Babbel seeks peace with Phoenix’s Rudan
The Wanderers travel to Wellington with a severely depleted squad hampered by injuries and the unavailability of three players called up to the Olyroos squad. Babbel will be without midfielder Keanu Baccus, defender Tass Mourdoukoutas and forward Abraham Majok, who are in Cambodia on international duty while Mark Bridge has suffered another injury setback and Nick Fitzgerald is facing a race against time to prove his fitness for tomorrow’s game.
Babbel was furious about losing three players for youth international games, suggesting he had never experienced such a situation in his coaching career in Germany or Switzerland.
‘‘This is a disaster for us. We try to bring young players into the A-League and the thanks from the league is to take the players away,’’ Babbel said. ‘‘Keanu Baccus was in outstanding form, he was a very important player for us, this hurts us. This is for us a disaster and a new experience for me because in Europe this is not possible in the season, the players just going away because break.’’
The Wanderers coach questioned the value in developing youth next season if he was going to lose players for A-League games.
‘‘You want to see young players in the A-League but we have to think twice whether we bring so many younger players here in because then there’s a period there where you can’t use them and it’s not good for the clubs or the national team,’’ he said.
Rashid Mahazi is set to retain his starting place in the midfield while new signing Giancarlo Gallifuoco could make his first start for his new club. German midfielder Alex Baumjohann is a strong chance to return to the Wanderers side after he was dropped for poor performances during training.
‘‘Much better, I think he understands,’’ Babbel said of Baumjohann’s training this week.
‘‘I had a longer talk with him and I said this is not what you also expect from yourself. He is too good for this. He has to work hard because now we have options for this position.’’ it’s not an international Hall of Fame jockey Jim Cassidy has been considering a return to the saddle for a couple of months but surviving a head-on car accident has given him ‘‘a second life’’.
The 56-year-old had bleeding on his brain following the accident last Saturday, when his SUV was hit head-on by another car going at around 90kmh.
He says it has cleared his thinking about a racing return.
‘‘Some people find god, I might have found racing again,’’ Cassidy said.
‘I tell [you] one thing about the crash, it is worse than any race fall. I saw [Cassidy’s wife] Vick and my kids as it was happening and thought ‘this is it. I’m gone’.
‘‘When you go through something like that you have to reassess and riding is a part of my life. I miss it.
‘‘You spend five days in hospital you do a lot of thinking. What you want to do.
‘‘If I get the all-clear from doctors, I could be back but I know I have to do it right.’’
Cassidy has already spoken with John Singleton about riding again and will consult Vicki and his mother about going back to race riding. He feels he would still be very competitive.
‘‘My weight is good, I’m 56kg, but I would need to get race-fit. I still think there is a space for me in that jockeys’ room.’’
He is confident that Singleton would support him.
‘‘He is still dirty on me for retiring in the first place,’’ Cassidy said, ‘‘The first thing is to let my body heal.
‘‘I’m looking to go out fishing with Singo next week and have a good talk about it and mum and Vick as well but it is something that I want to do again. Jimmy Cassidy, above
‘‘If everyone is happy for me to do it I could be back before the end of the year.’’
Cassidy rode 104 Group I winners in his career, including Melbourne Cup success on Kiwi and Might And Power, two Caulfield Cups, a Cox Plate and a Golden Slipper on Ha Ha.
He has been on the talking circuit since his retirement in 2015 and will honoured an engagement for kids with cancer in Newcastle yesterday.
‘‘I have only been in a car on the way home from hospital but nothing will stop me going up there to do this function,’’ Cassidy said.
‘‘It is a sell-out, so I won’t let them down.’’