That’s the price we have to pay
On the World Cup so far
The 2022 FIFA World Cup has just started and we had the hosts Qatar playing against Ecuador in the opening match and it was an unfair competition, to be honest with you. Ecuador is a big footballing nation and they gave Brazil lots of problems during the South American World Cup qualifiers, so it was evidently clear that there was no competition between them and Qatar. There was a big gap in terms of quality between the two teams, you just couldn’t put them at the same level. There was no contest between the two teams. But the match itself was good, and before it started, I couldn’t wait to watch the first match because it’s been a while since the last World Cup in 2018 was played. My biggest worry though was the number of players that pulled out of the tournament because of injuries, like Karim Benzema of France. We have a lot of international players with demanding schedules, they are playing week in and week out for their clubs and I feel sorry for the national team coaches who had to prepare for the World Cup in such a short space of time. These players are playing UEFA Champions League, Europa League, league matches and domestic cup competitions – it’s very tough and gruelling. As a national team coach, you need to be very smart when dealing with this.
On the challenges
When players play qualifiers, friendly or UEFA Nations League matches, some of them arrive in the national team camp at least two days before the match. They are more focussed about playing for their clubs because that is where their salaries are paid, and immediately after the game, they have to fly back to their clubs. The FIFA calendar doesn’t allow players enough time to prepare for a game and fully recover – it’s only a few days. All these things will have a negative impact, especially at a World Cup that is played in November and December – midway through the domestic seasons. Look at the number of players who have pulled out of the tournament because of injuries. It shows that these injuries are as a result of players’ muscles being tired, as the body can only take so much. The body needs to rest, but because these games – both domestic and international – come thick and fast, it’s too much for the body. As a player, your body needs to rest and recover before the next match, but these players couldn’t do that because there was too much football. Most countries only had one week to prepare before the FIFA World Cup and the only country that had sufficient time to prepare is the host country, Qatar. And there is nothing these players can do because the associations are bound by the rules of FIFA. If we want to give other countries, like Qatar, a chance to host the World Cup, then these are the problems we must expect to run into. When we do that, then that is the price we have to pay and we just have to live with it. But I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the tournament and I’m sure that it will be a success overall.
On Bafana Bafana’s friendly against Angola
I also watched Bafana Bafana this past weekend against Angola and based on what I saw, I think it will take us another 10 years to build a team that will be at the level we want. We need a proper plan going forward. Look at South Americans for example – the reason why their teams, players, countries are succeeding at club and international level is because they believe in their talent and they are coached by local coaches. South Americans are very dominant and when you compare them to us, it’s two different worlds. When we played against Angola this past weekend, players were using width and playing crosses, but I don’t understand why they did that because there was no player up front to finish those crosses. We don’t have those types of players who would out-jump opponents and finish chances with headers. I think the problem is that we employ European coaches and they bring their mind-sets to South African players. Our players are short, they are not big physically, can’t head the ball and cannot compete with opponents physically and we still want to play (a) European style. The Angola match was a very good example. Look at the Angola team and you see that the majority of their players come from Petro Atletico de Luanda and their players play together in their domestic league and CAF
Champions League season in and season out. They used high tempo from the first whistle to the final whistle, they had the same game mentality because they understood each other. Those players play together at the highest level and when it comes to Bafana Bafana, we don’t have those players dominating the national team. Our league doesn’t have the same philosophy, so how do we expect to have that in the national team? When it comes to national teams, I don’t want to get emotional. Look at how England are playing, their philosophy is the same, players can dribble, take on players, have good combinations with one-twos. Look at Andile Jali, he is a top player in our country and he is not getting selected to the national team. This is one of the best players we have in our league and yet he is not being selected. Look at all the players in the PSL and tell me which player can put Jali on the bench. Even at Mamelodi Sundowns, when he is on the bench or not playing, they are not the same. When he is there, everyone is buzzing in the team, and what does that tell you? He is a top player and can impact the
game in a positive way.
Benedict Vilakazi, Former Bafana Bafana midfielder