The only clue from South African Football Association communications director Morio Sanyane as to why coach Carlos Albert Parreira did not return to South Africa on Friday with the locally based Bafana Bafana players after the 1-0 defeat against Scotland was that he was ”remaining in England for a couple of days to keep tabs on some of the South African players”.
But it did not require a sleuth with the acumen of a Sherlock Holmes to deduce that Parreira will be targeting lethal but reluctant striker Benni McCarthy in one way or another after Bafana’s lamentable absence of potent goal scorers came to a head in the defeat at Aberdeen’s Pittodrie Stadium.
The enigmatic McCarthy, who was the second highest scorer in the English Premiership last season while playing for Blackburn Rovers, has declined to play for Bafana since participating in the ill-fated 2006 African Nations Cup tournament in Egypt more than 18 months ago.
And even the persuasive influence of a coach of Parreira’s international renown, who took the bull by the horns and selected the Blackburn striker for a recent African Nations Cup qualifier, failed to shift McCarthy from his stoic reluctance to play for his country.
Now, it would appear, Parreira may well be taking the opportunity of discovering exactly where McCarthy stands, possibly watching the prolific scorer in action against Everton on Saturday if he is included in the Blackburn side after being concussed in a Premiership game two weeks ago — and having a frank, man-to-man discussion with McCarthy at the same time.
Of course, there are several South African players in England and other parts of Europe whom Parreira may wish to see in action — Bafana captain Aaron Mokoena, for example, is also a member of the Blackburn squad, although he has more often than not recently occupied a place on the substitute’s bench. But with South Africa in dire need of a goal scorer of genuine pedigree, McCarthy must be viewed as the Brazilian coach’s logical target.
McCarthy, of course, can prove an excruciating mystery, which even the experienced Parreira may battle to unravel, but it seems clear the Bafana coach is intent on making the attempt.
If, however, McCarthy is insistent in making himself available for the 2010 World Cup, but for not much else before then, as some have hinted, the Bafana coach could find himself no nearer to a goal-scoring solution. — Sapa