City duo the big winners
STUART Baxter’s first Bafana Bafana squad since assuming the coaching hot seat for a second time is commendable. But, as they say, football is not played on paper, it’s what happens between the four white lines that matter. Now, it’s about on-field performance; it’s about the selected players going out and proving they deserve to wear the national jersey.
The 63-year-old Brit named his Bafana squad yesterday in preparation for the 2019 African Nations Cup qualifier against Nigeria in Uyo next month. The most striking aspect of the new national team coach’s picks is the fact that he has rewarded form. So often in the past the announcement of a SA national squad left many wondering if the coach had actually been watching any football, such was the bizarre nature of some of the selections.
But, in Baxter, who has had great success coaching both Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United in the PSL, Bafana have a man close to the action. As such, the coach has been able to pick a well-balanced squad, a prudent cocktail of tried and tested, seasoned national campaigners together with footballers who have consistently performed well in the PSL this season. And, in that latter category, the big winners are Cape Town City’s deadly duo Lebogang Manyama and Aubrey Ngoma.
City have had a sensational debut campaign since their formation as a Cape club in June last year, and Manyama and Ngoma have been at the heart of their success.
In keeping with the theme of rewarding form, PSL champions Wits have goalkeeper Darren Keet, Thulani Hlatshwayo and Sifiso Hlanti, while Mitchell’s Plain’s Abbubaker Mobara, after a magnificent season in a struggling Orlando Pirates side, simply couldn’t be ignored.
But, from Baxter’s previous spell in charge of Bafana (2004-2005), he will be all too aware of the pitfalls of the job, and how, very quickly, a coach can go from hero to zero. The first hurdle – the naming of the squad – is done, now Baxter’s biggest challenge will be to get the players to transfer their PSL form on to the national stage.