“Is the dark side of South African Football rearing its venomous head once more?”
 

While Joel Natalito Santana prepares to be burnt at the stake, his compatriot Carlos Alberto Perreira is on his way to rescue him. The South African Football Association summoned Carlos Alberto for technical assistance. This was just two weeks after they brought in Clive Barker, South Africa's only African Cup of Nations winning coach and Gavin Hunt and Jomo Sono.as technical advisors to Santana. Hunt at least can bost that he is the current Premier Soccer League (PSL) League Champions winning coach, which he has achieved for the past two seasons), but Sono, also a former Bafana Bafana has been singiularly unsuccessful recently.  Where in the world have you seen this kind of thinking? Only in South Africa and nowhere else!
 
The eight losses Bafana Bafana suffered, at the hands of minnows in world football, in the past few months added fuel to the smouldering stake in the centre of the kraal.  According to the majority of local journalists: wolf-like coaches and the technically ill informed football fans, Santana’s nonchalant attitude doesn't help either. They are all beginning to circle around the beleaguered coach with their matches closer to the stake. According to Santana, these defeats only serve to identify players to back up his empty cupboard. In my opinion he feels that he does not have enough quality players to work with so he uses these matches to identify compatible players. As it is, his cupboard is bare, with only about four to six top-class players at his disposal. They are Elrio van Heerden (Blackburn Rovers): Steven Pienaar (Everton), Macbeth Sibaya ({Russian champions} Rubin Kazan), Bernard Parker (FC Twente), Tiko Modise (Orlando Pirates) and the underperforming Aaron Mokoena from struggling Portsmouth.

 
The local journalists’ feels that Santana should use more locally based players and discard the overseas players who do not get game time at their respective clubs. These same journalists sang Santana’s praise after Bafana Bafana’s  Confederation’s Cup display in 2009, and praised Santana for his tactical acumen. Santana’s plan was well understood after the Confed Cup and four months down the line the same journalists and TV presenters are baying for his blood. In my opinion the past South African coaches of the national teams were to a certain extent influenced by the media on whom to select for the national team. Their popularity was at stake. 

 
 
                           

 
The decision by SAFA to appoint Barker, Hunt and Sono as technical advisors is mind boggling. Barker, who is the Technical Director at Amazula, is currently reeling at second-last position on the PSL table. Meanwhile, Sono’s team – Jomo Cosmos is rock bottom of the PSL and only regained promotion from the National First Division last year. Sono’s team is still applying the sweeper system in today’s ball orientated football. These two coaches are way behind the modern game and their current positions on the PSL table is indicative thereof. Let the dinosaurs be part of the Museum exhibition!
 
Hunt, at least, has been successful for the past two years with Super Sport United because he understands the mindset, mentality and football culture of South Africa and took the onus upon himself to make the final decisions on signings and did not allow the owners of the clubs to sign players. What can we learn from him? Trust your own instincts; do not allow others to influence or manipulate your judgements. Did he have a successful career? Yes, as a local coach, but not on the African continent as he has yet to win the African Champions League.
 
So why has Carlos Alberto been asked to return? Perhaps it’s because Santana is not really understood by his immediate technical staff, his playing staff or his National Technical Board? Do they even have a Technical Board? I doubt it. The only position I am aware of that is occupied is the Youth Director, by Serame Litsoaka, who was the National Under-/20 coach in Egypt at the recent Youth World Championships. Funny, as he was hailed a true hero for making the Quarter Finals!!
 
Maybe Carlos Alberto was the only one who could understand Santana., not only in terms of  language but tactically too. He hand picked Santana to take over after his short lived reign, but very successful career here in South Africa. In his brief stay, he beat Paraguay 3-0 in his last game, was revered by the South African journalists and hailed by the public as the saviour of South African Football. Something to contemplate – why was Pitso Mosimane, assistant to Carlos and Santana not chosen as the successor? But that’s another story.
 
In conclusion I am as baffled as you are with the SAFA choices but one thing I was sure of is that the apple cart would be robbed just prior to the World Cup. Like they say history always seems to repeat themselves..hey how about Carlos Queiroz?