Rivaldo anxious over Bafana defence
RIVALDO Coetzee would like the young Bafana Bafana team that has been sent to the Cosafa Cup to work on tightening their defence.
South Africa have sent a team comprising mostly the Under-23 side that will take part in the men’s football tournament at the Olympic Games in August to the Cosafa Cup in Namibia in preparation for Rio 2016.
The team, to be jointly led by Bafana head coach Shakes Mashaba and U-23 coach Owen da Gama, will open their tournament in tomorrow’s quarterfinal at Sam Nujoma Stadium in Windhoek.
Their opponents, the winners of Group B, were to be decided by last night’s match between Lesotho and Malawi.
Coetzee was part of the U-23 team that reached Rio 2016 by finishing third at the CAF U-23 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal in December.
That side showed itself capable of opening up defences regularly, but could be equally porous at the back.
Bafana centre-back Coetzee had not played much with the U-23 back-four before that tournament, and believes that is where the Cosafa Cup can be advantageous to himself and the rest of the team’s defence.
“We started the tournament in Senegal on a bad note, conceding three goals in the first game against the hosts, and that’s when everyone started to question the defence,” Coetzee said.
“But I think after that we picked it up a bit, even though we still made silly mistakes at times. I’m hoping in the Cosafa we can work on some of those things.
“This time we’ve had some time to prepare together. In Senegal I hadn’t been playing with the guys that much. We only had a few days to prepare and gel, and get to know each other.
Among defenders who joined the Ajax Cape Town centre-back in Senegal who will do duty in Namibia are club teammate Abbubaker Mobara, Maritzburg United’s Kwanda Mngonyama, Bloemfontein Celtic’s Tshepo Rikhotso and Tebogo Moerane of Bidvest Wits.
Coetzee said the Under-23s will aim to win the Cosafa as a confidence boost for Brazil. “There is pressure on me for Cosafa because people will say I’m experienced and that I need to lead the team.
“And I can bring a lot of experience to this team from my time with Bafana.”
Among the midfield and attacking options available to Da Gama are Mpumalanga Black Aces prospects Aubrey Modiba and Judas Moseamedi, Brondby star Lebogang Phiri and Orlando Pirates’ new forward Thabiso Kutumela.