Andrew Muchineripi SOCCER
The announcement of a national soccer squad can be a pretty pedestrian act. The “hacks” gather and eye the free food and drink. The coach arrives, flanked by officials, sits down and reads out his list of lucky footballers.
Then comes the media interrogation. Why was he chosen? Why was he not chosen? Why is a 3-5-2 system still being used? Why, why, why. Some excellent questions, some good, some mediocre, some that clearly had not been thought about first.
This week, one suspected, was always going to be a little different. Regular readers know how much I abhor these gatherings of the fourth estate. I would rather ease the heavy domestic burden on my dear wife and scrub floors.
I could not resist the temptation to go along this week, however, sensing that something a little out of the ordinary would take place. I was not to be disappointed.
Trott Moloto clearly does not have media “favourites” and his wise policy of not “leaking” information earns him unconditional respect from this humble member of the presently cash-strapped Muchineripi clan.
So when names like David Kannemeyer of Ajax Cape Town, Jabu Pule of Kaizer Chiefs and, especially, Arthur Zwane of Classic were announced, the volume of noise raised considerably at South Africa Football Association headquarters.
A team as fresh as toothpaste in the morning, with five uncapped players. A team liberally laced with youth, with energy, with promise, with hope for the future. I liked what I saw, and so did many others present.
Absent, for a variety of reasons, were no fewer than 14 of the 22 members of the Bafana Bafana squad that finished a creditable third behind Camer-oon and co- hosts Nigeria at the recent African Nations Cup.
Remember them? Andre Arendse, Alex Bapela, Mark Fish, Quinton Fortune, Papi Khomane, Steve Lekoelea, Helman Mkhalele, John “Shoes” Moshoeu, Daniel Mudau, Pollen Ndlanya, Lucas Radebe, Glen Salmon, Eric Tinkler and Hans Vonk.
Captain Radebe is among those unavailable due to club commitments in Europe; Fish has “retired”; Arendse and Khomane are injured; and others have been dropped although former Pietersburg schoolteacher Moloto does not like saying so.
Yes, if there is one thing that does lllannoy me about the best-dressed national coach in Africa, if not in the world, it is his reluctance to use a four- letter word beginning with d and ending with p.
Dropped, axed, discarded. Call the action what you will, it means the same thing, and no amount of verbal gymnastics or camouflage from Bra Trott is going to hide the truth from those with eyes wide open.
Presuming it is the end for senior citizen Moshoeu, I would like to say thank you, Shoes, for what you have done in the past, especially for some magnificent displays and great goals in our winning the 1996 African Nations Cup.
That said, Shoes, were you to dig deep into the very centre of your soul, you would surely agree that you prolonged your stay on the centre stage before walking off. Get out at the top, I say. Never overstay your welcome.
Understandable though the absence of central defender Radebe is, it leads me to wonder how much credence we must give comments by national association president Molefi Oliphant.
This is what the likeable (too likeable, perhaps) former schools inspector from the Vaal told a senior soccer reporter on a Johannesburg daily newspaper just a few weeks ago: “We might be strong favourites to beat Lesotho, but imagine the outcry if we were eliminated from the World Cup while the team captain was playing for an English club.
“The international rules as laid down by Fifa are clear and unambiguous. Countries have an absolute right to call up any player of their choice for a World Cup fixture and there is nothing the clubs can do about it.”
So why is the role model for all young South Africans who aspire to wear the black, white, green and gold not going to be in Maseru? I suspect the national association has grown weary of club-versus-country clashes.
Leeds have a Uefa Cup semi-final date against Galatasaray in Turkey 72 hours before the World Cup qualifier and nothing less than World War III would have erupted had Bafana Bafana insisted on the presence of Rhoo in the tiny kingdom.
I salute the national association officials for their bravery and hope all goes well at Sethsoto Stadium in Maseru on April 9 because if Bafana Bafana crash, the consequences are too ghastly to contemplate.
Moshoeu is not the only player who may have reached the end of the line as a significant omission is Mkhalele, a gifted if erratic winger who Moloto unsuccessfully tried to convert into a wing-back.
The merits of 3-5-2 and 4-4-2 have been aired many times in these columns. Suffice to say that Mkhalele cannot defend at the highest level and if Moloto has finally realised this … great!
My belief remains that 4-4-2 is more suited to South Africans and when I delve more deeply into the clash with Lesotho next week, I will explain why Moloto may have exchanged one set of problems for another.