Bafana Bafana
Bafana star eyes redemption
2011-11-12 11:40
Reneilwe Letsholonyane (Gallo)
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Port Elizabeth - South Africa midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane regards Saturday's
Nelson Mandela Challenge with Ivory Coast as a chance for redemption.
Bafana Bafana will host Africa's top ranked side at Nelson
Mandela Bay Stadium, eager to make amends for their farcical failure to
qualify for next year's AFCON in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
"We started training on Tuesday and all has gone well. Everyone
is excited about the game and we see this as an opportunity to redeem
ourselves following our failure to qualify for the African Cup of
Nations," Letsholonyane told Kaizer Chiefs' official website.
"If we win the game it will make people forget a little bit about
what happened. It will also send a strong wave to some of the teams in
the rest of the continent. We all know the quality Ivory Coast have but
we need to focus on what we can do best."
The gifted ball-winner says he is honoured to participate in an
event that celebrates the achievements of former President Nelson
Mandela.
"This is a game to honour Mr. Mandela for all the work he has
done for us, here in South Africa and the world. We are all delighted to
be playing a part in honouring such a great man," he said.
"We are also playing against the number one ranked team in the
continent. It is a big game, big players, big stage - we need no
motivation to do well."
Letsholonyane added that he was touched by the reception the national team received when they arrived in Port Elizabeth.
"We received a rousing welcoming at the airport when we touched
down. The fans are looking at us to represent them with pride and this
is what we aim to do every time we put on the national team jersey," he
said.