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Parreira the boxing promoter?
27/03/2007 20:58 - (SA)
Johannesburg - When it comes to selecting opponents, new Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira would appear to have the canny acumen of those grizzly boxing promoters.
They have over the years imported a string of so-called world-beaters to fight South Africans - only for the unsuspecting to discover the pugilists concerned are endowed with glass jaws that invariably shatter disconcertingly into a million pieces if as much as stroked by a feather.
And, although the comparison might be a wee bit unkind to the Bolivian team who face Bafana in a friendly international at Ellis Park on Wednesday night (20:30), the Cinderella team of South American soccer certainly possess a glass jaw of their own in their make-up - namely that concerning an alarming decline in form while performing away from their home fortress in La Paz.
The last time Bolivia won a game that can fairly be categorised as an away fixture was on the red letter day of 12 June, 1996 - close on 11 years ago - when they beat the United States 2-0 in Washington.
To be fair to the apparently-chronic, home-sick Bolivians, they managed to beat minnows Honduras 1-0 as well on 11th October, 2003 - but this game in Washington as well was on neutral territory and therefore not strictly an away game in the true sense of the word.
Troubled even powerhouses
At home, of course, in lofty La Paz, where the air is so rarified it makes Johannesburg seem like a seaside resort, Bolivia are a different proposition, having troubled even powerhouses of the calibre of Brazil and Argentina at times.
So, perhaps, it can be argued that in Johannesburg's altitude, Bolivia will smell a whiff of La Paz and give Bafana a real run-around. Against this it has to be accepted that the Bolivians have lost 44 of their 58 away games since June 1996, drawn 13 and won only once.
In Bolivia over the same period, they have won 19 times, drawn 12 and lost only six times.
And so, it would seem, the worldly-wise Parreira had more than an inkling about what he was doing when he plumped to play Bolivia in South Africa - even though the 101st-ranked Fifa nation are an improvement on recent opponents Chad (135th) and Swaziland (149th).
What it indicates, however, is that as Parreira prepares for the herculean task of moulding South Africa for the 2010 World Cup on home territory his first objective is on consolidation - to create a sound foundation and also imprint enthusiasm into a squad that needs a healthy dose of this commodity after last year's string of nightmarish results.
Imprint a healthy dominance
The Bafana coach has also established his stature and authority by holding onto the entire 20-man squad that went to Chad for the 3-0 African Nations Cup qualifying victory to remain in camp for the game against Bolivia - adding only Orlando Pirates left-back, Innocent Mdledle, as an extra option.
The real test for Bafana at Ellis Park is to imprint a healthy dominance over the proceedings that labels them a team to be treated with a measure of respect by all and sundry.
Anything less against a combination who are sure to demonstrate a measure of South American skill, could result in something little short of a calamity. After all, Bolivia have drawn 13 of their 58 games on their travels away from home since 1996 - and, as it is often expounded, give someone a finger and they can end up taking the whole arm.
- SAPA
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