Bafana Bafana coach Joel Santana on Thursday dropped a bombshell when he axed experienced central defender Nasief Morris from his Confederations Cup squad because of the player’s bad attitude.
Santana, who last month excluded another of the Bafana ”bad boys” — striker Benni McCarthy — from his provisional 30-man squad, dropped Morris along with five other members of the original squad.
Fifa regulations state that teams participating in official competitions can only consist of a squad of 23 players.
The other players dropped are Belgium based midfielder Mosilo Modubi, Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs, clubmate Thulasizwe Mbuyane, rookie defender Mzuvukile Tom of Golden Arrows and Israel-based midfielder Siyabonga Nkosi. The five will be on standby in case of injuries.
Morris, who plays for Spanish club Recreativo Huelva, is the only player in the group who had played against Spanish opposition.
Morris played every match for his Spanish club this season, but the team were relegated last weekend from the Spanish La Liga.
Santana refused to discuss the issue, saying it was an internal matter and stating that players had to abide by a code of conduct that Morris had failed to adhere to.
However, an informed source confirmed Morris had been dropped because of a bad attitude. He arrived a day late in training camp on Wednesday after spending Tuesday in Cape Town, allegedly with his family, and then refused to do any media interviews.
Said the Sapa source: ”Morris told the technical team he would not do any media interviews for the whole tournament and, added to the fact he arrived a day late with no reason, the coach had to act.”
Santana has been widely criticised in the media for his tactics and lack of international coaching experience, but few can fault him on his strong stand with McCarthy, who used to pick and choose games he wanted play in, and Morris has now all but ended his Bafana career.
To his credit Santana has built up a special relationship with his players and even the team’s biggest star, Everton’s Steven Pienaar, complemented the coach on the happy team spirit he found among the players when he arrived in camp on Tuesday.
Said Santana on the squad: ”We have enough players in the position Nkosi plays, while I opted to keep the more experienced Brian Baloyi as one of my three goalkeepers because he is highly regarded by his teammates and does a lot to keep up a high morale and team spirit among the players.”
With Morris axed, Mamelodi Sundowns and former Bafana skipper Matthew Booth will start in central defence with skipper Aaron Mokoena when Bafana host Poland in the final warm-up friendly at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday at 3pm.
Santana said of Booth: ”He has excelled in the two practice matches and deserves his place in the squad.
”I need his height and experience against Iraq as I am told they have tall strikers and Booth has shown to be well disciplined and does not panic when under pressure.”
Santana said apart from minor adjustments, the starting XI against Poland would also start against Iraq in the opening Group A Confederations Cup clash at Coca-Cola Park on Sunday June 14.
Santana stressed he was comfortable with his squad and had confidence the players would do the country proud, and a place in the semifinal was within their reach.
”The players have responded well to training and I am proud of the work we have done together, especially over the last 21 days when the players really worked hard and showed the true fighting and team spirit.”
Santana said he was aware Bafana were not as experienced as some of the sides they will meet in the Confederations Cup, but said: ”We are not going to be afraid of any side, including Spain.
”We have skilful players such as Pienaar, Teko Modise, Siphiwe Tshabalala and Bernard Parker, and have no need to fear anyone.
”The spirit is brilliant and now we need to go out against Poland and show the people of South Africa we mean business in the Confederations Cup.”
The coach stressed Bafana still need more international experience and would play another seven international friendly games before the 2010 World Cup finals next June. — Sapa
The squad:
Goalkeepers: Brian Baloyi (Mamelodi Sundowns), Rowen Fernandez (Arminia Bielefeld, Germany) Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs)
Defenders: Siboniso Gaxa, Matthew Booth (both Sundowns), Morgan Gould, Bongani Khumalo (both SuperSport United), Aaron Mokoena (Portsmouth, United Kingdom), Bryce Moon (Panathinaikos, Greece), Innocent Mdledle (Orlando Pirates), Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa, Israel)
Midfielders: Steven Pienaar (Everton, United Kingdom), Siphiwe Tshabalala (Chiefs), Elrio van Heerden (Blackburn Rovers, United Kingdom), Teko Modise, Benson Mhlongo (both Pirates), Macbeth Sibaya (Rubin Kazan, Russia), Lance Davids (SuperSport United), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Golden Arrows)
Strikers: Terror Fanteni (Maccabi Haifa, Israel), Katlego Mashego (Pirates), Bernard Parker (Red Star Belgrade, Serbia) and Katlego Mphela (Sundowns).