11 June 2010 will live forever in Siphiwe Tshabalala’s memory. He scored the first goal of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, his homeland. 13 years later, he still remembers it like it was yesterday.
Memories die hard. For Siphiwe Tshabalala, the most gratifying moment of his career was and will remain 11 June 2010. Think back. Against Mexico, in the opening match of the World Cup in South Africa, the first organised by the continent. The Bafana-Bafana number 8 sent a mine into the Mexican goal, giving himself the first goal of the competition. A day engraved in the memories of millions of football fans. And even more deeply in the memory of the player himself. Thirteen years later, the memory is still vivid. “It’s been 13 years and it still seems surreal, HappyShabbaday,” said the former midfielder on his social networks.
Siphiwe Tshabalala told the South African Football Association website. “The moment is still in my mind and in the minds of many other people as well. I’m just grateful, eternally grateful that I scored probably the most important goal in the history of our football and in the history of the World Cup as well,” said the player wearing the number 8 jersey. He went on to talk about that memorable day. “In the morning, I was fine, everything was normal. But I remember I got a call from the house where I grew up, in Phiri, and they said there was a group of people who had gathered outside my grandmother’s house the night before. They were waving the national flag, wearing national team badges and blowing vuvuzelas. It was such a good message because it said that they were all behind me and wished me luck. However, the match ended 1-1.
After that, the South Africans lost 0-3 to Uruguay before claiming a prestigious victory over France, 2-1. Unfortunately, Siphiwe Tshabalala had left the competition in the first round with 4 points (3rd in Group A). Bafana-Bafana, tied with Mexico in 2nd place, had a worse goal difference. But for Tshabalala, the memory of that 55th minute still sounds like the greatest achievement of his career, despite his 91 caps (12 goals).
