I’m pleased to report that I’m still capable of venturing into some sort of contemplative zone where I ponder things of great significance.
In fact, so profound are these bouts of musings (I state in utmost modesty), that I firmly believe I can still change the world.
I have the answers, radical as they are, but nobody wants to listen.
Even my better half fails to understand my quiet wisdom, saying she’ll emigrate post haste should anything come of my suggestion that I should perhaps run for president to fix our country.
While watching sport on the box at the weekend, another random brainteaser presented itself which, in normal circumstances, would have posed no problem for my nimble thought process.
This one did.
Basking in the euphoria that two South African teams – the Bulls and Stormers – were about to do battle in the United Rugby Championships final, my Proudly South African sentiment kicked in (yes, I know, a very rare occurrence these days given the Mickey Mouse status we lately occupy on the world stage).
But this was sport. Just the other day we whipped the British Lions and we are still the rugby world champions after all.
Our cricketers have always been and still are world beaters – even our women’s team played in the World Cup final recently.
Our athletes and rowers win world and Olympic medals, and so do our swimmers.
We produce boxing champions… the list goes on. When it comes to sport, we are a winning nation.
So why then is our soccer, South Africa’s so-called biggest sport, so utterly rubbish?
We should at least be represented at the Soccer World Cup, but since 2010 when we only qualified because we hosted the event, we sit on the sidelines. We’re even out of the African Cup of Nations, for heaven’s sake. Not so Guinea, Botswana and Libya and others. How flippen pathetic is that?
Something is seriously wrong, but I’m not sure what. Surely, we have an abundance of talent to develop into world-beaters.
Do we blame the coaches? That won’t be fair since our soccer bosses don’t allow any of them to settle in and do the job. If I’m not mistaken, we’ve had about 16 coaches over the past 20 years.
Bafana’s latest man at helm, Belgian Hugo Broos, probably got it right when he said last week the standard of the Premier Soccer League is simply of too low a standard to produce world-class players. He’ll probably depart very soon as well.
The problem, therefore, appears to be a lack of vision by our soccer administrators who have been left behind as the sport moved on into a new sphere of professionalism. Instead, they’ll probably rely on another coach switch they pray will have a magic wand to get us back into the mainstream.
It’s not going to happen, so, for now, forget about South Africa getting into the big league anytime soon.
It is obvious we need a total revamp of our strategies – and forward thinking management to remedy the situation and get soccer right up there to give the top teams in the world some stick.
Although he cannot be regarded as a soccer fundi, perhaps they should consider bringing in Springbok maestro Rassie Erasmus to at least show them how to develop and manage a world-beating culture.
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