Morena Ramoreboli went to bed on Sunday night full of excitement after guiding Bafana Bafana to COSAFA Cup glory.
Asked to take charge of the team after Bafana assistant coach Helman Mkhalele went into a 10-day isolation following a rapid COVID-19 testing, Ramoreboli gleefully took the coaching job and delivered the COSAFA Cup trophy.
Bafana beat Senegal’s Teranga Lions 5-4 on penalties after a goalless draw at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Sunday evening.
“I’m so excited. You know when this journey started, it looked very difficult with all the challenges we had, but honestly speaking, credit to the boys, credit to the technical team,” Ramoreboli said.
“I always say we wouldn’t do all we did if God was not on our side. We managed to perform real miracles. You remember the stage when we had only 13 players when we started. We had to be cautious. Those are some of the experiences you gain in football where you know how to manage the team when you have less numbers. We are all excited.”
Bafana went all the way to win the tournament without conceding a goal in regulation time in the six matches they played.
“This is a good victory for us because we fought so hard for it,” Ramoreboli remarked after the Senegal match.
This was the first time since 2016 that Bafana won the COSAFA Cup tournament. And they are now five-time COSAFA Cup champions.
“I think we have a bright future considering the fact that there are players who play regularly in Bafana who were not even part of the camp and we had close to 12 or 13 players who were playing for the first time for Bafana,” Ramoreboli said.
“This simply means that coach Hugo Broos has enough pool to choose from. It also gives him a chance to look at all the players. It will be easy to have the players ready for Bafana because this tournament on its own was a test of character for many of them.”
Meanwhile, Bafana captain Veli Mothwa won the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award after he kept clean sheets in the five matches he played.
Mothwa’s AmaZulu teammate Siyethemba Sithebe, who was Bafana vice-captain, walked away with the Player of the Tournament award.
