Taking on England on their hometurf is a formidable task for Bafana Bafana who have yet to prove that they can win away matches
SOCCER: Andrew Muchineripi
THE South African national soccer team should know a lot more about itself come Saturday night after facing England in a friendly promising to attract a near- capacity 55 000 crowd to Old Trafford in Manchester.
Long suspected of suffering from travel sickness, Bafana Bafana must raise their game several levels above the uninspiring showing against Zaire in neutral Lome if they are to live with Alan Shearer and company. It is one thing taking on the Leopards of Central Africa and winning 2-1 through goals from Doctor Khumalo and Philemon Masinga; quite another to beat England at the home of the illustrious Red Devils.
England at home are a formidable force with only the multimillion-rand stars of Italy defeating them in the past year and Doctor and Philemon do not inhabit the same planet as Roberto di Matteo and Gianfranco Zola. Much speculation surrounds which names manager Glenn Hoddle will write on his teamsheet with some observers believing the likely line-up for a World Cup qualifier in Poland the following weekend will be put on trial. Another view is that fringe players may be given an opportunity and that young Manchester United idol David Beckham may be moved from a wide to central midfield role.
And then there is Gazza. A footballer of rare talent, who so often seems to be on a collision course with himself. Just this week there were more reports of drinking binges. Will the boy wonder ever grow up?
Hopefully, he will play because Paul Gascoigne and Beckham against Khumalo and Shoes Moshoeu is a mouth-watering prospect for those who favour their football with a touch of silk.
Not that steel will be far away. The gap- toothed grin of Nobby Stiles may long since have departed the England stage, but in David Batty, Hoddle can call on a worthy successor.
One favoured clich of South African soccer journalists relates to matches where there will be “no hiding place”. If Doctor and Shoes are not prepared to compete, they would be well advised to move to row H with great speed.
English football has its shortcomings and when it comes to pure, township-induced skills, the South Africans could probably teach even Shearer a few new tricks. But to perform tricks a footballer needs time and space, and both are rare commodities in the English game, whose breathtaking speed has exposed many a fancy foreigner.
Unless the teams sign a pre-match declaration to play route-one football, the match will be won and lost in midfield where England appear to have much greater balance.
After almost suffering a heart attack in Lome as his defenders showed generosity far beyond the call of duty, national coach Clive Barker is expected to recall former captain Neil Tovey and opt for a 3-5-2 system. Against England, this will often mean 5-3-2 with likely wingbacks Sizwe Motaung and David Nyathi helping out in defence against the menace of Shearer and Teddy Sheringham.
Shearer needs no introduction and Sheringham is a consistent scorer for his country and particularly dangerous in the air. When opportunities arise for Motaung and Nyathi to press forward, only one must go to avoid creating the kind of space from which Zaire profited so handsomely.
Of course, Barker could opt for a flat back four with Tovey replacing Nyathi and recall Innocent Buthelezi to midfield, believing Eric Tinkler alone cannot combat Batty and Ince.
Barker certainly has options, not least in attack where Brendan Augustine is probably favourite to partner former Leeds United striker Philemon Masinga with Jerry Sikhosana also in the running. In top form, there is little to choose between Augustine and those Legs of Thunder as both are lively footballers who run well off the ball and do not shirk their physical responsibilities.
So what is the likely outcome? Realistically, South Africa have no chance of winning and an extremely slim chance of a draw, and there would be no need for sackcloth or ashes should the margin of defeat be narrow.
However, a three- or four-goal loss would provide valuable ammunition for those who believe Barker and Bafana Bafana have succeeded largely because they have staged the majority of their matches at home. Those South African supporters with good memories hardly need reminding of the fiasco four years ago when Mexico cruised to a four-goal triumph and the losers rarely left their own half. Surely Bafana Bafana can do better this time, occasionally camp in the England half, and give goalkeeper David Seaman the opportunity to prove why he is rated among the best shot-stoppers in the world.
The clash with England represents the start of a crucial period for the national team as they face Holland in the Nelson Mandela Inauguration Challenge on June 4 and Zambia in the World Cup on June 8. There are those who believe Bafana Bafana would have done better to steer clear of European powers at this stage. The argument in favour of playing is that mixing with the best produces better footballers.
If that truly is the case, then surely gracing the same pitch as Seaman, Ince, Batty, Shearer, Sheringham and Gazza can only benefit the men who wear black, white, green and gold.