The boot is on the other foot: goalless Gordon finds himself in Pitso's shoes

Remember when: Gordon Igesund celebrating a goal, circa 1872

Suddenly Gordon Igesund finds himself in Pitso Mosimane’s shoes. And they’re not very comfortable. By Wednesday evening, he'll have his own footwear. Question is: will they be flip-flops or stillettos?

The awful goalless draw against Algeria after a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Norway’s unwanted youngsters was “very Mosimane” but excusable. A pair of meaningless, friendly slippers.

Gordon reassured the nation: “We are improving. You haven’t seen my best side yet. We are hard to beat and we will score goals,” just a week before Saturday’s big kick-off at the rechristened National Stadium.

Then, like Pitso, Carlos Alberto Parreira and a cast of hundred haplesscoaches before him, Igesund was entirely incapable of raising the game for the opening clash against minnows Cape Verde.

Awful. Embarrassing. Toothless. Boring. And those were the polite verdicts. The government has apparently declared all goals in South Africa “national key points” until the AFCON final at Soccer City on February 10. But that's okay, none of us have seen one in nearly 300 minutes.

Ghana and that famous medic Dr Congo shared four goals between them on Sunday to lift a tournament which started with that record goal drought on Saturday - but that is not enough for soccer-mad fans in the host nation.

Forced to endure traffic jams, ticket scares and bus disappearances in the build-up, what did Gordon offer to console the fans after his side’s drab opening? “My players froze up. We can’t afford to play like that again. The nerves got to them and a lot of players were hiding.

“They are very disappointed but we win together and we lose together. With Angola and Morocco drawing 0-0 too, we are now all on an equal footing in Group A. Let’s see how we can rectify the situation.”

Very Pitso isn’t it? The initial knock-kneed approach has morphed in to a genuine mistrust of the media, and if really thinks those two goalless draws on Saturday are good for Bafana, he’s fooling himself.

The scenario is this: South Africa draw against Angola on Wednesday, Morocco will crush the vocal Verdians. Then we’ll draw against Morocco in the final game – remember Gordon’s words after Algeria “we are becoming difficult to beat” – but Angola will then polish off the volcanic islanders to qualify with Morocco.

And that will leave an unbeaten South Africa waving goodbye to another tournament despite their privileged position as hosts.

Nobody wants that to happen. Gordon least of all. Even Pitso, wiping the smile of his face somewhere in Mamelodi or Chloorkop, doesn’t want that to happen.

Gavin Hunt, the SuperSport United coach who won three successive PSL titles and was short-listed for the hottest seat in South Africa outside of Nkandla, doesn't either.

He appeared on our new show SportsTalk on www.702.co.za this week and told presenter Udo Carelse: "I feel sorry for Gordon. Some of his players look like they couldn't be bothered. Siphiwe Tshabalalala needs a long holiday on a Mauritian island. With a one-way ticket. The guy needs a break from football.

"And Thuso Phala is okay. But he's a fireman. He's always putting it out."

Now only victory against Angola tomorrow night offers Gordon the chance of redemption.

And the last flickering flame of hope lies in these words: “We have to move on. We can’t harp on about Saturday. Football is a funny game (many English coaches have resorted to that one over the years) once we score a few goals and get the country buzzing, I believe we can go all the way.”

Wednesday evening, Gordon gets the chance to remove Pitso’s shoes and wear his own. Whether they will come back to kick him up the bottom remains in doubt.

To hear podcasts of our new show go to: http://www.702.co.za/podcast/podcast_sportstalk.asp.

With Pienaar and the vuvuzelas on their side, perhaps South Africa have a chance

AT last Steven Pienaar is offering a glimmer of on-field optimism for Bafana Bafana. Yes, South Africa may be gearing up nicely for the World Cup in June – I’ve been to the Moses Mabhida in Durban, Green Point in Cape Town, Soccer City in Soweto –off the field, great job.

But it’s on the field where pessimism strikes at the heart among the Rainbow Nation’s population, whether they follow local football or not. Invariably not.

But my question for those doubters is this: “How can any side fail to compete at the top level with Steven Pienaar at the heart of things?”

The bloke is a revelation. Anybody who watched Everton’s emphatic 2-0 win over Manchester City’s millionaires will understand the point.

Sure Pienaar scored his third goal in three games – a neat near-post free-kick nearly as good as his exquisite finish in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal last week – but goals aren’t the only currency for the former Ajax Amsteram midfielder.

He is one of those rare midfielders who can perform the “Makalele” role – defensive, along the lines of Alex Song at Arsenal or Michael Essien at Chelsea. He is also adept at the creative passing and quick break element – think Stevie Gerrard at Liverpool, though not lately. And of course, he has the engine of a Frank Lampard, able to run all day and work in both penalty areas, almost simultaneously.

Yet here sit South Africa. Failed to qualify for the African Cup of Nations and at No86 in the fickle FIFA tables, the lowest ranked side ever to host a World Cup

It can’t be right. Given you’ve got only 31 nations visiting here in June, there’s a good chance you’ll finish better than 86^th, especially if Pienaar is given free reign in your midfield. Arguably, with the captain’s armband on. He’s 27, he played in Cape Town, Amsterdam, Dortmund and Liverpool, he has the experience.

Remember, Benni McCarthy and Aaron Makoena have also been scoring Premier League goals in recent weeks.

But it worries me when, this week, I hear Bafana coach Carlos Parreira saying he’ll build his team around a core of South African-based players.

Before this epic cricket series between South Africa and England started I got around to a few grounds and saw, amongst others, your champions Supersports United beat lowly Jomo Cosmos 3-0 at a nearly-empty Loftus Versfeld.

And let’s be frank, Stevie Pienaar would have made a huge difference in a game like that. The idea that Parreira may build his side around players not playing in the European leagues is deeply flawed, though understandable.

He’s taken 29 players down to Durban (why not at high altitude? All the big World Cup teams will be preparing at altitude given the World Cup final will be played at 5,000 feet).for friendlies against Swaziland on Saturday in Chatsworth and Zimbabwe at the superb Moses Mabhida stadium next Wednesday.

I know he’s unhappy about Elrio van Heerden not getting much action for Blackburn – he’s now in Turkey with Sivasspor and trying to regain full fitness.

And you can sympathise with Parreira when he says: “I don’t think David Moyes will allow Pienaar to join us before the World Cup because he has become a vital player for them. We will have to wait until late in May for him and Mokoena at Portsmouth.”

He’s right, but that doesn’t mean the side shouldn’t be built around Pienaar variously described as “superb”, “a revelation” and “unstoppable” by the British papers this morning.

Let’s take the view from Pienaar himself, who handles himself well in front of the cameras, as a captain-elect should: “I would definitely say I am a more complete player since coming to Everton.

“I do think South Africa might still surprise a few people at the World Cup. We players have to be ready to show we are not just a team with a few individuals. Part of the problem is that, compared with some other African countries, some of our players are not hungry enough. Maybe we’re not very adventurous and don’t like to be away from home

“For us to go to the second round, that is the expectation of the people. I think we can get out of the group.

“Mexico and Uruguay play quite similar to us, only France will be a bit of a challenge for us.

“The crowd will boost the players and we will be confident with them behind us. We hope they will be behind us.”

Pienaar came out strongly in defence of South Africa when the British press were linking the Togo team bus shootings in Cabinda with the upcoming World Cup. And the man born in Westbury near Johannesburg but thriving on Merseyside, says: “You know, things are getting better in Westbury. The crime’s coming down a bit.

“I don’t think too many visitors will going to Westbury but they will be coming to a beautiful country and the tournament is going to be very good for South Africa.”

Remember, the hosts invariably do shockingly well at World Cups. South Korea, France, Germany, Argentina... blimey, even England won it when they got to host it 44 years ago.

With Pienaar and the vuvuzela-blasting home fans behind them, who knows what South Africa are capable of producing in five months' time?