Five men who should have never been allowed near the Bafana coaching job

Stuart Baxter will hope he is more successful than these five men who have led the national team but without distinction.

All could point to mitigating factors for their failure‚ and sometimes statistics do not tell the full story of what was happening within the national team at the time.

Times Media Digital looks at the five coaches with statistically the worst national team record of those who have led the side in five matches or more.

1. PHILIPPE TROUSSIER

Tenure: Mar 98-Jul 98

Record: P6 W0 D4 L2 GF5 GA1

Win/loss percentage: 0%

Frenchman Troussier was the first foreigner to coach Bafana Bafana‚ brought on board to take the country to their first ever World Cup finals appearance at France ’98.

He failed to win any of his six matches in charge though and cut a tetchy figure who clashed with just about everybody he came into contact with.

Jomo Sono had taken Bafana to the final of the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations and perhaps in hindsight may have been a better fit for the players than Troussier‚ who came with the reputation as a tactical genius‚ but with plenty of other baggage too.

His stay was short‚ six games played over two months‚ but he did take South Africa close to the second round of the World Cup.

A disastrous 3-0 loss to hosts France in the opener was followed by a 1-1 draw against Denmark‚ a game Bafana really should have won on the balance of chances.

A 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia in their final group game brought a swift end to his tenure‚ after which he would go on to have some success with Japan. He was replaced by Trott Moloto.

2. STANLEY ‘SCREAMER’ TSHABALALA

Tenure: Jun 92-Oct 92

Record: P6 W1 D1 L 4 GF5 GA13

Win/loss percentage: 17%

It would be fair to say no Bafana Bafana coach has had it tougher than Tshabalala‚ who had to bring South Africa out of the sporting wilderness and compete in the international game with very little preparation time.

He admits it was overwhelming and that both the players and technical team had no real knowledge of how to set up for international matches‚ fumbling their way through the first few games as best they could.

It all started well with a 1-0 win over Cameroon in the country’s first international back‚ Bafana profiting from a generous penalty award‚ but aside from a 2-2 draw in the third match of that series‚ Tshabalala’s other four matches ended in defeat‚ including hammerings by Zimbabwe (1-4) and Nigeria (0-4) in qualification matches.

Tshabalala was replaced after just over four months in charge by interim coach Shakes Mashaba‚ having struck journalist Sy Lerman after the latter wrote an article entitled‚ ‘Don’t scream‚ just go!’

• BREAKING: Safa names Stuart Baxter as new Bafana Bafana coachThe protracted search for a Bafana Bafana coach is finally over after the South African Football Association (Safa) named Stuart Baxter as Ephraim ‘‘Shakes” Mashaba’s successor on Thursday afternoon. 

3. STYLES PHUMO

Tenure: Jun 92-Oct 92

Record: P6 W1 D1 L4 GF4 GA10

Win/loss percentage: 17%

The late Phumo was asked to take over the reigns of the national team at short notice after SAFA axed Shakes Mashaba from his first full spell in charge‚ with his first act to take the team to the 2004 African Nations Cup finals.

His short reign could hardly be deemed a success though as the side exited in the first round for the first time in their history.

The three matches in Tunisia did involve a decent 2-0 win over Benin and no shame in a 1-1 draw against a strong Moroccan side‚ but he was ultimately undone by a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Nigeria.

Phumo also had the ignominy of overseeing a 2-0 loss to Mauritius with a makeshift side in the COSAFA Cup‚ as well as friendly losses to Senegal and Australia.

4. JOEL SANTANA

Tenure: Jun 08-Oct 09

Record: P27 W10 D3 L14 GF25 GA30

Win/loss percentage: 37%

Brazilian Santana was parachuted into the country for a holding job as compatriot Carlos Alberto Parreira returned to South America to be with his sick wife.

It would be one of the most important periods in the country’s footballing history and the thinking behind the appointment was that Santana would bring continuity having a similar ethos to Parreira.

But he just never clicked with the national side‚ despite leading them to fourth at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

He battled to communicate with the players‚ and had little imagination in his tactics or team selection.

He also failed to qualify the side for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

The highlights?

There were a few‚ such as wins against under-strength Cameroon and Ghana sides in friendlies and a 2-1 success over Norway in Rustenburg.

Despite that fourth-place finish at the Confederations Cup‚ they only won one game at the tournament‚ a 2-0 victory over lowly New Zealand.

Parreira returned in November 2009 as panic set in at SAFA‚ and FIFA‚ over the state of the national side just months from the World Cup.

• New Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter has a lot to proveBriton Stuart Baxter’s return to the Bafana Bafana coaching seat he vacated in 2005 will draw mixed reaction from the nation’s soccer lovers after the protracted search for Ephraim ‘‘Shakes” Mashaba’s successor finally came to an end on Thursday afternoon.

5. AUGUSTO PALACIOS

Tenure: Dec 92-Jan 94

Record: P8 W3 D3 L2 GF6 GA9

Win/loss percentage: 38%

Palacios was handed the hot-seat in the early days of Bafana and was given the boot after losing only two of his eight games in charge.

Those losses were big though and came in a 3-0 reversal in Zambia and a 4-0 defeat against Mexico in Los Angeles where his team selection and tactics seemed at odds.

He did manage a 0-0 draw against a strong Nigeria side though‚ as well as an excellent 1-0 success away in Congo.

It is tempting to say he should have been given more time‚ but the man who took over from him‚ Clive Barker‚ would go on to lead the side through the most successful period in its history.

- TMG Digital/TMG Sport