Andrew Muchineripi : Soccer
National coach Clive Barker must rue the moment last week when he declared that only world champions Brazil stood between South Africa and victory in the first Confederations Cup.
In a 30-second sound bite, Barker dismissed the chances of Group B opponents the Czech Republic (not Czechoslovakia as the SABC repeatedly called the country), the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay. The statement came back to haunt him this week at the magnificent King Fahd Stadium in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, where spectators seemed to be the only missing accessory at a venue boasting a hospital and gold-plated taps.
Bafana Bafana came from behind twice to draw 2-2 with the Czechs, slumped 1-0 to the United Arab Emirates after conceding a goal with less than one minute on the clock, and were pipped 4-3 by a Uruguay B team. One point and last place was the lot of the African champions and Barker returns home this week not so much to find the proverbial blackboard as to find tapes of the three matches and embark on a heavy dose of soul searching.
Barker has been loyal to a fault to the team he swiftly moulded when he succeeded former Peru World Cup player Augusto Palacios in April 1994, but the time has surely come to check some sell-by dates.
Some critics will crucify Barker, others will turn on individual players. The responsibility should be collective because the coach surely saw the warning signals and so did some players who cling to their shirts like leeches.
Everyone blamed veteran defender Neil Tovey for the United Arab Emirates goal, yet it was scored inside the six-yard box, an area of the pitch that belongs to goalkeeper Andr Arendse.
The defence was chopped and changed throughout the tournament with only vice- captain Sizwe Motaung and Mark Fish starting each match and South Africa were fortunate to escape with only seven goals conceded.
Much was made of bad South African luck as Philemon Masinga repeatedly struck the woodwork, but the Czechs could have doubled their two-goal first-half tally, the Emirates should have led 3-0 after 10 minutes and Uruguay might have hit six.
Anyone watching Motaung regularly would not have been surprised by three more ineffective displays in which he neither defended nor attacked with conviction and displayed no visible leadership qualities.
Fish was reckless at times, abandoning his central defensive position while no one filled the gap, and the first Czech goal found the mop-haired Bolton player racing from a deep position to try and avert the danger.
The race between Tovey and Father Time finally seems to have swung in favour of the latter as he was caught ball-watching for the Emirates goal and then reacted too late to the Mohamed Ali free kick. Willem Jackson was played out of position on the left and, like so many other fringe members of the Bafana Bafana club, needs an extended run in the team before judgment can be passed.
David Nyathi was one of the few successes in Saudi, coming on as a half-time substitute against the Emirates and retaining his position. He attacks with purpose, has pace and deserves a regular place again.
Confirmation (if it really was needed) that Shoes Moshoeu no longer deserves a place in the starting line-up came in Riyadh where he often assumed the role of a spectator while the action passed him by.
Eric Tinkler may not be finished as a national player, but he certainly needs a break to recharge dead battery cells. His always suspect passing has worsened and he often chased Uruguayan shadows.
Dumisa Ngobe, long seen as one of the cures for an ailing midfield, did not make the expected impact, partly perhaps because Pirates strikers run on to his long through balls, a system alien to Bafana Bafana.
Helman Mkhalele scored two superb goals (his late equaliser against the Czechs must be a candidate for goal of the tournament) and looked threatening again after poor performances in France and Germany.
Philemon Masinga is probably the closest South Africa have to an international-class player and looking back at the cup, the Italian-based striker will wonder just how he failed to score.
Brendan Augustine continued to impress and is another player who desperately needs a chance to prove his worth while Mark Williams could not repeat his heroic feats of the 1996 African Nations Cup.
Saudi Arabia need not be a disaster if the necessary surgery is performed. The truth, however unpalatable, is that Motaung, Tovey, Tinkler and Moshoeu do not deserve places on form. Form, and form alone, should be the only guide used by Barker.