Confederations Cup
Iraq coach warns Bafana
2009-05-27 22:18
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Itumeleng Khune getting it right (Gallo)
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Johannesburg - Adept at pulling rabbits out of his soccer hat, acclaimed Serbian-born, Mexican-naturalised coach Bora Milutinovic is confident of providing a further output of magic when he takes charge of Asian champions Iraq at next month's eight-nation Confederations Cup tournament in South Africa.
And, in an interview from Iraq's ironically sumptuous training camp in Doha, Qatar, which appeared on Wednesday on FIFA.com, the amiable soccer coach of the war-ravaged country warned Bafana Bafana that his charges would be no pushovers in the Confederations Cup.
Pointedly, Bafana will be playing Iraq in the opening game of the Confederations Cup at Ellis Park on June 14 in a match-up that could have far-reaching consequences on the competition in a wider context.
Though only recently acquainted with the Iraq players, the 64 year-old coach who has guided five different countries at various World Cup tournaments said he was "pleasantly surprised" with the quality of the squad and he had no doubt they would be a competitive force to be reckoned with.
Milutinovic said Iraq would play with maximum ambition and fierce determination, as well as the added incentive of raising the morale of a nation that is in need of such an upliftment.
"My players," said the Iraq coach, "are very good technically and physically strong. They play with a lot of heart and enormous passion. Anyone under-estimating them does so at their own peril.
"The Iraq nation as a whole has high hopes for us in one of the most important tournaments in which the national team has competed and the feeling in the camp is that we cannot let them down."
Milutinovic also praised the facilities made available to his squad in Doha, which he described as "stunning" and "designed to inspire us to rise to the occasion."