SOCCER
Thebe Mabanga
The appointment of Jomo Sono as Bafana Bafana technical director is a knee-jerk response, a compromise designed to placate factions the militants who called for Carlos Queiroz’s head and the moderates who remember the lessons of France 98.
The decision is a potent brew that will explode if results go awry at the World Cup, possibly splitting the squad along racial lines. If outgoing South African Football Association (Safa) CE Danny Jordan’s assessment that the arrangement is in line with international trends, why was it not adopted before the Nations Cup when Sono refused a vaguely defined role of a “consultant”? The decision reflects Safa’s inability to make hard choices.
The one straightforward decision that must now be made is to fire Trott Moloto. For in Queiroz, Sono, Moloto and Steve Khompela you have a cumbersome committee offering a variation of the same skill telling grown men how to play.
There is a temptation to suggest that Moloto is a scapegoat for the failure in Mali, something he had little influence on. But that is precisely why he must go. He adds no value, and in four years has not suggested himself as a long-term prospect. A locally groomed 2010 World Cup coach will come from the likes of Khompela, Neil Tovey and, on recent evidence, Pitso Mosimane at Supersport United.
Let Moloto go and bring in a sport psychologist to work on the players’ mental strength. That is, after all, also an international trend.
As for Sono, his well-developed knack of being a talc of our woes had better stand him in good stead. For he will soon realise that public opinion is a dangerous wave to ride.