Banana Banana

So you’re probably aware that our economy is being crippled by power cuts, something Eskom and our government knew about 10 years ago but failed to do anything about.  Hundreds of people were stranded on top of Table Mountain when the cable car stopped, nurses had to manually ventilate patients in critical care when their life support machines went down and the generator failed to kick in, traffic keeps coming to a standstill because the traffic lights aren’t working.  I was left groping for my towel in the gym with shampoo in my eyes in pitch black.  Although it was funny to see their staff running around with torches shining them in the eyes of bewildered patrons in the steam room.  But load shedding is not really what I want to talk about today.

 No my question is why the power failed to go out between 21h30 and 23h00 last night when it could have saved me from watching the drivel that is our national soccer team.  As I gazed on in horror at the litany of missed passes, the complete absence of man marking, and the plethora of scuffed shots from 40 yards I wondered why over the years, as our national cricket and rugby teams suffered at the hands of political interference and racial quotas, why the soccer team has not endured the same pressure.   Because if there was ever an organisation that needs to be taken by the scruff of the neck and told “listen mate you are a national embarassment”, its Bafana Bafana.

 When Italy won the world cup in 2006 only 2 players in their entire squad played football outside of Italy, meaning that at least some of their players knew each other and perhaps played together at the same clubs.  I was sure I saw some of our players shaking hands with each other after they had done so with the opposition and the officials before kick off. 

“Hi Im Teko, you are?, sorry what position do you play?”

Because the lack of understanding and communication was staggering.  I realise that national teams have less and less time together.  Clubs, who are paying players vast salaries, are undertandably reluctant to release their stars for national duty and so preparation for tournaments like AFCON is woefully insufficient.  BUT, this affects all the teams, especially teams like Ivory Coast, Ghana and Cameroon who are basically keeping Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League, and they are still playing reasonable football and don’t send passes into vacant tracts of the field every time they go forward.

Last nights diabolical effort made Bolton v Newcastle ( incidentally a 0-0 draw at the last outing) look like an extravaganza of fluidity and skill.  One massive difference I noticed between African football and its European counter part is that there doesnt seem to be the same emphasis placed on tight marking.  It isn’t unusual to see a defender looking like he is trying to make sweet love to an opposition striker as he holds the ball up in midfield and one can’t forget the classic shot of Vinnie Jones giving Gazza’s family jewels a loving squeeze during the crazy gang heyday.  Over here players have so much time on the ball that they can linger and check out the options and the need for immediate pin point passing doesnt seem so important.  The result is slow, pretty dull football.  And when the player, even with eons to pick out his team mate still loses possession, it gets a touch frustrating.

The best passage of play were the 5 extra minutes of injury time at the end of the 2nd half.  We thankfully equalised in the 87th minute and suddenly thought we could win it.  What ensued was 8 glorious minutes of end to end football that almost made the previous agonising hour and a bit seem worth sitting through.  But in the end we got a 1-1 draw which means we are still in with a chance of qualifying from the group stages.  National coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who won the world cup with Brazil in 1994, and to whom the South African Football Association is paying millions, has got his work cut out for him.  I secretly hope that we have 11 Brazilians on ice that will be eligible for SA citizenship in early 2010 who will then form the basis of our national team when we host the World Cup. 

Its hard to think that with all these massive stadiums being built around the country and the gargantuan amount its costing us to host the Tournament, that we will really only feature in 3 group games.  Because unless by some miracle we end up in a group with the Faroe Islands, American Samoa and the Vatican, our chances of reaching the knock out stages are slim.  And this brings me back to a point I made earlier.

Having just finished reading Jake White’s book the sheer enormity of winning that World Cup is staggering.  It really was a 4 year game plan that culminated in Paris.  But, the back stabbing, political bullshit that went on behind the scenes is disgraceful.  Why did the powers that be make every effort to derail the success of that team?  What, if any, preparations are being made to drag Bafana Bafana kicking and screaming out of their current incompetence to some level of mediocrity?  Is there the same level of interference from the government?  If not I must pose a touchy question to myself.  Do I as a white South African really care? 

Is the reason I don’t expect racial quotas in our national football team down to my apathy?  Traditionally soccer in South Africa is supported by black and coloured South Africans and the demographic make up of the team reflects that.  Yes I know Neil Tovey is the only white man to lift the African Cup of Nations but really there were no white players on the field last night.  In reverse this would be unacceptable but Im not hearing any complaints.  I expect that when 2010 arrives and the world’s showpiece football event rolls into town I will dust off my Bafana Bafana shirt that I bought for the World Cup in  2002 (although the new strip is very cool in a retro kind of way) and join the growing number of whiteys following our football team. 

My only hope is that the powers that be put as much effort into sorting them out as they did in interfering with the cricket and rugby team which have enjoyed unbridled success in comparison.