/ 23 January 2009

Tough tug-of-war for Santana

It may be a rough return to the office for Bafana Bafana coach Joel Santana who announced a 24-man squad yesterday of locally based players for a friendly against Zambia on Tuesday at Super Stadium.

The game will essentially kick off the preparations for the Confederations Cup, set for June.

The Brazilian coach is back at work after his festive season break to face a tug-of-war with Premier Soccer League clubs reluctant to release their players.

A day after the national team match, defending champions SuperSport face Mamelodi Sundowns in Tshwane, while Moroka Swallows host Santos. Bloemfontein Celtic will lock horns with Maritzburg United in a bottom-of-the-table clash.

This places Morgan Gould, Bongani Khumalo (SuperSport), Siboniso Gaxa, Calvin Marlin, Surprise Moriri (Sundowns), Moroka Swallows captain Lefa Tsutsulupa and Bloemfontein Celtics goalkeeper Shuib-Aib Walters in a delicate situation — if their clubs refuse to let them join Santana’s camp.

Defending champions and log leaders SuperSport have already set the cat among the pigeons when they vowed not to release their two players for national duty.

‘We are not letting anyone go [for national team duty]. We have a big league game on Wednesday and an Africa Champions League match on Saturday. The last thing we need is more games,” said head coach Gavin Hunt. This spells trouble for the national team coach, who is keen to have a closer look at the local players.

The tug-of-war aside, some deserving candidates who have been on top of their game this season have finally been rewarded with a call-up to the national team. Ajax Cape Town in-form striker Mabhuti Khanyeza will make the long trip to Tshwane with teammates Franklin Cale, defender Brett Evans and Nazeer Allie.

Kaizer Chiefs’ man-of-the-moment Abia Nale, Free State Stars’ striker Sthembiso Ngcobo and Katlego Mashego, who seems to have hit the ground running since moving from SuperSport to Orlando Pirates this month, have all been roped into Santana’s plans.

The national team coach is eager to carry on from the four consecutive wins at the end of last year that gave some hope of his ability to build a competitive team before the World Cup.

He will rely on the experience of Itumeleng Khune, Teko Modise, Simphiwe Tshabalala and Kagisho Dikgacoi to continue restoring confidence in the national team.

It promises to be a busy schedule for Bafana Bafana in the run-up to the Confederations Cup. Santana leads his charges against Chile in Polokwane on February 11, followed by a training camp for local players five days later before more matches against Norway, Portugal and Switzerland.

Pressure is on the coach and his technical team to be among the frontrunners in the Confederations Cup after being drawn in the relatively easy Group A with Spain, Iraq and New Zealand.