2010: Lower your expectations!

Watching Bafana Bafana lose to Nigeria for the umpteenth time over the weekend was debilitating. In all fairness, any team in the world can lose to Nigeria in Abuja. But the meek surrender by our boys is treasonous. Who can argue with Nigerians now that the only reason we won in 1996 was because they were not here?

We can blame SAFA all we want. We can point fingers at the technical team (always easy to do) till we are blue in the face. We can growl at the shenanigans of one Benedict McCarthy till we are hoarse. The bottom line is that our players are — physically, technically and tactically — out of their league when pitted against the best in Africa. They portray no desire; they are gritless and are of moderate ability.

We are said to have the best infrastructure in Africa. Our professional league is reputably the most lucrative on the continent. We are the only African country (so far) to be entrusted by FIFA to host the World Cup. Yet the quality of our game stinks! The stench is so intense that it has driven “The Fraternity” (soccer fans) away from the terraces.

It wasn’t always like this. Ask anyone who watched the “game of billions” in the mid seventies and eighties and they’ll tell that South Africa could easily assemble at least two squads that could conquer Africa. These were players who had hearts where the current crop has cotton wool. Players who could take the game by the scruff of its neck where this lot trots around disinterestedly after conceding two soft goals in the first stanza.

There is a school of thought that the greatest athletes come out adversarial conditions. This could be a controversial conclusion as it would mean some good came out apartheid. It can also be incorrect because white South African rugby and cricket players could and continue to hold their own against the best in the world while their background has always been far from adversarial. But is it a coincidence that the demise of apartheid also spelled an end to the supply of high calibre players who could have made us an African force?

Back then, almost every team could have contributed a player(s) who would wear the national kit with passion, vigour and, most importantly, ability. I could readily do a roll call of legendary players but I’d suffocate with nostalgia and a feeling of “only if”! These players wouldn’t have been fazed by a 2 — 0 deficit at half time. They were combatants who’d be undeterred by hostile host crowds. They were self-taught and well primed wizards who’d scantly rely on the technical team (or some prima donnas who shun the team) to wrestle a result. They were patriots who would put country ahead of Euros, Pound Sterling and other renowned currencies. When the chips were down these players would have died with their boots on, a national flag in one hand and a blazing gun in another.

It is said that one of the criteria for a successful World Cup is a host country that goes all the way to the knock-out stages. For goodness sake, let us lower the ante and moderate our on field expectations. Realistically, we should just concentrate our efforts into completing the stadia in time, attending games in droves, ridding ourselves of xenophobia and generally staging a big month-long party in 2010.

Football-wise we should just cross our fingers and hope that the players report for camp without citing “personal reasons” for non-appearance and pointing to inadequate bonuses when they do appear.

Otherwise, as matters stand, who do we really expect to beat to qualify for the quarter finals?

Cry the beloved country indeed!