“He has a big nose, a fleshy face, pockmarked skin and a scowl that’s prompted people to compare him to a bulldog. But Joel Santana isn’t here to win beauty contests; he’s here to save our national soccer side. And he’s going to do it his way, with plenty of emotion, a good dose of discipline and sprinklings of affection.”
That’s what YOU wrote about Joel Santana 16 months ago, shortly after the Brazilian was appointed as Bafana Bafana’s coach. He quit in disgrace last week after a series of losses.
When he was signed up little was known about him except that he’d never coached a national side. But many were cautiously optimistic at the appointment of a down-to-earth guy who spoke little English yet claimed to be fluent in the universal language of football. He was paid R1,5 million a month, which he described as “30 times more” than his salary at his previous job, Brazilian club Flamengo.
When Santana took over Bafana were 71st on Fifa’s world rankings. Now they’ve slumped to a dismal 85th. And it gets worse: today they’re ranked 178th in Africa; at their 1996 peak Bafana were Africa’s champions and 16th in the world.
As often happens in sport Santana went from hero to zero very quickly. The turning point in his career probably came after Bafana lost 1-0 to Ireland in September and the call rang out, “Six in a row, the coach must go.” That six soon became eight losses in nine matches and his head was firmly on the block.
Bafana stalwart Steven Pienaar voiced players’ unhappiness after the Ireland game, complaining that he couldn’t be a playmaker to only one striker. It was a sign Santana’s defensive methods were crippling Bafana’s style and the players, not just the media and football-watching public, had lost faith.
