Bafana Bafana
Igesund to identify SA's style
2012-07-09 12:52
Johannesburg - New Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund is adamant the national team will play an exciting brand of football with him in charge.
Igesund was appointed as Pitso Mosimane's successor last month,
but has been accused of enforcing 'skop and donner' styled football over
the years.
However, the coach believes his tactics have been misinterpreted,
and says he has only ever played to the strengths of the players at his
disposal during his tenure as a coach.
"Unfortunately people have said over the years that 'Gordon plays
skop and donner football' and according to them that's how I won the
league championships, but to be fair I have always played to the
strength of my players," Igesund, who has earned four PSL titles with
four different teams, told Football411.
So what can we expect from the South African national team with the former Moroka Swallows boss in charge?
"We need to play a little differently from the past years. We
must identify a style of play for South African football," he said.
"We got into a situation, using Carlos Alberto Parreira as an
example, and he wanted to play the Brazilian style of football without
wingers and using the full-backs to attack. But we haven't got those
type of players. We don't have the players Brazil have got so we've got
to play to our strengths; we have to go wide.
"I think our strength is keeping possession, so any type of
system you use you've got to keep possession. We need to get wide and
attack, not sit back and play counter-attack football. We have to
identify our style and stick to it. We can't keep changing."
Bafana had been on a dour run of results prior to former coach
Mosimane's sacking, but the 56-year-old Igesund is confident he can turn
around the fortunes and return the team to a respectable standing in
Africa.
"I'm well aware of the challenges that lie ahead, but I'm
confident we can achieve a lot with the people I will work with in the
Bafana team," he added
"Bafana need to start winning games; we need to start qualifying for competitions."
Meanwhile, Igesund has apparently identified Andre Arendse,
Augusto Palacios and Neil Tovey to serve in the technical team, with
Orlando Pirates coach Palacios and Thanda Royal Zulu tactician Tovey
earmarked for part-time roles.