SA Rocks

photo: Alexander Joe, AFP

3-2 to Bafana Bafana. You know it.

Very short post but have to show my pride that Bafana has taken on Africa’s best and won. Great work.

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Not a bad start in the Group Of Death (GOD – strange that).

All the teams in the group now sit on a single point and at least we are not bringing up the rear in the group.

I watched majority of the match but just missed the goal. The main problem that I found when watching was not the team, the feeding of the ball in to the goal box, the defense, passing, keeping or basics. Our problem is scoring goals. This might sound fairly obvious but it’s not.

Every great team features a great goal scorer. Maradona, Pele, Cantona and the like. We have or had Benny but he’s not with us anymore. What a pity because it seems to me that we just cannot manage to score when the opportunity arises.

Players scrabble for a shot, rebound or anything we can get our hands on to. If only we could just put it in the back of the net.

A positive start and a start nonetheless. Let’s hope we can build on the performance.

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OK so the opponents weren’t the best in the world (Canada) but at least we have a win.

Let’s hope this is the first of many to come for the team and the coach.

I can’t say more or say it better than this article from The Times:

Teko Modise, who was at the centre of a tug-of-war between his club, Orlando Pirates, and Safa, claimed both goals to justify the pre-match hype.

The 24-year-old Modise, who had a shocker against the US on Saturday, made amends against the reckless Canadians. The Canucks, as the Canadians are known, carelessly threw themselves onto the South Africans and their defenders tackled rough and tough inside their own penalty area.

Modise’s first goal was a beauty and will surely be a contender for goal of the year. He collected a loose ball just outside the 18-yard area and turned one defender inside out before his right- footed sizzler slammed into the roof of the net with Canadian goalkeeper knowing nothing about the strike.

Modise’s second goal was a well-taken penalty on the stroke of half-time.

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What is the story with SA soccer?

Our entire country is pumped with the 2010 drug of anticipation and our foreigner coach is taking our cash and losing to every possible opponent.

Firstly, why don’t we have a South African coaching the team? Secondly, let’s see some damn results before we pay the guy a gazillion rand a month. I think his salary is moronic when he keeps playing losing matches.

Then, what happened to all the local players playing Internationally? Are they back? Maybe we do need them, maybe it’s not such a great idea to tell the greats that our country has that we don’t need them to win and then lose to the USA? Just a thought.

Does anyone have more insight on this saddening topic?

I was out this weekend somewhere when I got chatting to a guy who was going to the game between the USA and SA. He was depresses and we hadn’t even lost yet. But he knew it was coming. The first words out of his mouth about the topic was regarding embarrassment in the 2010 World Cup when we go out in the first round.

This is not way to think about sport. What the hell has gone on in the culture of soccer in SA? Rugby we expect to win, cricket we are depressed when we lose but soccer the expected result is a loss.

How about the sporting powers that be in SA stop dwindling on the Springboks (who won a world cup) and start focussing their attention on the dreadful Bafana Bafana?

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