Late on Friday afternoon, all the Bafana Bafana players apart from Benni McCarthy were ensconced in their camp in Ouagadougou, gearing themselves physically and mentally for Saturday’s vital World Cup qualifier against Burkina Faso.
And Bafana Bafana general manager Stanley ”Screamer” Tshabalala was at pains to assure all and sundry that the Porto-based striker, who is very good when he is good, but not so good when he is not, would be arriving in Burkina Faso later on Friday.
But even with this assurance, it became palpably clear that the enigmatic McCarthy has presented coach Stuart Baxter with a headache he hardly needs or can afford at this critical juncture for South African soccer.
Baxter is astute and seasoned enough to appreciate to the full the pedigree of a player whom English Premiership club West Ham were seemingly prepared to pay in the region of R60-million to secure his transfer from Porto.
And despite the trauma and indifferent performances surrounding McCarthy’s soccer career of late, the Bafana coach had clearly indicated he looked on his astute striker to emerge as one of South Africa’s key players against Burkina Faso.
But that was before McCarthy unexpectedly departed from Bafana’s earlier camp in Bremen, West Germany, in a desperate but now failed attempt to conclude negotiations for his transfer to West Ham before the window period for transfers expired on August 31.
It was before McCarthy failed to rejoin the Bafana squad in Burkina Faso on Thursday, as Tshabalala had earlier promised.
And it was before McCarthy’s unsettled frame of mind and form surfaced at the most inappropriate time as Bafana’s World Cup-qualifying prospects hung precariously in the balance.
Now, it may be asked, does the Bafana coach keep faith with his potential match-winner in spite of the indisputable evidence that he is neither physically nor mentally geared for Saturday’s game after missing several training sessions and becoming embroiled again in his problems at Porto?
It is an excruciating difficult situation that would tax any coach under similar circumstances, wrestling on the one hand with an intuitive faith in McCarthy’s talent and knowing at the same time his overall conditioning for the Burkina Faso game does not warrant his selection. — Sapa