas, not even me. Slowly during the build-up, the friendlies, he became promising and against Mexico, what a cracker. Has there ever been an opening World Cup goal better than that?”
How a team is expected to deal with the unique pressure of that moment is hard to say. After the months of hype and controversy, along comes a net-bulging screamer, and 84,490 fans start going mad with their blaring trumpets. Then along comes Mexico’s Rafael Marques with the equaliser 12 minutes from time—the goal which ultimately put South Africa out of the World Cup.
But Mokoena smiles through the painful memories: the defeat against Uruguay and the proud but ultimately meaningless win over fallen giants France. That epic opening night will live forever in his heart, as he and his whole family experienced those unforgettable moments. He laughs, “All my six older brothers and sisters came to the games. My mum Maria had to be at the first game against Mexico. She did interviews before it. I knew she was proud of me but she said it live on telly. And I thought, ‘Mum can speak English now!’
“I’m the youngest one in the family. My mum, my brothers and sisters, they experienced apartheid growing up in Boipatong. They protected and supported me. Everything I’ve done is because of them.”
And the legacy of the World Cup? Mokoena, a still-mystified ambassador for England’s failed 2018 bid, argues, “When I go back people are still wearing Bafana Bafana shirts. We always said the World Cup had to leave a mark. It has and it is positive. I’ve always preached about development and now there’s loads. It’s economic, it’s football, it’s education.
“People make a country. As individuals we feel different. I’m talking from experience here, I’m not just saying this.”
Those are the words of a man who has come a long way since the dark days in Boipatong, when his mum dressed him in girl’s clothes to protect her 12 year old son from the faction fighting at the local community centre.
Mokoena has signed a new contract for his club, financially struggling Portsmouth. He scored his first English league goal against Bristol City in October after six years in England, and he’s just begun studying for a sports business degree at the local university. Oh, and along the way, he was granted the Freedom of London for the work of his Aaron Mokoena Foundation, which helps underprivileged children.
Not bad for the boy from Boipatong, the Axe from Africa. He admits, “Nothing has been as mad as 2010. When I look at this year as a whole, I look at my life. I look at when I was a young boy growing up, and my life. Last year was when I was supposed to sit back but instead 2010 showed people what kind of a person I am.
“Now I think about being the most capped player in South African football, a record I broke this year (he’s on 103 caps and counting, if Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane has any wisdom). To be the first African captain at an African World Cup, wow. I think about my Foundation. I got the Freedom of London — only Nelson Mandela had that. I got a presidential award in South Africa. It’s been amazing and emotional.
“Then you look at Portsmouth, going into administration, deducted points, relegated from the Premier League... but then getting to Wembley under Avram Grant to play an FA Cup final. And we knew the team would break up after it. Amazing.”
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