Something Is Going Very Wrong
22 February 2012
Where does South African football’s superiority complex actually come from? I’m sick to death of the PR job being done in our football. We yearn for real worth. Okay, so we’re the 10th richest league in the world. Yeah, well, duh, we’re one of the wealthiest countries on the continent, it makes sense that the sponsors throw money behind the most popular sport in the country.
Oh yeah, here is one I love, soccer is the most popular sport in the country. Why then are rugby stadiums filled to capacity on a regular basis during their Super Rugby season and South African PSL stadiums have more seats available on game day than on an Italian cruise liner right now?
With more money than they know what to do with, you would expect club’s infrastructures to be growing, but how many of our clubs have highly qualified youth coaches ensuring proper development? Or are we content to hire ex-professionals of the game and give them a pittance so as to show South Africa what a nice club you are by supporting the legends. If you’re not developing the legends by sending them all over the world to get coaching licences then you are actually doing nothing.
How many clubs have their own sports science centres or are at least linked to a high performance centre? Instead we do a quick deal with the local gym around the corner and tell the players to make sure they are doing some circuit work now and then. While South African soccer from the outside seems to be shining brighter than ever, I would argue that from the inside the rot has set in and we are reaping the rewards of laziness, of cutting corners, of unqualified people being given jobs because of who they know and not what they know. There is nepotism, there are favours being done for agents, there are backhanders. The list goes on.
Why do I say this? Because a club team from Angola can come and roll over our treble-winning team, arguably one of South Africa’s greatest club teams of a generation, in what is their glorious 75th anniversary. What’s more, they do it in our own backyard. We hear how badly they treat us when we travel in Africa, how the food is not the best, how we can’t get any sleep because the hotels are bad, how the refs cheat us out of games, how the odds are stacked against us.
Bulls**t. We’re just not good enough. We aren’t professional enough. We aren’t prepared enough. The nation was in uproar because the national broadcaster couldn’t show us the game live. Thank goodness the Pirates game wasn’t shown live. The intrigue of an African Champions League game may well have got a couple of South Africans who don’t usually watch South African soccer to tune in, and all that would have happened is them vindicating their decision to continue watching European soccer because clearly we are crap. Some of the best paid players in the league, who have it better than most, a technical team that have arguably the strongest squad in the PSL and complete support from the chairman, and we get rolled over. It’s embarrassing.
The truth is that South African soccer sees itself as better than the rest of Africa, but with nothing to base that assumption on. It’s the reason we don’t read rulebooks for African tournaments. “It’s not my job to read the rulebook” is our attitude. It’s clearly okay not to qualify for the Afcon.
Tell me, how on earth have heads not rolled in that Bafana technical team for what was clearly a massive failure? We beat France in a World Cup but it’s then acceptable to lose to far lesser opponents and no questions are asked? And because we’re the ‘hosts with the most’ when you look at our shiny new stadiums and our superior infrastructure we will continue to qualify for tournaments based solely on the fact that they are being held on our soil and that will be okay for us.
Easiest job in South African football right now? Bafana Bafana coach. Don’t need to qualify for major tournaments. In the next major tournament no matter what, sit back and enjoy the ride.
Jeez, give it to me, I can’t do any worse a job surely. Second easiest job in South African football? Any PSL coaching job because even when you get teams relegated, you’ll find your way back somewhere somehow. If you fail at the big teams with the best players in the league, somehow you will get hired by the smaller clubs with less talented players and be asked to do a job… it doesn’t make sense.
Look for true measurement indicators of South African football and you will find them nowhere. Look for official attendance figures at stadiums - nowhere. Look for transparency in coaches’ salaries – nowhere. Look for players’ salaries – nowhere. Look for what each club makes in profit each year – nowhere. Try and get clubs to agree to let us look at Amisco stats that would allow us to analyse them? Not allowed. It’s pathetic.
The only thing that you can be sure of is that the footballing wealth of talent in this country is immense. The passion for the game is immense. We should be one of the strongest teams in Africa, and the world. Somewhere, somehow something is going very wrong.
Shapa Clint!
comments
Do we real have talent? Is the character/ attitude of our players correct? I am asking about work attitude. Knuckling down to business. Desire to succeed more than others. Is the level of coaching in this country right? Are we transparent in our philosophy & is there harmony in our playing pattern between the junior & PSL teams? Why don't we have a striker, midfielder, defender in one of the big teams overseas Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man utd, Bayern Munich, Ac Milan etc? Why not having a player in the teams that are always playing champions league but bowing out in the last 16 or 8? No player that is a pillar of a team in France, Holland, Portugal, Turkey. Italy, Spain, Germany & England are way too big for us.Lets do something. I love soccer.
Submitted by: Nzwakele
Date: 01 March 2012, Time: 15:31:37
Stats stats stats stats stats stats thats what we need to engage healthy debates.@Clint SL is also to be blamed as the best selling tabloid in SA.
Submitted by: kickoff
Date: 27 February 2012, Time: 23:21:51
WOW I COULD NOT HAVE SAID IT BETTER.
Submitted by: bucs_tk_1
Date: 24 February 2012, Time: 11:23:55
Arguably da most well researched article 2 date,this is very true I mean SA has everything on a silver-platter bt they just cnt make things hpn. Shapa Clint!
Submitted by: SimplyGft
Date: 24 February 2012, Time: 09:03:47
Very much on point!!! Pitso didn't even fulfill his goals for Bafana but he still has his job while Pirates was shown as inadequate n amatuers.
Submitted by: Tshepiso_Rams
Date: 23 February 2012, Time: 12:28:10
Ja neh well said, but its not so easy out there it myt seem easy but itz really not
Submitted by: Unknown Citizen
Date: 23 February 2012, Time: 07:30:46
Shapa Clint!!! good article man you raised some important question, most of the is the stuff i ddnt think about and this issues shouldn't be ignored. these should be adressed to SAFA if possible
Submitted by: cmphiwe
Date: 22 February 2012, Time: 16:08:17
The truest column I have ever read,brutally honest. Shapa Clint!
Submitted by: Sun-Downer!
Date: 22 February 2012, Time: 14:43:55
meant play! LOL!
Submitted by: Fofana
Date: 22 February 2012, Time: 14:18:47
Point on Clint. The root needs to be dug out and burnt. The PSL financially is better but football wise no it sucks. I will not waste my time to go and watch Santos vs Maritzburg Utd. I will be busy reading SL on my phone while at the stadium. I remember watching the ACL match between OP vs Cf Sfaxien. This was while ago, I then realized that we are nowhere near their standard of diski. Teams like Esperance and Al Ahly pray with a purpose and direction. Our players are not properly developed. They must learn the basics of diski, no back passes and loss of possession. Just check tonight’s game and see what i am referring to. Shibobos are fine as long as you move forward and create goals.
Submitted by: Fofana
Date: 22 February 2012, Time: 14:10:04