Apart from an unsolicited avalanche of advice from unqualified sources, Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira finds himself faced with two delicate posers following the 2-0 African Nations Cup warm-up victory over Mozambique at Durban's Chatsworth Stadium on Sunday.
The first issue relates to Perraira's unexpected decision to switch captain Aaron Mokoena from his entrenched Bafana position as a central defender against Mozambique to that of the line-up's holding midfielder.
Although Bafana's Brazilian coach gave no notice of his intentions in this respect and yanked Mokoena from his usual role like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, Parreira's innovation was backed by a calculated and even logical explanation.
Mokoena invariably fills the role of a defensive midfielder when selected by manager Mark Hughes for the Blackburn Rovers' first-team line-up and the switch to the central defence when he plays for Bafana has meant he is filling an unfamiliar role.
At the same time, Mamelodi Sundowns' Benson Mhlongo, who invariably plays as a central defender for his club, has found himself filling out in midfield for Bafana.
Switching the two players to what are currently more familiar roles for their clubs could have beneficial effects for both, is the Bafana coach's assesment.
But Parreira stressed after the Mozambican game that these positional switches were no more than an experiment at this stage - and a final decision as to whether to implement them in the African Nations Cup would only be made after the South African squad lands in Ghana.
More likely than not, however, Parreira will decide to continue with the experiment in Wednesday's second warm-up game against Botswana in view of the fact that no definite conclusions were formed from the Mozambican game.
The second intriguing poser facing the Bafana coach is whether to persist with what he clearly believes to be his best tactical ploy and persist with a 4-5-1 formation that utilises a single striker.
Many of the arm-chair critics have been clamouring for Parreira to switch to a 4-4-2 formation and the team demonstrated more purpose in the second-half against Mozambique when the Bafana coach brought on Katlego Mphela to join Sibusiso Zuma as twin strikers.
Bafana's tepid attacks in the first half, however, were more due to the continued disturbing lack of form of Surprise Moriri since the Sundowns ballplayer underwent surgery to his leg in November.
And as Parreira stresses, both 4-5-1 and 4-4-2 formations have their advantages and disadvantages - "and it all depends on the players you have at your disposal and the strength of the opposition in order to implement what is best."
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