Legendary Banyana Banyana forward Portia Modise swallowed her words questioning Desiree Ellis’ pedigree following the team’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations triumph on Saturday.
An unstoppable Banyana side defied the odds to win their first African title in Rabat, Morocco. The South African women’s national team beat hosts – the Atlas Lionesses – 2-1 courtesy of a Hilda Magaia second-half brace.
Modise has been vocal about issues bedevilling women’s football in South Africa. Ahead of the WAFCON finals, Modise made shocking remarks alleging that her former teammate, Ellis, had done nothing to improve the national team.
She said the three-time African Coach of the Year was enjoying the fruits of Dutch coach Vera Pauw’s work. Pauw resigned from the Banyana hot seat in 2016 after two years at the helm. She was succeeded by the 59-year-old Ellis, who has won countless regional trophies and led the team to their first ever Fifa Women’s World Cup in France in 2019.
South Africa will also be at the 2023 edition of the global soccer showcase for women. In a sharp U-turn, the only African footballer to score over 100 goals [100] at international level said: “I’m walking tall. I’m so proud to be a legend of Banyana Banyana. We’ve been on this journey for so long. These girls they did it for us; we are proud.
“Coach Des, we salute you with your technical team; you did it. Ukuthi kwenzakalani ok’salayo [What is happening doesn’t matter] you did it, ukuthi besithini akunandaba [what was said doesn’t matter].
“You are the queens of Africa. You made history for the first time. The Bafana Class of ’96 they made their history. We played our part in the women’s football side. We made history by becoming the Africa Cup of Nations champions. It’s been a journey.”
The 39-year-old was speaking in a live video on her official Instagram account.
What Modise said before the WAFCON
“People might think that Desiree came and did a good job at Banyana, but the truth is that she has done nothing,” Modise told the media during the launch of her book titled “From Portia Modise With Love” in May.
“I was part of that team, and I know what Vera Pauw did for us to have those performances that helped us to qualify for the World Cup.
“If you check other African countries when we qualified for the World Cup, they didn’t bring their powerful players because of some issues.
“This year, it’s going to be difficult because Vera was the one who embarked on a mission to discover players such as Thembi Kgatlane at HPC [Safa girls academy].
“And how long was HPC there and our coaches couldn’t find players, and they couldn’t even look at HPC. But Vera said, ‘I need to work hand in hand with the U19s, so I can find young players that could replace the structure when Portia and other players retire.’ That was not Desiree Ellis but Vera Pauw.
“The fights that Vera Pauw had at Safa House to make sure that she gets the preparation that she got with us in that team, I don’t think that Desiree Ellis will go in that house to fight all those people and tell them what she wants to prepare for her team.
“We qualified because of Vera Pauw, not Desiree Ellis. Vera Pauw dug deep, and when she had to go on a red carpet, I’m sure she didn’t like what was happening in that house, and she said, ‘please let me leave’, and when Desiree Ellis walked on that path, it was just a red carpet.
“The girls were already prepared that they wanted to win this. It was going to be their first time qualifying for a World Cup, with a coach or without a coach, because Vera had already done the job a long time ago.”
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