Alekahleng banna! Alekahleng!(Give us a break)

Alekahleng banna! Alekahleng!(Give us a break)

Somebody please tell us.

Are we looking for a coach, a mercenary or a patriot?

It is often said that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man (read Safa) is king.

How true.

What Carlos Alberto Parreira has done, could have done or not done for Bafana Bafana is neither here nor there.

The man is history. Kaput!

Pity he is still on the payroll. And again on his own terms.

He was even able to pick his successor. His countryman, one Joel Natalino Santana of modest achievement on the local (Brazilian) soccer scene and zilch at international level.

No wonder the man's screams of excitement through the still of the Brazilian night could be heard beyond the borders of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

He was telling all who cared to listen that he had also become the latest in a steady flow of the South American country's citizens to effectively win the South African Football Association's Lotto jackpot.

He made it clear to his club Flamengo's vice president Kleber Leite that he had, at last, struck gold.

"Joel told me that he would be winning in 10 months what he did not win in a 30-year career. There is no solution to such a situation. It is a financial situation for Joel. And he dreams of coaching a national team at a World Cup," Leite was quoted as saying.

Need we say more?

Is that the kind of person we have to give our support to?

Is that what we believe is good for this nation?

That, my learned friends, is going to depend on the one-eyed man.

Parreira is remaining in the role of technical advisor as and when he can.

We are told.

Consultants and advisors are paid. Not that you didn't know.

How much that will be, will be left to your imagination. Unless, of course, Butana Komphela demands transparency.

Yours truly cannot afford petrol anymore, let alone other basic necessities.

Vuyo Mbuli was not nice to Raymond Hack on Tuesday.

Don't shoot the messenger. Hack knows things and doesn't know that he knows them.

The one-eyed man is watching.

Sepp Blatter has to get off our case sometime.

He was involved in Parreira's engagement and had LOC chief executive Danny Jordaan involved in luring the former World Cup winner to Bafana Bafana.

He is again quoted as saying we should look for another coach, with Parreira's assistance. Are we really so blind?

Parreira is said to have told Santana that Safa would make him an "undeclinable proposal".

Excuse me!

Parreira's interests in South Africa have ended. Santana has financial ones. Period! There is no room for sentiments at national level in this game.

Only patriotism. And, that's what we need at this stage.

It is not even about attitude as some would like us to believe. That is not the preserve of anyone - even some leaders have a poor one.

The trouble is, while we are going to scream and shout until we are blue in the face, it's not going to change the minds of those in power.

They cannot be expected to be involved in business unusual just to please the nation. The same nation that will be called upon to show patriotism.

It is not good being a spoilsport, but one wouldn't be true to one's self if it isn't mentioned that the current situation has the potential to divide the nation's loyalties come 2010.

When all has been said and done and our great-great-grandchildren question us about the wisdom or lack thereof of this generation, we can always blame it on history.

As for those who don't believe a local coach can do the job, we can only sympathise with their colonised minds - it is not their fault. Blame that one on apartheid.

All we can say for now is ... eish! Cry the beloved Bafana Bafana!