WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2008-02-04 Time: 00:00:00 Posted By: Carla
Carlos Alberto Parreira loves his coffee. So fond is the Brazilian of the caffeinated bean that he keeps a flask on a table at the side of the pitch at all his training sessions.
It’s probably just as well. After Bafana’s latest Nations Cup finals failure, the national team coach is going to need as many waking hours as he can get, figuring out how to turn South Africa into a competitive force come 2010.
To be fair, there was a bit to be positive about as Bafana flew home to Johannesburg on Saturday, despite yet another early exit from the continental showpiece.
Two points and three goals from their three games was two points and three goals better than Egypt 2006. And at times, Parreira’s men wowed the crowds with their slick one-touch passing. In particular, full-backs Bryce Moon and Tsepo Masilela, as well as midfielders Elrio Van Heerden and Steven Pienaar, can hold their heads up high.
However, there is still a pantheon of work to be done in the next 28 months or so before the World Cup hits these shores.
It all begins with a probable friendly against Portugal in March. This is followed by the beginning of the 2010 Nations Cup qualifiers, with a trip to Lagos in June.
Against top quality opposition such as this, Bafana’s men have failed time and time again, for reasons so simple it seems ridiculous to write about them: they concede silly goals, and they have the finishing ability of just about anyone going down the stretch with Tiger Woods.
“Couldn’t score in a brothel?” That’s Bafana, epitomised when they peppered Senegal in the second half on Thursday, but were let down by scattergun finishing.
Benni McCarthy will probably return in March, unable to resist the prospect of a game in his former home, Portugal. Yet while he has undoubted class, the Blackburn striker is not getting any younger, and has not exactly been prolific for Bafana in recent years.
With Sibusiso Zuma also on the way out, there is a worrying lack of young striking talent coming through. Thembinkosi Fanteni looks a little lost at this level, while Excellent Walaza remains untried, and clearly not yet trusted by Parreira.
The South African Football Association’s development structures are a mess, while the Premier Soccer League is simply too mediocre to nurture a host of finishers.
The fact is that a national team coach can’t really teach finishing. It has to come from the club at a very young age, or a natural born goalscorer must emerge from nowhere. Parreira will be praying for one of those in the next couple of years. Will Kermit Erasmus realise his immense potential?
At the back, Bafana’s problems are even more worrying. Nasief Morris and Aaron Mokoena are supposed to be two of Bafana’s more experienced players, yet they defended at times in Ghana like they were in kindergarten.
Parreira badly needs to engender a more solid, consistent defence in the coming months. If you can only score one goal a game, the onus is on you to keep as many clean sheets as possible.
The pressure, meanwhile, will increase on Parreira himself. He may have got away with his chatter about the 2010 building process in Ghana. But as the World Cup grows closer this excuse will run dry. Results, ultimately, are the name of the game.
The Brazilian has improved the team’s passing, but mentally they do not seem to have advanced. Too often, Bafana crumble under pressure. Greater resolve needs to be shown if they are to qualify for Angola 2010.
Parreira is being paid plenty of cash by Safa to do a job for South Africa.
The time has come to start delivering the knockout punches to go with the pretty pontificating.
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=4&art_id=vn20080203091444111C628798