Andrew Muchineripi soccer Let us get one fact straight at the outset: the absence of stars like Zinedine Zidane will not weaken the French assault on South Africa at Ellis Park come Saturday evening. No, I have not been smoking anything stronger than the tobacco my second mother, the minister of health, is trying so hard to ween me off. Nor have I taken to gulping large quantities of alcohol before work. My belief is based on the simple theory that hunger is good sauce and that the replacements in the French line-up will be desperate to make the most of their good fortune.
Midfielder Zidane, born in a Marseille slum to an Algerian couple, has been voted World Footballer of the Year and has lifted the World Cup and European championship trophies. He plays for Juventus, one of the greatest clubs in the world, and worrying where he will find the money for a night out in Turin is clearly not a problem that concerns Monsieur Zidane. Of course it would have been great to see him grace the lush green turf of Ellis Park and marvel at the magnificent manner in which he controls the ball as if magnets were attached to the soles of his boots. Of course our hearts would have ticked just that little bit faster each time France were awarded a free kick anywhere close to the Bafana Bafana goalmouth as Zidane is famous for his goals from set pieces. But the magician himself would surely be the first to admit that Les Bleus are not a one-man act. He is but one of many cogs in a wheel that has rolled over the best in Europe and the world during the past three years.
In his place will come some young, gifted Frenchman eager to catch the eye of hard- to-please coach Roger Lemerre, who never ceases to emphasise that the team always comes before the individual. While Lemerre is at pains to stress that nothing can match the 1998 World Cup triumph in France, this humble scribe begs to differ. What he achieved at Euro 2000 ranks higher, if only because they did not enjoy home advantage. Those knockout triumphs over Spain, Portugal and Italy showed France as a team not only of sublime skill, but of big hearts, who refused to accept the seeming inevitability of defeat. Remember the final, remember how Italy had erected a wall that virtually redefined the art of defending. But with seconds left Sylvain Wiltord levelled and David Trezeguet scored a fitting golden-goal winner.
France have thrashed a World Stars selection 5-1 in Marseille and drawn 1-1 with England in Paris since, and drew a midweek friendly 1-1 against African champions Cameroon. Hopefully, there will be no further injuries and stars like Lilian Thuram, Marcel Desailly, Franck Leboeuf, Bixente Lizarazu, Emmanuel Petit, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka can face Bafana Bafana. The South Africans have had their share of injury problems, too, with captain Lucas Radebe, fellow defenders Cyril Nzama and Jacob Lekgetho and goalkeeper John Tlale sidelined.
Matthew Booth and David Kannemeyer have been added to the first squad under the control of Carlos Queiroz, the widely travelled, worldly wise successor to the often unfairly maligned Trott Moloto. Even those members of the media whose pens seem to be permanently dipped in acid, could not find fault with the son of Mozambique who has coached in Europe, the Middle East, the Far East and the United States.
He seems to be particularly impressed with the Amaglug-glug and six of them – Booth, Kannemeyer, Quinton Fortune, Delron Buckley, Benni McCarthy and Siyabonga Nomvete – are in the squad for the French match.
Writing the name McCarthy reminds this grandfather to offer three words of constructive advice to young Benni: zip your lip! I certainly did not enjoy the newspaper poster that had Benni promising the downfall of Les Bleus. Benni, do you never learn? Remember how you boasted about teaching Philippe Troussier a lesson in Canberra? We all know what happened as the White Witchdoctor had the last laugh. Why a team ranked 22 in the world must brag about beating a team ranked second defeats me. Benni has often complained about being quoted by reporters he never spoke to. I sincerely hope this was the case again. Queiroz took the trials and tribulations Moloto grew so accustomed to – injuries and the late release of players – remarkably smoothly this week, constantly reflecting on the brighter side of life under leaden Marks Park skies. What remains is for him to name his starting line-up, with the choice of goalkeeper and strikers perhaps the most interesting. With Tlale out of the running, the number one jersey rests between in-form Andre Arendse and long-absent Hans Vonk from Dutch European Champions League contenders Heerenveen. Queiroz saw Arendse in Congo last month and can only have been impressed, while Vonk brings the pedigree of playing football at the highest level. A tough choice. Assuming Bafana Bafana go 4-4-2, Mark Fish, Frankie Schoeman, Pierre Issa and Bradley Carnell will man the defensive slots with Sibusiso Zuma, Thabo Mngomeni, Fortune and Buckley the probable midfield quartet. My preference up front would be stand-in captain Shaun Bartlett and Bradley August, who combined so well in Congo, with the latter unlucky not to score a hat-trick on his senior team debut. Benni flatters to deceive too often for my liking and Nomvete is worn out having played virtually non-stop for two years as Kaizer Chiefs, Amaglug-glug and Bafana Bafana constantly demanded his services.