By Kenneth Davison

Only 126 Days to go till the biggest event that South Africa has even hosted and probably will ever host. And for those who have been living under a rock for the last few years, it is the FIFA World Cup. This event is bigger than both the cricket and rugby world cups put together (I’m guessing here but I’m sure President Blatter will agree).

Everyone so far has noticed all the construction of stadiums and some areas have even been lucky and had other things upgraded, like roads. This construction has often been more of a nuisance as it blocks traffic but in the long run it will probably be worthwhile. Those large Soccer stadiums can probably double up for rugby and other sports, even be used for school and club games, much like the cricket stadiums do when there are no big games to be played.

But despite all these good things happening everywhere, the doomsayers have been extremely vocal. They have even gone to the extent of telling tourists that the violence in this country is so bad and criminals will kill them if they arrive. I personally think a French tourist has a better chance of encountering an Irishman and that going badly (Remember the Hand of Henry knocking Ireland out WC).

These doomsayers were a bit upset when the Confed cup went so well but now they are back and picking on anything, especially Bafana Bafana. But do they have a point when they say that Bafana are not good enough? Looking at the evidence perhaps they do, Bafana is ranked very far from the top, a figure most Batsmen would love to have by their name. Bafana had a good Confed Cup but then the wheels came off and they started losing a lot of games.

In that period I supported Santana, I thought he was doing the right thing by playing strong opposition to try and strengthen the team. You learn when you play a strong team but weak teams only let you go through the motions. Personally I didn’t expect Bafana to win against Europe’s strong teams but clearly the general supporter did. The player’s confidence was also shattered and even weak teams pushed them around. So Santana was booted and Parreira brought back in.

Parreira has some clear plans but his plans involve more training camps. Last week the training camp for local players was held and Bafana managed to sweep past Swaziland and Zimbabwe. Now bear in mind none of these teams were in the AFCON Cup so they are not the best in Africa. There might even be schools in Soweto that could have beaten Swaziland. Their defense was nowhere and their attack wasn’t much better. But the aim of restoring the player’s confidence was achieved, and a few locals got to show off their skills and try get into the WC squad.

Fans were heard chanting bring on the World Cup during these good victories. Perhaps their cheering is a bit premature right now but Parreira intends to move the team forward. He has departed for Europe to get the overseas players free for training camps in Brazil and Germany. Getting all the guys to work together will be important in achieving success.

Make no mistake; South Africa has some talented players. Tshabalala has impressed me with his skill, accuracy and speed. Tshabalala and Pienaar have a very high work rate on the field. Pienaar doesn’t need much introduction and he is vital to success. Mphela has a rocket on his foot that could rival Rooney on a good day and there are more players who are good enough.

However, the team lacks the edge needed to make it against big teams. A few players often don’t perform well or don’t work well in a team environment, one of which has gotten a bit large for a guy who supposedly runs several kilometers a day. But now Parreira will be trying to get those guys to work together. I’m confident the guys can pull through, they are not ready yet but they will be. The most important thing is that they work well as a team.