DRAWing attention to Pitso

This post originally appeared on the sport24.co.za site on June 5, 2012.

“I gave Vision 2014 and I have always called it Vision 2014 when I was appointed, it was not Vision 2012 or 2011.”


I thought it would be best to start this piece with one of Pitso’s many quotable quotes. The man knew how to get the nation talking about Bafana Bafana and about " the best coach", Pitso Mosimane. He always managed to draw the match attention to himself.




At this moment in time, every South Africa soccer fan (and part time fan) will know that Pitso Mosimane has been relieved of his duties (and most will now have found out what the former Supersport United coach was earning as national team coach).   Most of the people that I have spoken to are of the opinion that he should be fired and/or should have been fired ages ago. This is football and we are all entitled to our own opinions but I do not feel he should have been fired, especially at this point in time with important matches coming up.

Pitso Mosimane’s record in the hot Bafana Bafana seat was pretty average, it must be said. He managed to win six matches, lost three, and, as many will point out to you in the coming weeks, he drew seven internationals. He also failed to take Bafana Bafana to the 2012 African Cup of Nations. However, I feel there were other factors that led to his dismissal besides results.

Pitso failed to convince most South African football fans and his bosses due to (1) unsatisfactory results (2) his reluctance to select older players such as the 2011/2012 PSL top goal scorer, and finally, as I have mentioned, (3) his public outbursts.

If “Vision 2014” really existed then the issue of failing to qualify for AFCON 2012 would be ignored or dismissed as a pothole on the road to success by the suits at SAFA House. The South African Football Association (SAFA) kept faith in their man, rightly so, and kept him in the job despite the fact that he had failed to get Bafana to play in the continental competition. Bafana Bafana then proceeded to only manage three draws and one loss (to Zimbabwe) before the Ethiopia game. If SAFA decided to keep faith in their man despite him failing to qualify for AFCON 2012, does this mean that he was fired for unsatisfactory results in the four friendly matches and single 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier that followed? I don’t believe that this was reason enough to dismiss the coach. In South Africa, we cannot be judging our national team coaches on the results of friendly matches. Some people on social networks also claim that if one draws against Ethiopia, one then deserves to be fired. So are we now going to be judging coaches on a game-by-game basis? No “Vision 2014”? No focus on the long-term goals? I recently watched the French national soccer team struggling to beat Iceland in a so-called “meaningless” friendly. The game ended 3-2 in favour of Les Bleus in a match in which they were expected to dominate from start to finish. The French supporters were already booing the players after 30 minutes of play! Now, let us for a moment imagine that the French football association then decided follow public opinion and fired the coach, Laurent Blanc, due to one (or a string of bad friendly match results). How would that help the team in the long run? What message does that send to the next man who will be in charge? What happens to all the “building” that preceded the coach’s dismissal?

There are examples of similar situations in world football. The Brazilian World Cup-winning team of 2002 struggled to even qualify for the 2002 World Cup in South Korea. Once they got there, they won the actual event with (the original) Ronaldo ending up as top goal scorer. In 2006, Germany went into the World Cup that they were hosting, low on confidence. The team had not been performing as required and tournament had been struggling to build up hype amongst the public, but, yet again, when it is absolutely necessary to perform, the Germans gave a good effort and lost to the eventual champions in the semifinals. My point here is that fans cannot judge coaches on a game-by-game basis. If Pitso Mosimane, for example, is the head coach when the qualifiers begin, allow him to coach until the end. One can only judge the coach based on the final outcome based on whether he qualified or not (this deliverable should be clearly stated in the contract agreement). As Pitso Mosimane correctly pointed out, Bafana Bafana still have 15 points to play for. Why did SAFA feel the need to make a knee-jerk reaction? Did public pressure influence this decision? South Africa will be hosting the African Cup of Nations next year, yet Bafana Bafana will now have to prepare for the tournament with a coach who will have been in charge for less than 7 months by the time the tournament arrives. Who will the public blame in 2013?

The second issue was Pitso’s reluctance to select older players. I prefer not to discuss this issue too much. The Carling Black Label Cup is available for those who think they can make the best selections. I prefer to let the coach do the selecting. I judge all coaches, and will judge the next Bafana coach based on results not on whether my favourite player is playing. The coach is entitled to choose whoever he thinks will help him achieve his goals. I feel that some of the national team supporters have been unfair on Pitso Mosimane. I say this because it was the very same fans were calling Benni McCarthy “too fat” when he signed for Pirates and described former Pirates man Siyabonga Nomvethe as a “has been”. This also shows how fickle South African soccer fans can be – today you’re a legend, tomorrow you’re clueless.


The final issue, Pitso’s terrible handling of the media, attracted unnecessary negative attention from fans and, ultimately, led to his downfall. He put unnecessary pressure on himself by declaring himself “one of the best coaches in Africa” and such a display of confidence or arrogance requires great results if one wants to keep the Bafana Bafana coaching job.


Pitso reminds me of former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers. When given the microphone, these two gentlemen always provide good value for money as far as entertainment goes. Pitso, though, has the added problem of making too many excuses and resorting to blaming individual players for bad results – Siyabonga Nomvethe being the most recent example. The most recent post-match interviews was, as Neal Collins would say, “a Phokeng disappointment”.
 
So, Pitso Mosimane is gone and Steve Khompela will become the caretaker coach (we do love those two words in SA soccer don’t we?!) and journey to AFCON 2013 and Brazil 2014 (hopefully) is going to be bumpy ride. The development structures that Pitso kept mentioning may eventually be successfully built up in the country but unless our fans and soccer bosses change their mindsets as far as focusing on the deliverables and long term goals, Bafana Bafana will keep changing coaches and the result our nation deserves will forever be a distant dream.

Thomas Monyepao

Follow me on twitter for more football debates, @Tom_18Yards