Andrew Muchineripi : Soccer
Initial local reaction to a World Cup draw that had South Africa in Group C with hosts France, Denmark and Saudi Arabia was extremely favourable and national coach Clive Barker smiled and clapped as he discovered who his opponents were.
The overwhelming view among Bafana Bafana players, assembled at Midrand for a special function to celebrate the ceremony in Marseille, was that they would accompany France into the knockout second phase. That is certainly an attainable goal because each edition of the quadrennial World Cup produces at least one giantkiller, and why not the African Nations Cup holders in France next June?
Unless there is a remarkable reversal of form, France and Denmark will be strongly favoured to fill the first two places on the standings, leaving South Africa and Saudi Arabia to dodge the wooden spoon. France possess several gifted players led by midfielder Zinedine Zidane, a footballer of Algerian origin who plays for leading Italian club Juventus and is no stranger to South African players and supporters.
When the Tricolores were trailing to a Shaun Bartlett goal at the halfway point of a friendly in Lens two months ago, coach Aime Jacquet sent on Zidane to rescue the situation. Within eight minutes he had laid on the pass for Stephane Guivarc’h to equalise and proceeded to dictate midfield with South Africa cracking again seven minutes before the final whistle when Ibrahim Ba claimed the winner.
Zidane is but one of many stars available to Jacquet, a serious man of few words who knows nothing less than the trophy will satisfy a French public longing for a return to the glory days of a decade ago. That was when Michel Platini ran midfield with a level of skill few footballers have surpassed and they won the European championship on home soil in 1984 between two World Cup semi-finals appearances.
Jacquet appears to have few defensive or midfield problems with Lilian Thuram, an attacking fullback who created havoc down the South African left flank, Laurent Blanc, Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps and Youri Djorkaeff available.
Attack is a different matter, with various combinations failing to provide a steady supply of goals, resulting in a string of close calls similar to the warm-up match against South Africa.
France lacks a Ronaldo, a Gabriel Batistuta, a Dennis Bergkamp or an Alan Shearer, strikers who can be relied on to score consistently, and if they discover one before June 12, Lucas Radebe and company had better watch out!
Denmark sprang to international prominence five years ago when they replaced suspended Yugoslavia at the European championships and went on to defeat Germany to snatch the title against all odds. The Danes have appeared in one previous World Cup, surprising eventual runners-up Germany in the group phase of the 1986 tournament before bowing under an avalanche of Spanish goals.
Those were the days before the giant blond Peter Schmeichel, the guardian of the Manchester United goalmouth who can be unbeatable when in top form and is rarely less than superb. Given the paucity of South African attacks against European opposition, it does not bode well for the African champions in a match that could decide who accompanies Les Blues to the knockout stage.
Saudi Arabia have been dismissed by many South Africans as also rans, due more to ignorance than anything else, so let it be known that the Asian champions are going to prove anything but cannon fodder. They made their intentions clear this week by signing Carlos Alberto Parreira, the Brazilian coach who guided his country to 1994 World Cup glory, on a renewable one-year contract.
So are Bafana Bafana facing a hopeless situation? Definitely not. The Saudis made their first appearance in the 1994 finals and instead of being whipping boys, overcame Morocco and Belgium to reach the second round. Each World Cup throws up surprise packets and South Africa should be among the best-prepared African contenders. While it is hard to see Bafana Bafana stopping France, victories over Denmark and Saudi Arabia are not beyond realisation.