Parreira fumes at S.Africa World Cup build-up

South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has criticised national football association officials as the 2010 World Cup hosts battle to arrange meaningful warm-up fixtures.

Friendlies against lowly China on April 28 at an undisclosed German venue and Denmark in Johannesburg on June 5 is all Bafana Bafana (The Boys) can look forward to ahead of the tournament opener against Mexico.

Parreira, who guided his native Brazil to the 1994 World Cup title and has also led Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia at the quadrennial championship, told a news conference here of his frustrations.

He admitted to intervening after South African Football Association (SAFA) officials failed to line-up any world football powers before the June 11 showdown with Mexico at the 90,000-seat Soccer City stadium here.

“But in every instance the reply was sorry, it is too late, our programme has been finalised,” admitted the coach who this year will become the first to guide five countries at the World Cup.

Parreira has repeatedly stressed the need for top-class opponents ahead of the Group A fixture with Mexico and Diego Maradona-coached Argentina topped his wish list.

But reports that the countries would clash at Soccer City on May 27 proved premature with a million-dollar-plus appearance fee demanded by the two-time world champions the stumbling block.

“I wanted an increasingly difficult programme of warm-up matches so that the South African players would be well prepared to face the tough opponents that await them at the World Cup,” said Parreira.

He was also angered by the delay in finding a Johannesburg World Cup training base with the original venue rejected because of rundown facilities and a school near the team hotel turned down after a row over costs.

After a frantic search, South Africa settled for Wits University on the edge of the city centre and were the last of the 32 World Cup qualifiers to seal a site despite being named hosts six years ago.

South Africa returned this week from a month-long training camp in Brazil for local based footballers with overseas-based stars like Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar not released owing to club commitments.

Bafana, second lowest ranked of the 32 qualifiers and outsiders in a group completed by former world champions France and Uruguay, played one international during the tour, coming from behind to draw 1-1 in Paraguay.

They fly to Germany next week for another camp with Parreira calling up 32-year-old striker Siyabonga Nomvete, whose last international appearance was three years ago, as he seeks a solution to enliven a blunt attack.