‘It’s an ego thing, we’ve lost our way in SA’

JOHANNESBURG. - Gavin Hunt has delivered a scathing analysis of South African football development and the country’s failure to qualify for major tournaments.

The last World Cup Bafana Bafana qualified for was the Korea/Japan 2002, which is 20 years ago, and Hunt believes the country has since lost its’ playing identity.

“I think that’s where we lost our way in South Africa,” Hunt said.

“I think we had a way, that was very good, because we were winning. We qualified for finals, we qualified for the World Cup.

“We need to put egos aside, sit down and say: ‘this is where we’re going to go and this is what we’re going to do.’

“If you look around the world, you mention countries, we know the way they play. Us? We don’t really know.”

Hunt was speaking and the media launch of the annual Discovery Walter Sisulu Soccer Challenge.

“It comes down to this level. So if you have a coach that says: ‘listen, I want you to do 360 turns on the halfway line’.

“Yes, we all love it - but we’re not winning the World Cup. We’re not qualifying for the World Cup, so maybe this is not the way.

“So, we need to find a way and I think it starts at this [youth] level. So when a player comes to the PSL and we look for a player in a certain position and he’s doing these things but he’s not doing one, two, three, he doesn’t make it.”

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Bafana says some PSL players are not good enough to play international football.

The 58-year-old believes the key to restoring Bafana Bafana to former glory lies in grassroots development.

“That’s why my big thing, which I’m on now, is we’re coaching coaches. We need to educate people at the bottom, people at grassroot level.

“Rubbish in, rubbish out I say, we need to put good values and good principles at the bottom, at the school coaches, all these levels, then we can get better players.”