SonOfAPitch

So.  Who is Joel Santana and why would he succeed Carlos Perreira as coach of the SA national soccer team?

The answer?  God only knows!

For one, I have no clue to what state of mind the SAFA executives are finding themselves in.  Neither do I understand the notion that the best coach for the national side should be Brazilian.  As I saw it, at the time, Parreira was go-to man since the national side had a tough time qualifying for any top competition, let alone winning matches convincingly.  And who better to lead the fightback than a man that has coached a national team to 7 world cup finals and winning one, with Brazil , in 1994.  And when his stint as coach started you could literally smell the confusion in the SA side’s playing style as they were evolving from an African style of play to the more lethal and rampant style of the South Americans.

So in order to remain consistent, it seems, the executives opted for another Brazilian in the form of Joel Santana.  I guess their choices may have been limited since there are four African Nations qualifiers coming up shortly and steering the shoddy boat which is SA football into that ocean with no captain at the wheel is all but suicidal, but why another Brazilian?

I can only guess that the top brass are reluctant to change the national side’s focus in playing style too much before such big games and the 2010 world cup coming up.  It looked as if the SA side finally got the hang off their new style and felt comfortable enough in its skin in the drubbing handed to Paraguay .  But still…why Joel Santana.

Joel Santana is a bit of a coaching legend in Brazil .  Not unlike Gordon Igesund for SA.  But Gordon’s never coached a national side!  And neither have Joel.  Some would argue that there might be politics at work when a renowned coach are left out to dry when a national coach is selected, and there may be valid arguments for it too.  Gordon Igesund have won the PSL with four different teams inside 10 years, most of which were teams that no-one would have fancied as champs at the start of that particular season.  Surely that is a mark of a brilliant coach?  Did Joel do the same?

Some would argue that he has a pretty effective record albeit not a great one.  He won a few state championships and one national title as coach, but he was also fired four times inside 2 years from four different clubs.  His track record as coach looks stable, but then again, so is Trott Moloto’s! 

I can understand that Carlos Parreira would have felt a bit guilty in resigning so soon after his appointment and even embarrassed in some way.  He was supposed to be the last hope of a side aiming to perform well in the 2010 World Cup and now he splits at the first sign of getting homesick.  I would also have suggested an able replacement in the hope that it would put the baby which is SA football to rest.  Fortunately it would be the decision of the SA executives to either accept the replacement in good faith or to politely decline the offer and opting to pursue other avenues in finding a suitable replacement.

It is shocking, to say the least, that the top brass hurriedly decided in hiring Joel based on Carlos’ recommendations.  At $200 000 he does not come cheap and he (Joel) have already told sources that he would cherish the opportunity as he would make more during his 30 month contract than he made the last 30 years.  Where are the loyalties lying with this man?  At the moment, clearly not football; let alone SA football. 

And for how long must Gordon Igesund be knocking on doors for an opportunity to lead the SA charge to greatness?  

Every man has the right to his own opinion and to have it respected.  This is mine…SA football is taking two steps forward and three steps back every time they make an important decision.  If this new venture with Joel Santana flops I will be first to point fingers and not feel guilty about it too as I have seen this coming a mile away.  And just for that, even though I would under normal circumstances never admit it, I hope that SA exits the world cup in round one.  If only to see if ol’ Gordon gets his shot at long last.

According to a source that wished to remain nameless, he is missing his family and his wife is sick and lonely.

Carlos, I for one will miss you and your reasonably no-nonsense approach to coaching a bunch of sissies and drama queens.  But, I wonder, what will happen now?

Trott Moloto has been appointed as caretaker coach how many times now?  And if memory serves me correct, wasn’t he fired as coach of the side himself?

With a country gearing to host the first World Cup on African soil this announcement from the graying Carlos could not have come at a worse time.  SA soccer SEEMED to have gotten its act together with a decent display against Paraguay when they drubbed them 3-0.  And with a wealth of friendly matches lined up for the hosts up to 2010 it looked like the much needed international experience a lot of the young players needed was being hand delivered by XPS!  But game time against world class opposition means jack s#@ t if you have no one capable of taking such a match and turning it into reference book for the players to feed off of.

It is probably too early to speculate about a possible successor to Carlos.  But I can almost certainly stick my head out by saying that it will be a South African taking charge.  For too long the bosses have denied themselves a bigger bonus due to the big paycheck they had to sign for old Carlos.  Who better to rope in than a man that would work for a year’s supply of petrol and a paycheck he could use to put one child through school.

I am very sorry if I come across as pessimistic about the future of our football come next Monday, but South African soccer bosses have, too many times in the past, stuck their foot in it and made great decision making look like a pipedream.  The last great decision they made was to appoint Carlos, and even then they were divided in that decision.  The man had no knowledge of our football, the tiny pool of decent players to choose from, a horde of pessimistic elitists breathing down neck and too many reporters condemning him for his salary to contend with.  Yet he did remarkably well.  I don’t want to speak too soon, but I don’t think for one second that we have someone inside our borders capable of taking the reigns and running with it.

Monday will be a sad day for SA soccer.  One could only hope that the dark clouds will lift and someone will take responsibility for the wellbeing of the soccer in this country in the same way a foreigner did until now.

Ciao