Looking back at what turned out to be a disappointing footballing year for SA

When the footballing year 2017 is compared to other years of international competition‚ it will be ranked as a major disappointment for the South African game.

A strong position in World Cup qualification was squandered‚ with an unrest and controversy-plagued squad failing to find any momentum.

At club level‚ Mamelodi Sundowns were unable to retain their African Champions League title while SuperSport United failed to wrestle the African Confederation Cup from TP Mazembe despite ample opportunity.

Again‚ there were no trophies for the country’s most popular clubs with Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates as they continued their drought and Sundowns only taking the African Super Cup.

Here is TimesLIVE list of the top five South African footballing flops of the last 12 months.

WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION

When the 2018 World Cup preliminaries resumed in June‚ South Africa had four points out of a possible six in hand and two back-to-back games against minnows Cape Verde Islands.

Cape Verde had lost their opening two qualifiers‚ that all felt would lift the country to 10 points and put them out in front in the race for a place in Russia.

But‚ with Stuart Baxter taking over as coach‚ the two matches against the islanders turned into a farce and the double defeats were followed by a brief glimpse of promise against Burkina Faso at Soccer City before two more home and away losses to Senegal.

Bafana finished bottom of the group and have to watch on next June as the world’s footballing elite gather in Russia.

RONWEN WILLIAMS

There is increasingly a feeling that at the age of 25‚ and having been in the professional ranks for some eight years now‚ it will be all a little unchallenging for the SuperSport United goalkeeper.

His return to the national team was characterised by a jittery performance in Praia and‚ although it is unfair to blame him for the goals‚

South Africa needed confidence in their goalkeeper in that game which they did not get.

His other big match of the year was in Lubumbashi where two horror errors allowed hosts TP Mazembe to beat SuperSport in the first leg of the final‚ which ultimately proved the difference between the two.

LEONARDO CASTRO

An integral member of the all-conquering CBD in 2015-16‚ Castro stated the year having just come back from injury and with hopes that he might re-find his goal scoring form.

But he did not impress in training‚ so saw little game time in the team and in the entire year scored just a single goal‚ against amateurs Mariveni United in the Nedbank Cup.

It makes it even more incredulous that Kaizer Chiefs would consider him a priority for the January transfer window or is it that AmaKhosi‚ once the dream destination for almost all local footballers‚ can no longer properly compete in the transfer market.

WITS’ DEFENCE OF THEIR TITLE

The first half of the year proved the highlight in almost a century of Wits University football as the club took their first-ever championship.

But the second half of 2017 has been madness for Bidvest Wits‚ who finished the year in bottom place and facing the stark reality of relegation in the worst defence‚ to date‚ made by any champion team to the defence of their title.

Exactly what has gone wrong continues to puzzle pundits.

Is it a toxic change room?

Has the Gavin Hunt magic evaporated?

Is it just a horror run that Wits will turn around after the holiday break?

We should get some answers in 2018.

TOKELO RANTIE and THULANI SERERO

Rantie said he did not want a Bafana Bafana call-up after Stuart Baxter left him out of the squad for the matches against the Cape Verde Islands‚ on the basis of a lack of game timer at club level.

It seem a harsh decision by the coach‚ given Rantie’s heroics in June away against Nigeria‚ but the reaction was of that of a petulant ego-manic rather than professional sportsperson.

The same can be said of Thulani Serero who refused to travel home for the two World Cup qualifiers against Senegal in November unless he was guaranteed a berth in the starting line-up.

This from a player who spent the previous season at Ajax Amsterdam’s reserves.