Spar Proteas hungry for success
Mounting calls for striker Sirino to be added to Bafana squad
MANY South African social media users have been calling for Gaston Sirino to be added to Bafana Bafana’s set-up after news emerged this week that the Uruguayan is now eligible to represent South Africa in international competition.
The 31-year-old from Montevideo has never represented Uruguay in international competition, meaning he can play for Bafana as per Fifa rules. Since joining Sundowns from Bolivar in 2018, he has gone on to become a reliable performer in the top flight.
Bafana fans cannot really expect Sirino to work wonders for the national team should Hugo Broos decide to try him out, but he could still add value on and off the field. It will probably be a risk worth taking for Broos and company as they prepare to steer Bafana to the next Africa Cup of Nations, which will take place in the Ivory Coast in January and February next year.
While other foreign-born players with South African ancestry have played for Bafana, mostly without making an impact, Sirino stands more of a chance of making a difference given that he is familiar with the style and way of thinking of South African footballers. Other foreign-born players were mainly unsuccessful as a result of failing to adapt to the culture of the team.
Today, we look at some other foreign-born players who played for Bafana.
Bongani Khumalo
Perhaps the most successful foreign-born player to play for Bafana, the former national team captain was born in Eswatini, moving to South Africa at an early age before coming through the ranks at the University of Pretoria.
Khumalo helped SuperSport United famously win three consecutive league titles under Gavin Hunt, earning a move to Tottenham Hotspur in the process, though he failed to make the cut at the English club.
He played for Bafana 42 times, captaining the team at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
Lars Veldwijk
A journeyman striker, the Uithoorn, Netherlands-born player showed potential in the Netherlands with impressive scoring records for the likes of Excelsior, PEC Zwolle and Sparta Rotterdam, though he never quite cut it with one of the big guns in Europe. With no Netherlands call-up in sight, Bafana successfully sought his services in 2016. He went on to make seven appearances for Bafana, failing to score. Now 31, Veldwijk has been on the books of South Korean club Suwon FC since 2020.
George Koumantarakis
The Athens-born player is best remembered for playing a key role in helping Manning Rangers win the first Premier Soccer League title in South Africa back in 1997, finishing as the league’s top scorer in the process. He also went on to win the Swiss Super League with FC Basel in 2002, but was never prolific when on duty for Bafana Bafana.
Phil Evans
Evans is best remembered for a long spell with SuperSport United. The Cardiff, Wales-born player was mainly a fringe player for Bafana. He is, however, fondly remembered for his goal in the national team’s memorable 2-1 win over Mexico during the 2005 Concacaf Gold Cup in which Bafana competed as a guest nation. “WE are literally counting down the days to when it starts,” Izette Griesel said with a gleam in her eye. “It is six months to go," she continued.
“Yes, there is a lot of pressure on us. It is in South Africa; it is on home soil, but we will have our family and friends here and, hopefully, the whole country to support us. We are very excited to show the world what we’ve got.”
Many will argue that the optimism of the Spar Proteas’ Griesel is slightly unfounded.
After all, the results of the South African senior netball team will record three narrow losses and a draw in the recently concluded Quad Series against Australia, England and New Zealand.
This, according to Griesel, will not perturb the Proteas as they build towards the Netball World Cup 2023, hosted in Cape Town from late July. Indeed, such sanguineness is the only opinion that might matter.
For you see, although the Proteas suffered mostly defeat during the tournament, they did so fighting to the utmost end, while learning much about themselves and what they are truly capable of. The 46-46 draw against third-ranked England was a particular epiphany and one that will help the team’s self-belief.
Said Griesel: “We actually realised that sometimes we can doubt ourselves when we play the top countries in the world. We realised that we could beat the top countries, that we are competitive. We can take them.
“We just need to start believing. Yes, there are a lot of things we can work on. We still have six months and we are putting in the work and there is still a lot to learn.
“The game time that lies ahead of us is great to especially work on those things.
“The camps we have [are a chance] to just gel even more and to work on the small things that we as a team can conquer.”
Despite the positivity, Griesel is not deceived by the labours that lie ahead, if the Proteas are to make a success of the coming World Cup. While speaking to Independent Media at the launch of Telkom’s Standing Tall campaign, in partnership with Netball South Africa, she revealed that much of that work will be of a psychological nature.
“We were ahead most of the games,” she said, referring again to the Quad Series.
"At one point we started falling behind (against England) and then by the end it was a draw. That just shows that we are hungry enough to take the top countries in the world. We must just start showing it...
“It showed that we as a team can stand together.
“If one person makes a bad pass, the defenders are there to get the ball back. We have a lot of BMT, we must start doing it.”
Currently, the Proteas are scattered around the world playing in leagues in Australia, England and New Zealand. As revealed by Griesel, the SA-based players will have started their trek to Australia this past Thursday to play matches in Melbourne as part of their preparations for the showpiece event later this year.