South Africa For Football World Cup 2010
Player
Talented midfield maestro Steven Pienaar is South Africa's prize assert. In the absence of the country's most successful striker, Benni McCarthy, who remains out of favour, Pienaar brings much-needed innovation and imagination to the side.
Since his arrival at Everton, Pienaar has reinvented himself and matured as an all-round player. While he continues to polarize opinion in his native country, no-one in South Africa disputes the confidence he exudes on the field and his ability to inject inspiration into the team's play. His performances during the FIFA Confederations Cup were yet another reminder that he will be key to any South African success in 2010.
Yet arguably just as vital to the Bafana Bafana cause are two players who have laboured tirelessly and effectively with little recognition: wing-backs Siboniso Gaxa and the enterprising Tsepho Masilela.
South Africa coach
Now in his second stint as a South Africa coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira's return was greeted with mixed feelings in South Africa, although the Brazilian's many supporters are adamant that he is the man to lead this side to the ‘Promised Land' in 2010. Parreira certainly has the pedigree, having led his native country to the beautiful game's ultimate prize at the 1994 FIFA World Cup USA. The extensively-traveled coach also brings a wealth of experience, which should prove vital in revitalizing a South African side struggling with some significant pre-tournament problems. However, Parreira will be hoping to avoid the difficulties he endured during an inauspicious first spell as head coach, which witnessed him fail to lead South Africa beyond the first round at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.
PlayerTalented midfield maestro Steven Pienaar is South Africa's prize assert. In the absence of the country's most successful striker, Benni McCarthy, who remains out of favour, Pienaar brings much-needed innovation and imagination to the side.
Since his arrival at Everton, Pienaar has reinvented himself and matured as an all-round player. While he continues to polarize opinion in his native country, no-one in South Africa disputes the confidence he exudes on the field and his ability to inject inspiration into the team's play. His performances during the FIFA Confederations Cup were yet another reminder that he will be key to any South African success in 2010.
Yet arguably just as vital to the Bafana Bafana cause are two players who have laboured tirelessly and effectively with little recognition: wing-backs Siboniso Gaxa and the enterprising Tsepho Masilela.
South Africa coach
Now in his second stint as a South Africa coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira's return was greeted with mixed feelings in South Africa, although the Brazilian's many supporters are adamant that he is the man to lead this side to the ‘Promised Land' in 2010. Parreira certainly has the pedigree, having led his native country to the beautiful game's ultimate prize at the 1994 FIFA World Cup USA. The extensively-traveled coach also brings a wealth of experience, which should prove vital in revitalizing a South African side struggling with some significant pre-tournament problems. However, Parreira will be hoping to avoid the difficulties he endured during an inauspicious first spell as head coach, which witnessed him fail to lead South Africa beyond the first round at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.
