Tumo Mokone

The announcement of a new-look Bafana Bafana this week has revived hope, soon after the re-appointment of Carlos Alberto Parreira as coach was received with disappointment. Many fans, journalists and politicians had expressed hope that a local coach would be given the job, following the departure of Joel Santana.

It is not clear how much say Parreira had in the selection of the 24-man squad which will face Japan and Jamaica at home later this month. The officials say assistants Pitso Mosimane and Jairo Leal were solely responsible for picking the squad, using “Parreira’s vision and preferred style of play” as the guideline.

The “Return of Benni McCarthy Part 4”, however, points to Parreira’s direct influence. When Parreira first took the Bafana job two and a half years ago, Benni was in his third self-imposed exile from the national team. Santana drove Benni away for his fourth banishment and ultimately paid the price when he got the sack.

Though McCarthy’s comeback stole the show following the announcement of the squad, the overwhelming feeling is that he deserves to be back. The truth is that Bafana need Benni’s experience. Before Parreira left South Africa 20 months ago, young Bernard Parker was Bafana’s top striker. He had benefitted a lot from interacting and playing alongside Benni. But after McCarthy was dropped, Parker’s form dropped and he appeared lost in the national team.

It is easy to say an ambitious player must be self-driven to succeed in international football. However, as the case of Parker and Benni showed, promising youngsters need the mentorship of senior players to make it. The new squad is wholly inspired by this philosophy.

Every department – from goalkeepers to strikers – features young players, most with international experience at youth levels.

Among the goal minders there is Darren Keet, the fearless 20-year-old Wits keeper who conceded three goals in his Premier League debut match this season, as Wits lost 3-0 to Kaizer Chiefs. Keet has since made a daring fightback, throwing his lithe body between his team and defeat. As a result, Wits are now contenders for the league championship.

Though I am happy with Keet, I still feel between Rowen Fernandez and Moeneeb Josephs one should have made way for Ajax Cape Town’s Hans Vonk. Apart from his technical ability and international experience, Vonk is a respected mentor and team leader. Strong leadership in every department is what Bafana lacked during Santana’s reign.

The defence boasts three players with impeccable leadership skills - Lucas Twala of Orlando Pirates and the SuperSport United pair of Bongani Khumalo and Morgan Gould. The captain, unfortunately, remains Aaron Mokoena, who has proved a failure in that crucial position. I think Mokoena should have lost the captaincy when Santana was fired. How do we start all over again when a man who contributed in Santana’s failures is still the official leader of the team?

Mokoena must lose the captaincy so that he can compete with other central defenders for a place in the team. He cannot rely on the armband to automatically walk into the team. His technique as a central defender is flawed and it’s about time somebody in the technical department told him so. My captain would be Bongani Khumalo, the SuperSport United captain whose intelligence belies his youth.

It’s in the midfield where Bafana lack quality leadership. Teko Modise was Parreira’s biggest star in his first tenure. The Brazilian also made Modise his captain for the matches played without the overseas-based players. But the Orlando Pirates midfielder is not the same player anymore. His form has desperately dipped at both club and country level.

Since he flopped against Iraq in the opening match of the FIFA Confederations Cup in June, Modise hasn't inspired hope again. Perhaps the change of guard in the national set-up is what he needed to lift his game.

The selection of Daine Klate and Under-20 international Daylon Claasen in the midfield will add finesse and speed in attack, while Reneilwe Letsholonyane provides steel and power. The only fault regarding Letsholonyane is that he has a low self-esteem, despite his natural talents, and the fact that he plays for a big club like Chiefs.

If it wasn’t for Mabhudi Khenyeza, I would vouch for the strikers’ department being the best we have put together in a decade. Both Benni and Parker return at the time Katlego Mphela is the hottest thing for both Bafana and the local league. The Sundowns striker leads the Absa Premiership goalscoring charts with 11 after 14 matches. 

Khenyeza however is still to prove his case at this level, after many opportunities over the past five years. The fact that there was no one else to be picked ahead of him says a lot about the ability of South African strikers. Hopefully the reclusive Khenyeza will finally come out of his shell and repay the selectors for the faith they have shown in him all these years.

The squad is still dominated by locally-based players. Though the foreign legion of 11 players is not a bad number at all, the form of Bafana would improve drastically as is the case of leading African football nations. Only Egypt can succeed with a predominantly home-based squad, due to the quality of the Egyptian league.

Despite many South Africans believing the PSL is the best league in Africa, pound for pound the successes of the Egyptian are greater. We can’t even claim to produce better quality than the Zimbabwean league.

In the meantime, Parreira can rest assured he has my support, and that of many South Africans who want to see Bafana return to greater heights in African football, and in due course, the world.

Japan (November 14) and Jamaica (November 17) are 'unusual' opponents, but SA can expect a good test from the “Blue Samurai” and the “Reggae Boyz”.

Tumo writes exclusively for Sport24.

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