Shakes Mashaba has added some obscure names to the Bafana squad, indicating that SA is teeming with potential.
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Johannesburg - Shakes Mashaba’s uncharacteristic nonchalance amid the chaos surrounding his squad for Sunday’s Nelson Mandela Challenge is perhaps a sign that age has mellowed the man.
In the past, such distraction would have seen Mashaba flip to the extent of calling Premier Soccer League (PSL) clubs unpatriotic as Bafana Bafana prepare for their Nelson Mandela Challenge clash with the Ivory Coast in Mbombela tomorrow.
He has kept his cool though, the coach instead acknowledging clubs’ unwillingness to release their players for a match not falling on an official Fifa date.
Mashaba has gone on to add some obscure names to the squad, once again indicating not only his eye for talent but the fact that the country is teeming with potential.
The likes of Mamelodi Sundowns’ Motjeka Madisha as well as Siphelele Luthuli of the University of Pretoria will get to wear the senior national team jersey after the likes of Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates withdrew their key players.
Also called up are the trio from Ajax Cape Town - Brandon Petersen, Abbubakar Mobara and Thami Sangweni - as well as Chippa United’s Chris Komane and Phumlani Ntshangase of Bidvest Wits.
The clubs’ reaction to the call-ups will no doubt give the impression the match is not a serious one. But Safa president Danny Jordaan has said full caps will be awarded to the players.
And Mashaba promises that his team, no matter how downgraded, will take the clash as serious as if it was a qualifying event.
“There is no national team match that is less important. Over the years we have seen (leading) countries come out to play Bafana Bafana in this competition and it shows how big the Nelson Mandela Challenge has become and we can’t take this match lightly,” he said.
It makes for an intriguing match against an Elephants side that have also brought what most will term a second-string team.
The Ivorians are almost always made up of overseas-based players, but the one that will contest the Mandela Challenge tomorrow is largely made up of players plying their trade at home. They will be without the Sewe Sport outfit that will be contesting the first leg of the Confederation Cup final at home to Al-Ahly on Saturday.
Though he has been calm about the situation he finds himself in as he begins preparations for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals, Mashaba expressed his disappointment at the clubs’ seeming unwillingness to contribute to a good cause.
“This match will go towards helping to build the Mandela Children’s Hospital and it would have been nice if everyone contributed,” Mashaba said.
But he is a glass-is-half-full kind of guy, the senior national team coach, and sees this match as an opportunity to broaden the base of his squad in their quest to ensure Safa’s Vision 2022 is a success.
Having already introduced a number of young players into the senior squad, he will be able to do so again tomorrow with many of the squad members only too happy to earn their maiden Bafana caps.
Squads
South Africa
Goalkeepers: Brandon Peterson, Jackson Mabokgwane, Dumisani Msibi
Defenders: Siyabonga Nhlapho, Patrick Phungwayo, Motjeka Madisha, Ntsikelelo Nyauza, Kwandakwentsizwa Mngonyama, Phumlani Ntshangase, Christopher Komane, Siyabonga Zulu
Midfielders: Themba Zwane, Siphelele Luthuli, Abbubaker Mobara, Vuyisile Wana, Fagrie Lakay, Thami Sangweni, Bongani Zungu, Asavela Mbekile
Strikers: Siyanda Ngubo, Puleng Tlolane, David Zulu, Lerato Lamola.
Ivory Coast
Ismael Jean Chester Diallo, Badra Ali Sangare, Cheikh Moukoro, Badi Jean Daniel Zirigon, Abdul Karim Cisse, Victorien Angban, Inza Diabate, Gbagbo Laurent Junior Magbi, Dagou Willie Britto, Franck Yannick Kessie, Ibrahima Diaby, Ibrahima Sangare, Yao Serge N’guessan, Sory Ibrahim Diomande, Dogbole Franck Anderson Gniangbo, Ben Mamadou Junior Soumahoro, Kouman Bini, Adams Diavara, Salif Bagate, Lamine Doumbia
Saturday Star
from Soccer Soccer Extended RSS http://www.iol.co.za/the-lure-of-mashaba-s-call-1.1788345
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