Do Bafana Bafana Need Sven?

World Cup 2010 chief executive Danny Jordaan believes that the only man who can save South Africa’s blushes and lead them out of the footballing wilderness as they prepare for hosting the 2010 World Cup is Sven Goran Eriksson.

A nation of Englishmen shake their heads in disbelief but Jordaan defends his idea by pointing to the role that Sven has played in bringing through a clutch of young players into the England setup and reducing their overreliance on established stars such as David Beckham and Paul Scholes.

In a statement worthy of Sven’s own PR guru he goes on to say that despite the Swede’s massive ?4m a year salary, the South Africans should fork out for him because they have to pay to get the best available coach.

Whether Sven Goran Eriksson is the man for the job as Mr. Jordaan thinks he is will be a matter for the South African FA but Sven’s record at the top table isn’t exactly top class and if the South Africans are really serious about getting a man who has been there and done it at the highest level then maybe they should be rivalling the FA and having a word with Luiz Felipe Scolari or Guus Hiddink instead. Pedigree is what matters and no amount of spin and PR smiles from Sven can hide the fact that he’s still some distance behind these two in terms of international football success.