Furman not fazed by all his doubters

DEAN FURMAN is not bothered by the backlash that constantly surround his Bafana Bafana call-ups.

The SuperSport United captain is among a handful of senior Bafana players named in the 25-man squad that will do battle in a Four-Nation tournament in Zambia next week, also featuring Angola and Zimbabwe. The criticism surrounding this recent call-up was that Hlompho Kekana and Tiyani Mabunda have done more in the domestic league while before that the argument has been that Furman doesn’t deserve to play ahead of Andile Jali or Kamohelo Mokotjo.

“Everyone’s got their own opinion,” Furman said yesterday morning before Matsatsantsa a Pitori started their training session. “I am now chasing 45 caps across three different coaches (Gordon Igesund, Shakes Mashaba and Stuart Baxter) who have selected me, so I must be doing something right. I am obviously not the most eye-catching player. I don’t have the skills. I don’t have the shibobos. I don’t have what many people believe is what they want from a player in this country. But what I do offer is consistency, hard work and graft. There have always been people who have questioned me. That’s fine. It’s up to me to prove them wrong.”

Despite his talent constantly being doubted, Furman has been a positive character in the national team with a high work rate that prompted Igesund, Mashaba and Baxter to consistently include him and even give him the armband at one point.

“To be honest, I don’t focus on the backlash,” Furman said. “What’s important for me is that the people around me and the coach have trust in me. Ultimately the coach selects the team based on the players who he thinks can do the job for him, players he trusts and has confidence in. If I am one of them than I am honoured. Opinions are everywhere... Everyone wants to be a manager and everyone has their own views. They are entitled to it. I just have to remain strong, committed to what I do and not try to change my game to impress people who don’t feel that I am worthy of a place. That’s the challenge I have whenever I come to Bafana Bafana. I have to consistently answer questions (on my capabilities) and I think I have managed to do that.”

Furman’s immediate focus is on helping SuperSport get past Petro de Luanda tomorrow at Lucas Moripe Stadium in the second leg of the Caf Confederation Cup’s first round. Matsatsantsa played to a goalless draw in the first round in Angola.