By Ian Williams
Bafana Bafana gear up for their make-or-break game this week hamstrung by internal tensions, with experienced and competent players questioning why they have been left on the bench to watch their team struggle to match up internationally.
This has led sources within the camp to claim Carlos Alberto Parreira and his coaching staff are not the only ones selecting the team.
In the wake of Bafana's dismal performance against Uruguay on Wednesday, questions are being asked from within Bafana whether players' agents seeking lucrative overseas contracts might be having as much influence on team selection as Parreira and his coaching staff.
A year after Bafana's sterling performances at the Confederations Cup, the squad is in disarray and looks set to be the first host nation to be eliminated at the group stages of the World Cup finals in the 80-year history of the tournament.
At issue is why at this time of desperate need for Bafana, the likes of Bernard Parker, Matthew Booth and MacBeth Sibaya are languishing on the bench.
Well-placed sources allege the prospect of big-money deals for local footballers seeking to secure contracts with overseas clubs is overshadowing national interests.
Scouts from around the globe are at every World Cup match - mostly those featuring African nations - looking for "bargains".
When Steven Pienaar left Ajax Cape Town for Ajax Amsterdam nine years ago, the transfer fee would have been about £500,000.
Today, Pienaar, who was named Everton's player of the season last month, is sought by Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham, with Everton wanting £15 million for the Bafana midfielder.
Sources cite several strange selection decisions:
- Orlando Pirates' Teko Modise, a darling of local fans and twice PSL footballer of the year, appeared to have made the biggest mistake of all - believing his own press. Modise's form in the warm-up games before the World Cup was poor, and has deteriorated since; his performances in the past 10 days against Mexico and Uruguay were abysmal.
A year ago, at the top of his game, he went for a trial with a Spanish La Liga team, but sports commentators say interest from any overseas club now would be non-existent.
- Kaizer Chiefs striker Siphiwe Tshabalala, who was the nation's hero after scoring against Mexico, was terrible against Uruguay, and was criticised for showboating and taking individual efforts at goal, as opposed to playing the ball to better-placed teammates. One insider said: "It was like he was trying to get into the 101 great goals DVD."
- Once Pienaar was fielded out of position - possibly to accommodate Modise - he has hardly lived up to his reputation as Everton's player of the year. And the decision to take him off against Uruguay, to accommodate goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs after Itumeleng Khune's sending-off, decreased Bafana's attacking options.
- In that game, Parreira only made one unforced substitution, while Bernard Parker - based with FC Twente in Holland - was one of the stars of last year's Confederations Cup, but was left on the bench.
This raised eyebrows because, at 2-0 down and facing first-round elimination, many would argue the time was right to fling caution to the wind and field another striker.
- Another notable absentee in Bafana's opening two matches was defender Matthew Booth. While the Aaron Mokoena-Bongi Khumalo partnership in central defence has been tried and tested in recent matches, England's gangly Peter Crouch caused no end of problems for the diminutive Mexican keeper Oscar Perez. The question is why the Bafana coaching staff did not send on the towering Booth to be utilised for his height at set pieces.
In an interview with Sportsworld on BBC World Service yesterday, Booth said a lack of experience was one of the reasons for the poor play.
"We have a quality team which is lacking in experience, and this is something we should have started to notice 10 to 15 years ago," he said.
"Our performance against Mexico was pure adrenalin. The second and third games are games where players start showing their true qualities and, unfortunately for us, we do not have a lot of depth."
Booth said it was a difficult time for the team. "It is not nice going into a match not only needing to get the full three points against a tough opponent, but we also need a considerable amount of goals to succeed."
- MacBeth Sibaya, another star of the Confed Cup, has also been a notable absentee. A no-holds-barred defensive midfielder, Sibaya has the presence which Bafana is lacking, but hasn't had a sniff of action yet.
"Uruguay were provocative and dirty, and we didn't have the character to fight back," said Sibaya.
Bafana's capitulation against the South Americans confirms what many have been declaring all along - that Parreira's team is just not good enough.