Baxter defends selection of Bvuma
Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma is not likely to feature for Bafana Bafana in the crunch African Nations Cup qualifier against Libya on March 24, but his inclusion in coach Stuart Baxter’s squad was enough to elicit mixed reaction on Monday.
Baxter said he included Bvuma in his squad as cover to Darren Keet and Ronwen Williams‚ who will fight for the No 1 jersey‚ and the Chiefs goalie will travel to Tunisia with Bafana as third choice in the pecking order.
But some have questioned the 23-year-old’s inclusion as Bvuma has hardly featured at Chiefs, with Virgil Vries and Daniel Akpeyi being preferred ahead of him after a shoulder injury in January ruled regular No 1 Itumeleng Khune out for the remainder of the season.
Baxter was prepared for the inevitable interrogation on the keeper’s selection and offered an explanation before he was asked on Monday.
‘‘This selection of the camp is probably the most difficult I have had to make‚” he said.
‘‘Probably, Bvuma will not be competing for one of those two starting places.
“So this is a third goalkeeper and we do not want to experiment – we want to gain as much as we can for both the development of the game and the development of the player.
“The reasons [for choosing Bvuma] I have considered from every angle and Bruce was in our system.
‘‘He came with us to the Cosafa Cup [in 2018]‚ he was thrown into the deep end against Botswana and he did fantastically well.”
Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp gave Bvuma a run in a league match against Maritzburg United at the FNB Stadium on Saturday and Baxter and the members of his technical team were on hand to watch him play.
Middendorp conceded that he gave him an opportunity to play as the club have a tricky Nedbank Cup quarterfinal against Cape Town City and with Akpeyi cup-tied‚ Chiefs needed to give him game time.
“Again‚ he looked rock solid when we watched him, myself‚ [assistant coach] Molefi [Ntseki] and [goalkeeper coach] Alex [Heredia] at the weekend.”
The cynics offered various alternatives that they believed were more deserving of a place in the Bafana squad but Baxter stood his ground and said Bvuma had all the characteristics of a great international player.
‘‘There are keepers that are in form but we all need to understand the difference between an in-form player and a potential international player.
“There are many players that get recommended by coaches‚ by media‚ by people on the street‚ my wife‚ the dog.
“Everybody knows a good player.”
Bafana must either beat or draw with Libya in the massive final qualifier if they are to secure a ticket to the continental showpiece in June.
Baxter’s charges are in second place in Group E with nine points‚ behind leaders Nigeria‚ who have already qualified.
Libya‚ who must win to take second place in the group behind Nigeria and deny SA qualification‚ were forced to take this game to a neutral venue due to a long-standing Fifa ban over security concerns and must still find a venue.
The security situation in Libya is considered dangerous, with various rival factions and warlords battling for control over the country’s oil wealth. Bafana Bafana squad: