Andrew Muchineripi Soccer
Bafana Bafana coach Philippe Troussier is nothing if not unpredictable. While the media differed over which personnel he would deploy against Zambia at FNB Stadium on Wednesday night, there was consensus on a 3-5-2 formation.
So what does the controversial “White Magician” do? He proves once again that he is le boss with four defenders, four midfielders, two strikers and no Benni McCarthy at the outset.
Dutch-based goalkeeper Hans Vonk was not an unexpected choice, nor was Alfred Phiri on the left side of midfield, while one must view the elevation of Shaun Bartlett above McCarthy as an experiment.
Troussier made second-half substitutions with the gay abandon of a man on a winning streak at a casino and Doctor Khumalo earned cap number 44 by spending all of 120 seconds on the pitch.
When the final whistle blew on a cold night it was 1-1 – a result that confirmed there is nothing to choose between these great rivals. In eight meetings, each side has won twice and struck nine goals.
The chance to put one over on a team heading for the World Cup in France next month clearly motivated Chipolopolo (The Bullet) and they provided tough opposition from start to finish.
After weathering a bright start from Bafana Bafana, Zambia snatched the lead after nine minutes with an opportunist goal that will surely be watched many times by Troussier because it exposed an old weakness.
Orlando Pirates-bound Dennis Lota created the goal with a clever ball into space that should have been occupied by David Nyathi, a defender who continues to look better going forward than back.
By the time Nyathi got back, Masauso Tembo had sent a low cross into the penalty area and a nightmarish 20 seconds had begun for Vonk, who was born in the southern Johannesburg suburb of Alberton and moved to Holland as a child.
It would be easy to blame the goal on a lack of familiarity between the tall goalkeeper and his defenders. It would also be untrue because the man vying with the “blond mop” for the goalkeeper jersey committed a basic error.
He elected to come forward and collect the cross, then retreated, allowing new cap Mathews Kamwashi to stab the ball over the line although surrounded by three defenders.
Each time Bafana Bafana lost in Europe last year the propaganda machine blared out the same predictable party line. You know what I am writing about. Learning curves, gaining experience, valuable lessons and other such cliches.
So let me take you back to a cold, wet night in Dusseldorf last November when three-time world champions Germany taught us how to cross the ball and exposed the inability of Bafana Bafana to confidently defend against quality crosses.
Lessons have not been learnt, Philippe, and time is running out.
Rival World Cup coaches Bo Johansson of Denmark, Aime Jacquet of France and Carlos Alberto Parreira of Saudi Arabia will replay the ninth minute many times on their VCRs.
Vonk had hardly anything else to do and deserves another chance in Argentina on Monday, where his true worth is likely to be established against a team containing super- striker Gabriel Batistuta.
One could only feel sorry for Phiri, who moved to Turkey a couple of years ago after just a few appearances for Jomo Cosmos.
His first medium-length pass went astray and so were the next couple of shorter efforts.
From then on it was downhill all the way until a merciful release from the action at half-time with replacement Delron Buckley (one of the so-called palookas) proving a much better option on the left side of midfield.
Buckley has represented his country at under-17, under-20 and under-23 level, plays for Bundesliga club VfL Bochum, is called “My little Ronaldo” by the German coach and did his chances of making the 22 for France no harm.
The defence of Willem Jackson (filling an unfamiliar rightback role), Mark Fish, captain Lucas Radebe and Nyathi restricted Zambia to a few chances but judgment should be reserved until after Argentina.
Helman Mkhalele looked impressive on the right side of midfield and the number of bruises he collected before being carried off two minutes ahead of the final whistle bore testimony to the threat he provided.
Brendan Augustine toiled tirelessly and “Shoes” Moshoeu went close with one beautifully struck first-half shot following a corner. He can also claim much of the credit for the early second-half equaliser.
The closest Bafana Bafana came to winning was a shot from unmarked Jerry Sikhosana, one of six substitutes, that Mbulo held without much difficulty in a match of few clear-cut scoring opportunities.
Later, Troussier said he was “veree happee”. I was not particularly happy, however, with a performance that indicated much hard work lies ahead if South Africa are to become serious challengers for a second-round place.