So far, so good, for Stuart Baxter and Bafana Bafana, who ended the first round of 2006 World Cup and African Cup of Nations qualifiers on a high note. The 1-0 win against Uganda was significant in that they finally managed to win an away game — the first team in Group 2 to do so.
Bafana Bafana supporters have put away their daggers for the moment, but until the national coach ensures qualification for Germany and Egypt, doubts will still linger as to whether Baxter was the right choice for the job.
The man known as ‘Stuart Who?†(he was a virtual unknown when he was selected by the South African Football Association to take over from Shakes Mashaba) has been at the helm for six months now, and for the first time he has a little breathing space.
The second round of qualifiers begins in March, and in between Bafana Bafana are scheduled to play only one friendly, against Nigeria, and in the four-nations LG Cup at home.
Baxter’s record reads played six, won four and lost two. One of the victories was over African champions Tunisia, but, worryingly, both losses came against countries that had never beaten South Africa before — Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The 12th national coach since 1992 has managed to do what 10 of his predecessors — the exception being Clive Barker — have failed to achieve: unite the team. Baxter has also managed to soothe the relationship with other coaches in the club versus country row.
Another thing that Baxter should be praised for is that he has brought stability to the team by keeping familiar faces in the squad. He has kept faith with a core of overseas-based stars and successful introduced young players such as Thabiso Rammile, Benedict Vilakazi, Tyrone Arendse and Thando Mngomeni.
An area of concern is Bafana Bafana’s poor performance in front of goal. If the group goes to the wire and the decision about who goes to Germany rests on goal difference, Baxter might come to rue the number of chances his strikers spurned.
In six games under Baxter, Bafana Bafana have not been able to score more than two goals in a match and are simply feeble when it comes to set-pieces — a source of many goals for international teams.
And, while he’s at it, Baxter would be advised to practise some of those set plays on some dusty, unlevelled field in a township. The excuse that his precious overseas-based stars cannot perform on the bumpy fields of Africa borders on treachery.
Overall, then, Baxter gets about a C+ on his report card. If he can build on this promising base he might get to the top of the class.