Furman back in town to make himself at home
Cape Town-born midfielder to lead SuperSport against Ajax in Athlone
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20
S2015 UPERSPORT UNITED skipper Dean Furman is set for his first PSL fixture in the bosom of the Mother City, his place of birth. The 27-year-old, originally from Camps Bay, leads the Pretoria-based SuperSport on to the Athlone Stadium pitch to take on Ajax Cape Town tomorrow (kickoff 8.15pm). And, no doubt, he’ll be a touch nostalgic as he ponders how different his life, and football career, could have turned out had his parents not decided to leave Cape Town when he was just a kid.
Furman’s uncle is former Hellenic left back Marc Reingold, and chances are that would probably have been the route the Bafana Bafana midfielder’s career would have taken. Instead, he found himself in England at an early age and showing promise, was quickly taken up in the youth academy of English Premier League club, Chelsea.
He would go on to play for Glasgow Rangers in Scotland, Bradford City, Oldham Athletic and Doncaster Rovers in England before, in August this year, deciding to make the move to the PSL when he signed for Matsatsantsa.
It was during Gordon Igesund’s reign as Bafana coach that Furman first came to prominence as a national team player. The Cape-born midfielder made his debut for South Africa in a friendly against Brazil in September 2012 and has never looked back.
Shakes Mashaba replaced Igesund but Furman continued his good work for Bafana, developing a fantastic central midfield partnership with Andile Jali.
Recently, though, the rise of Mamelodi Sundowns’ Bongani Zungu has seen Furman demoted to the Bafana bench.
But on Tuesday night, in the 1-0 win over Angola, with Jali suspended, Furman stepped back into the starting team and responded by delivering a Man-of-theMatch performance.
Reflecting on Bafana’s progress to the group stages of the 2018 Russia World Cup qualifiers, the 27-year-old said: “We were good in that away victory in Angola, but we knew it was important to make sure that we won at home too… and that was what we achieved.
“There’s great competition in the Bafana squad so it was great to get an opportunity on Tuesday.
“But there’s still a long way to go in the World Cup qualifiers. Now we have to wait for the draw and continue the good work.”
Furman’s arrival at SuperSport this season heralded the club’s title ambitions. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone according to the script and Furman’s team is battling. They’ve been inconsistent but after a few dismal performances and unexpected defeats, they are gradually getting things together. Furman is confident that Matsatsantsa have turned the corner.
“I think that, as players, we knew we had to start taking responsibility for the poor onfield performances,” he said. “We just weren’t good enough, we weren’t playing to potential. But the signs of improvement are certainly there now and we just have to continue in the same fashion.”
With Ajax just as desperate to get their campaign back on track after a bit of a wobble recently, tomorrow’s clash with Furman-led SuperSport has all the ingredients for a mouthwatering fixture.