Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter has admitted to thinking long and hard over making changes for what amounts to a face-saving exercise against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at Durban’s King’s Park Stadium on October 8.
After swallowing the bitter pill of failing to qualify for next year’s World Cup finals, Bafana need a draw against the DRC to cement the consolation prize of qualification for the African Nations Cup in Egypt — and Baxter knows full well it was an assortment of some of his most renowned and vaunted players who failed in the futile bid to reach Germany.
Will it now be a case of new brooms being brought into operation to sweep clean the sorry mess of failing to qualify for the World Cup, or will Baxter’s inherent conservatism and professionalism hold sway when he announces the squad to face the DRC on Wednesday?
Possibly complicating the issue further over the weekend was the belated discovery of the form expected of them by Benni McCarthy and Steven Pienaar in European club competition.
McCarthy, in particular, and Pienaar must have been — and may still be — in danger of losing their positions in the starting line-up against the DRC, if not in the squad itself.
But just when many were suggesting it was time to abandon the two Bafana kingpins, they have emerged to make a strong statement for their retention.
And Baxter’s predicament may or may not have been enhanced by the non-availability of lanky, inexperienced Lungisna Ndlela through injury and the advisability of selecting Benedict Vilakazi for his country while criminal charges of the most serious nature hang over his head.
Ironically, it could be that Baxter comes up with some old brooms rather than new in trying to rejuvenate Bafana, with attention focused on the fitness levels of Quinton Fortune, Bradley Carnell and Shaun Bartlett, in particular.
The Bafana coach may also focus greater attention on the local Premier Soccer League’s in-form players, but there seems to be no indication of Baxter recalling 1998 World Cup midfielder Alfred Phiri, despite his consistently superior form for Moroka Swallows. — Sapa