Building on Parreira's 'Bafana vision'
Craig Urquhart
25 April 2008
For one brief, shining moment, Bafana Bafana looked like they could go all the way on centre stage come the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
It was deep in the second half of last month's international friendly, when Siphiwe Tshabalala pierced the Paraguay defence and scored with a spectacular solo effort to make it 3-0.
No team would recover from that - including Paraguay, who were 50 places higher than Bafana Bafana in the world rankings. South Africa had recorded its first victory over South American opposition (in 10 matches), and suddenly everyone seemed to understand Carlos Parreira and his vision for our wayward national squad.
Of course, his results have been mixed since he took the plunge and promised to lead Bafana out the wilderness (nine victories, six draws and six losses). But he introduced a new style of play and, for the first time in more than a decade, the squad showed signs of settling down.
The local media's love-hate relationship with the charismatic Brazilian was more love than hate, and the fans accepted him as the one person who could create a cohesive unit.
And then his resignation bombshell. Nobody (apart from the SA Football Assocation, it seems) saw it coming, and Parreira has now become the 14th coach in 16 years to bail.
Despite this setback, however, there are still reasons for hope.
Parreira, whose belief in the "Bafana vision" is unquestionable, will continue as technical adviser, and his two assistant coaches - Jairo Leal and Pitso Mosimane - will remain.
It is now up to Joel Santana to ensure that the structures that mould the class of 2010 remain in place and that he builds on Parreira's brief but important legacy.
Urquhart is a former Fifa World Cup media officer and the current editor of Project 2010
