Joel "Got To Go" Santana: South Africa’s 2010 World Cup Hopes In Chaos

It’s been a quick year as a member of Bleacher Report, and I can’t quite believe this is my 250th contribution. As the Community Leader of the World Football section for the large majority of the past 12 months, I’ve seen Bleacher grow and grow with the football section adapting accordingly.

Bleacher Report's World Football section is more global than ever and to celebrate this as well as my 250th article, I’ve decided to return to my African past for this special contribution.

Many of you know I’m a Scot with blue blood, but a lot of my patriotism came from the fact I lived in South Africa for ten years. I was always extremely proud of my roots and to see Scotland’s popularity around the world only added to my passion.

Growing up in Africa was an amazing experience that I wouldn’t change for the world. I’ve seen and experienced so much in my short life that most pensioners could only dream of. You could almost call it paradise but as we all know nothing is perfect.

That brings me to my article and the mess that is South African international football.

As we all know South Africa will host the 2010 World Cup, and like any other host nation the country is hoping to have a competitive side to cheer on.

Sadly for all South Africans, at this moment in time, it just simply isn’t the case.

It’s difficult to understand as South Africa is very much a footballing nation with plenty of talented players and many potential superstars. The English Premier League boasts three top South African players, in Everton’s Steven Pienaar and Blackburn duo Aaron Mokoena and Benni McCarthy.

That’s not all, with countless players in Germany (Sibusiso Zuma and Rowan Fernandez for example) and the likes of the Russian top flight (Matthew Booth).

Having played in South Africa for 10 years from juniors to professional, I can personally vouch for the talent available in the country.

So we know the talent is there, but what’s going wrong?

Well let’s start at the beginning. South Africa only joined the international scene back in 1992 when Bafana Bafana (the national team’s nickname) took on Cameroon in Pretoria as Apartheid and South Africa’s political issues slowly subsided.

Over the next four years Bafana Bafana went from strength to strength and won the CAF African’s Nation Cup at their first attempt in 1996. SA then went on to qualify for their first World Cup at France 1998. Since then, however, things have slowly declined and it’s difficult to say if they have actually hit rock bottom.

One thing is certain, things are not getting any better. The South African Football Association originally brought in World Cup winning coach Carlos Alberto Parreira on a staggering 18 million Rand a month contract.

To you and me that is over £100,000, but to the millions starving and without housing in South Africa it was way too much. Results were expected!

And to a degree they came. The Brazilian selected a group of players he wanted to work with and focus on developing for 2010. The side then slowly started to show some promise and take shape.

Sadly, at the first sign of real problems the award winning coach sensationally resigned, heading back to Brazil to look after his sick wife. South Africa were left in limbo.

That is until Parreira sold SAFA on a replacement. His fellow Brazilian, Joel Santana.

Santana has an interesting track record in Brazil, having won the Campeonato Carioca (one of the Brazilian State Championship’s) with Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminese and Vasco Da Gama.

Interestingly though, he’s also had 27 jobs in 27 years, which is not a great track record, and more importantly no experience at international level.

The salary?

R15m which was R300,000 less than Parreira but with the South African currency strengthening it’s still over £100,000 a month—and for what?

Well to be honest, nothing at all!

SAFA have made one huge mistake in hiring a man who can’t speak English, and appears to have no idea what he is doing. South Africa’s last match was at home to Guinea in a friendly. Bafana lost 1-0 in front of a little over 2000 people.

2000 people turning up for an international in a footballing mad country just about says it all doesn't it?

This match was days after the South Africa’s World Cup qualifying (South Africa still play the qualifiers as the same group results are used to decide the qualifiers for the African Nations Cup) defeat in Port Elizabeth to Nigeria.

Okay, so a 1-0 defeat to Nigeria is hardly a crisis but add it to taking one point from two qualifiers against Sierra Leone and you may understand the desperation.

South Africa are in real danger of missing out on the African Nations Cup. This is quite embarrassing, especially before you host the world’s biggest football tournament. More importantly, it would be a big dent in the development of any competitive side before 2010.

After the game Santana had this to say “I would rather lose with a team that plays good football than win with a cowardly side that just defend.”

As a Scot, I’ll try not take that personally

He also claimed that his side played well.

It was responses like this that had the press room laughing at Santana. Have you ever heard of a national coach being ridiculed at a press conference?

They aren’t the only people unconvinced. The players are unhappy and feel there is no communication with Santana, and that they are fed up being told they’re playing well when they aren't.

What type of coach tells his team behind closed doors they are doing well when even they know they aren't?

One that doesn't care perhaps, or just a bumbling buffoon?

South Africa’s record of 14 coaches in 15 years doesn’t make good reading, and 15 in 15 would make it even worse.

But with 635 days left until the World Cup opening ceremony, it’s time to go for broke and make the change.