SOCCER: Lungile Madywabe
HIS shots at goal probably travel at about 200km an hour, and his team-mates tease him that one of these days he will break the posts if not the goalkeeper’s hands. So one would think that Eric Tinkler has scored many goals, but he is still looking forward to scoring his first goal for the national side.
And how close he was last Saturday to doing just that in the match against Angola when his first free kick crashed against the post and his second could only be parried by the Angolan goalkeeper before the rebound was banged in by Mark Williams. Not that he bemoans his bad luck: “If I contribute towards a goal I feel good, but to score for one’s country is everyone’s dream.” Before the start of the finals Tinkler had 10 caps.
Asked about his thoughts on Tinkler, national coach Clive Barker said: “Since he was drafted into the squad he has dominated the midfield and established himself as the number one choice and we have not lost a game.” He was talking before the 1-0 loss to Egypt, of course.
Tinkler played for Wits in front of small crowds at Milner Park stadium before venturing out to try his luck in Portugal at the Vitoria Setubal club, but Tinkler views his selection for the national team as “mission accomplished”.
His strong, muscled body reveals to what extent physical fitness has been part of world football and it is very different from the skinny Tinkler of Milner Park a few years ago.
Tinkler knows that there are many overseas scouts watching this tournament and he hopes to use these matches to move on after four years in Portugal, and get a lucrative deal, perhaps in England. “But Italy would be a dream come true,” he says.
With certainly Algeria or Zambia as possible opponents in the quarter finals, depending on the team’s position on the log, Tinkler shares the same views as his coach that Algeria would be a better match.
He reasons that Zambia knows SA very well and they have proved to be stronger as the tournament climaxes. “More over they have reinforced the squad that played us in the Simba Four Nations, last year.”
If Bafana Bafana advance to the later stages of the tournament, Barker would surely rely on Tinkler’s long range shots. Asked to respond on how he keeps them low and on target, he simply said “shooting is one of my virtues.”