Form er players don’t get the respect
On Bafana Bafana’s recent international friendlies
It’s about time we play against stronger oppositions. For a coach, you’ll never know how good your team is if you don’t play against the best in the world. I think he (Hugo Broos) is on the right track in getting the team the much-needed experience because that’s what Bafana Bafana doesn’t have right now, experience. We are talking about building Bafana Bafana and not a well-oiled team already, it’s not going to be easy.
On the om ission of certain players from the squad
When a new coach comes in, he wants to give as many players an opportunity as possible. As soon as players get a chance, it’s upon them to show him they belong there and then it makes it difficult for the coach to select. At the moment, I think from the coaching point of view, that’s how he’s looking at it. He knows what he’s got locally from watching domestic football week in and week out. He assembled his material in the World Cup qualifiers, and now he got to see some of the other players during these friendlies. After this, I want to believe that’s when he will start putting together a solid side and, for me, that’s when I will start judging him and saying this player and that one should be there or not. We definitely shouldn’t be hard on him right now. There’s a lot of players whose names will continue to be thrown into the mix, they will get into the team at some point. Those players remind me of myself – when I was 30, I was like red wine. I was at my best, like them. They need to keep working hard. I want to believe that in the next friendlies, the coach will bring them in, and if he doesn’t put them back in the team and I see that they are performing well, I will not keep my mouth shut. I’m going to say this and this player should get into the national team because they are doing well at their clubs. But for now, no one is guaranteed a place. I want to see a Bafana Bafana team that works as one. If you are in the team, work hard; if you are not in the team, work hardest.
On the national team not qualifying for big tournam ents
Until they call me to be the striker coach and get the team to start scoring goals, that’s when we will qualify. We are not scoring goals at all. But look, it’s not just me that should probably be involved. There’s a lot of us ex-players who can help the team. We are not there and I think it’s because people always want to get foreign coaches involved. And don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with foreign coaches, but do they know the culture of these players?
It’s important to know where these players come from. These are the men you want to fight for you. It’s about time the baton is handed over to ex-players, especially the Class of ’96. Former players don’t get the respect they deserve. And for me, personally, I don’t believe in handouts. I want to be there because I deserve to be there. We keep saying we are following the steps of top countries in the world, your Spain, Germany and many others, but we are not. We’re not! They have coaches for goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and strikers. Those coaches help the head coaches remarkably. Hence I’m saying we are needed there, to help the players on the pitch, and off it too, to share with them how important it is to play overseas, to play in top leagues. They need a push to dream bigger. I mean, the best player for me at some point was Percy Tau. I would have loved for him to go back to Belgium and compete with the very best. These guys can learn a lot from ex-players. The guys are still hurt about how they were treated. They need to be included at Bafana in so many levels. I want to set up a meeting with the coach when they come back. We are supposed to be one of the top three teams on the continent that should be qualifying for major competitions year in and year out.
On his m em ories of France ’98
Great memories. You can’t change it for anything. The excitement, thrill and anxiety going into such games is unmatched. Sadly, many people will always remember it (the opening game against France) as a game Pierre Issa scored own goals, ha, ha, ha. I can tell you though, it wasn’t a nice feeling for him at all. He was upset. His confidence was never the same after that. Believe me, I know – I’ve scored one own goal in my career. But it’s football, these things happen. For the current generation, to play against France, it’s a big deal. They were playing against the best players in the world (on Tuesday). Five of those players came with their own private jets to camp the other day, can you imagine how exciting that must be for our lads who came in our jet as a team? But it was eleven against eleven. We need to start competing. It’s promising and I like where we’re headed to.