There was little or no sentiment when Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter named his 19-man Bafana Bafana squad on Wednesday for the tussle against Senegal in the Nelson Mandela Cup in Port Elizabeth next weekend.
With no regard for the possible retiring of a few national-team stalwarts, Baxter picked an evenly balanced side of experience and youthful exuberance — a clear sign that the Englishman is now building his team for the upcoming African Cup of Nations, which starts in January in Egypt.
Goalkeeper Hans Vonk and Benedict McCarthy are the only logical retirees within Baxter’s squad, while the likes of Shaun Bartlett, Quentin Fortune and Delron Buckley were not considered due to injury or other reasons.
”I can speculate that this could be Hans’s last game. I also suspect that five or six other guys could be bidding the team farewell, but I really hope that some of them stay on,” Baxter said on Wednesday.
Fortune and Bartlett were ruled out from selection due to injury, while Buckley was not considered because Baxter feels that ”he has had a rough time with settling in at his club” in Germany.
But there seems to be no reason to jump the gun as South African Football Association (Safa) CEO Raymond Hack quashed any idea of players retiring after the Mandela Cup game.
”No player has indicated yet to Safa that they are retiring and until then we cannot say that this will be the last game for anyone,” Hack said.
However, Baxter has already shown his hand and blooded a few promising international stars, such as Orlando Pirates’ Lebohang Mokoena, Kaizer Chiefs’ Jimmy Tau, and Jeffrey Ntuka who plays his football in Belgium for KVC Westerlo.
”Whatever we do now is looking at 2010 [the World Cup], and the next year’s Nations Cup is a station to 2010. As you can see in this squad, I am supporting youth with the experienced players,” Baxter said.
A surprise inclusion is Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Rowan Fernandez, who has been out of action for a while due to injury, and the omission of the name of in-form Supersport United goalkeeper Calvin Marlin from the squad.
”In a reasonable world, Calvin and Rowan should take over from Hans. I’ve seen what Calvin can do, but now Rowan is 100% fit and he does need some game time.
”He [Fernandez] deserves a look-in and this game should be a transition for him into the side,” Baxter said.
Orlando Pirates midfield maestro Benedict Vilakazi also got the nod after missing Bafana’s drawn African Nations Cup qualifier against the Democratic Republic of Congo last month because of his ongoing rape trial. — Sapa
Teams
Bafana Bafana: Hans Vonk, Rowan Fernandez, Nasief Morris, Aaron Mokoena, Jimmy Tau, Bradley Carnell, Cyril Nzama, Ricardo Katza, Dillon Sheppard, Steven Pienaar, Jeffrey Ntuka, Alfred Phiri, Phil Evans, Elrio van Heerden, Benedict Vilakazi, Lebohang Mokoena, Benedict McCarthy, Sibusiso Zuma, Siyabonga Nomvete.
Senegal: Tony Sylva, Cheikh Tidiane Ndiaye, Habib Beye, Lamine Diatta, Pape Malickou Diakhate, Ibrahima Tall, Boukhary Drame, Amdy Moustapha Faye, Pape Bouba Diop, Abdoulaye Diagne Faye, Nguirane Ndaw, Khalilou Fadiga, Momar Ndiaye, Diomansy Camara, Rahmane Barry, El-Hadj Ousseynou Diouf, Henri Camara, Souleymane Camara, Babacar Gueye, Dino Djiba.