...and all yuh think we have it bad, imagine they hosting de cup.
Check this outTOUGH-talking national soccer team coach Carlos Alberto Parreira launched an extraordinary attack on the South African Football Association (Safa) yesterday that left his new employers with red faces.
The ink had hardly dried on the outspoken Brazilian's contract when Parreira showed he was not afraid to tell the media -- in front of Safa vice-president Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana and CEO Raymond Hack -- that he would never tolerate the kind of interference that is believed to have led to the departure of previous Bafana Bafana coaches.
"The moment I feel that I am not happy, I will say 'thank you very much, bye-bye'," a frank Parreira said, with Nonkonyana and Hack quietly looking on.
"I never accept interference. If there is, I walk. They (Safa) have had 13 coaches in 14 years! That is not a very good record for a football association. It is not a good record at all."
The many men who have steered the Bafana ship include incumbent Pitso Mosimane, Ted Dumitru, Stuart Baxter, April "Styles" Phumo, Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba, Kenneth "Conti" Kubheka, Jomo Sono, Carlos Queiroz, Trott Moloto, Philippé Troussier, Clive Barker, Augusto Palacios and Stanley "Screamer" Tshabalala.
Parreira continued the offensive and said he was astounded when he found out that the nation's youth structures had been allowed to crumble into dust over the past few years.
"When they told me that there are no youth leagues here, I could not believe it. How can a country that wants to be a powerhouse not have proper development structures?
"The picture we have is not the best possible. Where are we going to find the players to build the national team for the 2010 World Cup if we do not have the proper youth structures?"
The Brazilian's observation contradicted years of misleading information from Safa that claimed the youth structures were in excellent condition.
Parreira -- who revealed he did not have any conditions attached to his contract with Safa -- said he was disturbed by the intense debate that has surrounded his R1,8m-a-month salary.
"The fact is, I did not come here for the money. After spending 40 years of my life as a coach at the top level, it would not have made any difference to me financially if I came here or not.
"It was because SA is the country that will host the next World Cup on African soil for the first time. And if I feel at any point that (my salary) is a problem, I am ready to leave right away."
The Brazilian then turned his attention to perennial Bafana stayaways Benni McCarthy and Quinton Fortune and said he would get to the bottom of the two English-based players' tendency to turn down call-ups.
"For the World Cup, all good players have to be considered to play. I think that the country will benefit from Benni's skill if he is willing to play. (So) I will not take any position on him until I have spoken to him."
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) was not spared either. Parreira said the current rules that allow five foreign players to be fielded at the same time would undermine all efforts to rebuild the national team. "Maybe, instead of playing five foreigners in the PSL, we need to allow just three to give South African players a chance to play. How can local players be expected to develop if they cannot play?"
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Parreira warned that the resuscitation of SA's football would be no easy task and that the nation would have to exercise extreme patience during these growing pains.
"Patience will be the key word because there will definitely be ups and downs along the way. There will be traps, there will be bad moments, but the focus should be 2010. There is lot of work ahead and it is going to be a huge challenge."
But he added that the period between now and 2010 should be enough to build a decent team if all the shortcomings were resolved.