Mninawa Ntloko
7 October 2008
Johannesburg — BELEAGUERED national soccer team coach Joel Natalino Santana yesterday suffered the embarrassment of having to call off a press conference that was to be held in Pretoria after the South African Football Association (Safa) could not find a Portuguese interpreter for the Brazilian.
The red-faced Brazilian stood in the lobby of the hotel and refused to outline plans for this weekend's away 2010 African Nations Cup qualifier against Equatorial Guinea after he was informed that his interpreter had apparently travelled to Mozambique yesterday morning.
Displaying the shambles that has become a hallmark of Safa, Santana still does not have a fulltime interpreter and has had to rely on an assortment of Portuguese-speaking people who have been roped in at the last minute on several occasions.
Former national team coaches Clive Barker and Ted Dumitru said the latest gaffe by Safa could prove damaging as international and local media were present.
"It is an absolute shocker and I am speechless," Dumitru said.
"I have been in this game for a long time and I have heard of some strange situations. But this one takes the cake. This is an international blunder of epic proportions and the image of this country is under threat.
"How on earth do you call a press conference and then not have an interpreter for a coach who cannot speak English?"
Barker said he warned Safa against the danger of appointing a coach who could not speak English properly and yesterday's embarrassment only served to prove his point.
"I did warn them that this kind of thing was likely to happen," Barker said.
"People say football is a universal language, but as we can all see that is not the case here. No matter how good a coach you are, if you cannot speak the language of the country you are working in, then you are in trouble. But I feel frustrated for him (Santana.)"
Barker said the embarrassing public relations disaster raised more questions as the nation now had to wonder how Santana communicated with his players when he could not face the media without an interpreter present.
"Certainly there is a concern here. This must be frustrating for the players."
Safa spokesman Morio Sanyane said their regular interpreter -- Desiree Queiroz -- had to leave the country and travel to the neighbouring southern African nation at short notice.
"It was truly unfortunate but this does not represent a crisis within the national team," Sanyane said.
In the midst of the chaotic off-the-field bungles, the Bafana payers arrived in the camp to prepare for Saturday's encounter against Equatorial Guinea.
Bafana team manager Sipho Nkumane said most of the players were already in camp with the exception of Benni McCarthy, Nasief Morris, Bryce Moon and Matthew Booth.
These players are expected to arrive later in the week to finalise preparations ahead of an encounter that is academic after Bafana failed to qualify for the 2010 continental tournament.
Nkumane said there were forced changes in the goalkeeping department after Orlando Pirates keeper Moeneeb Josephs was injured while playing for his side in a domestic premiership encounter against Santos at the weekend.
"Moeneeb has been forced to pull out of the camp after his injury at the weekend," he said.
"He will be replaced by Mamelodi Sundowns' Brian Baloyi and Bloemfontein Celtic's Shu-Aib Walters."
Baloyi's presence in the team should keep Bafana No1 Itumeleng Khune on his toes after some shaky performances for both club and country.
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