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 The Parreira era ... Part II
    Nkareng Matshe
    November 06 2009 at 07:37AM 		Get IOL on your
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Carlos Alberto Parreira professed himself "happy to be back" on Thursday, but even happier would have been the eight players, new and old, included in the Bafana Bafana squad in the aftermath of a regime change in the technical team.

Barred from fielding questions because he has an official welcome press briefing on Friday, the elegantly-dressed Parreira nevertheless exuded confidence as he spoke fluently in English, in what was yet another reminder that the old Joel Santana order is indeed gone.

"It's a pleasure to be back here again," Parreira said after being introduced by South African Football Association's president Kirsten Nematandani. "I'm feeling at home, I'm happy to be here to continue with Bafana Bafana's preparations for the World Cup. Thank you."
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Most thankful, however, would have been the likes of Benni McCarthy and three youngsters added to the 24-man squad who will face Japan a week from Friday in Port Elizabeth (Nelson Mandela Stadium, 3.30pm) and Jamaica in Bloemfontein three days later (Vodacom Park, 8pm).

'We decided this was the right moment to bring him back'
Blackburn Rovers striker McCarthy last represented South Africa when they lost to Chile in Polokwane in February, and his fallout with Santana saw him miss 13 internationals, including five in the Fifa Confederations Cup, this year.

Promising Under-20 internationals Daylon Classen, Kermit Erasmus and Darren Keet, who all did well for Amajita at the World Youth Championships in Egypt last month, were included in the squad, in what was a clear departure from Santana's monotonous rigidity.

Bafana assistant coaches Pitso Mosimane and Jairo Leal admitted they consulted with Parreira when selecting the side, and McCarthy's return explains that.

"We decided this was the right moment to bring him back," Mosimane said.

Quizzed on the Blackburn striker's lack of form - he has started just three matches for his English Premiership team this season - Mosimane reasoned a player of McCarthy's calibre could not be picked solely on form.

'Daine has been in good form and he's scoring goals'
"He's a senior player and we've brought him back to see if we can still count on him and trust him. His record speaks for itself. He's the country's leading scorer and a top player."

On the inclusion of the Under-20 trio, Leal said: "We've been monitoring them for some time and they had a good tournament (at the world champs). Kermit and Darren are not new here because they've been with us before. We have two more matches to conclude the year, so we thought they deserve a chance."

SuperSport United winger Daine Klate also got a recall, after being ignored by Santana for months.

Mosimane, though, was quick to point out that Klate's form dictated he be included.

"I know some people will say he was picked because I used to coach him at SuperSport, but that's not the case and I don't care. Daine has been in good form and he's scoring goals; that's why he's here."

While Steven Pienaar misses out due to a long-term injury inflicted on him by Aaron Mokoena in September, Nasief Morris was again overlooked, though Mosimane emphasised the Spain-based defender is not out of the picture.

"At the moment, we'd like to focus on the players we've selected for this camp. You can ask why we haven't selected Matthew Booth, too, but this is not the final World Cup squad," Mosimane explained.


Bafana squad

Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Bongani Khumalo and Anele Ngcongca complete the list of players who missed the last camp away to Norway and Iceland.

Goalkeepers: Rowen Fernandez, Moeneeb Josephs, Darren Keet

Defenders: Siboniso Gaxa, Bongani Khumalo, Morgan Gould, Tsepo Masilela, Aaron Mokoena, Anele Ngcongca, Siyabonga Sangweni, Lucas Thwala

Midfielders: Daylon Classen, Kagisho Dikgacoi, Daine Klate, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Teko Modise, Macbeth Sibaya, Elrio van Heerden

Strikers: Kermit Erasmus, Mabhuti Khenyeza, Katlego Mphela, Benni McCarthy, Bernard Parker

    • This article was originally published on page 24 of The Star on November 06, 2009
Showing page 1 of 2 comment pages, 14 total comments
1 Week ago Siphiwe Ngidi wrote :
Its time to write off Mbazo Mokoena completely or at least keep him on the bench for the entire duration of both matches. I fully support the introduction of the blood ot ernergise the squad.
2 Weeks ago Margs wrote :
It seems Perreira and his colleagues are behaving in a decisive, and hopefully positive way. I see they are not afraid of changing things, and with Bafana's recent record, that can only be a good thing. I think Mokoena should be scrapped for injuring a key player so severely. Sounds like he's red card material, and to be avoided.
2 Weeks ago Zicco Jerry wrote :
Mokoena took either Booth and Morris place. But I think the overall Bafana squad does not look bad except for Khenyeza - Mokoena - Sibaya - Twala, Teko will rise due to competion that Parreira has brought to the squad. "Please Carlos start Mokoena on the bench for a change"
2 Weeks ago Mjita wrote :
This Mokoena bum, I think he should be dropped. Why on earth does he have to injure one of our best players, more over the injury is long term. Maybe jealousy crept in because most attention was deservedly given to Pienaar. As for Benni there is nothing to say except that he knows that he has to deliver urgently. We should not forget that you can be a top goalscorer for 4 years but in those years not score a single goal. This clearly show the poor state of our striking forces. Good luck to Coach anjd the technical team hoping that they will select a winning combination this time around. No chances PLEEEEAAASE!!!!!!!!
2 Weeks ago erica wrote :
i am sure he is happy to be back. did he not receive a nice package on his way out, and certainly would be asking for a lot more on his return. lets hope we dont have any "game fixing" issues and keep it clean.
2 Weeks ago Ras wrote :
Now we see the young guns called up in the squad... WHich is fantastic. and Benni back is more than what the Team need, even with the SA supporters still in denial that Benni is the best we can get for the 2010 world cup... I salute the coach for seeing the Likes of Kermit Erasmus, Daine Klate, and Daylon Classen... now we can use the youngsters like any other Country and not say they still young... Lets build on this young guns... Go boys and make us proud next weekend
2 Weeks ago MFANA wrote :
SKILL OVER COLOUR. SKILLED PLAYERS WHO ARE CAPABLE OF DELIVERING THE GOODS SHOULD BE FIELDED WHETHER THEY R YELLOW, GREEN, NAVY, BLACK, WHITE. AS FOR BAFANA, LETS SEE OUTCOME OF NXT 2 GAMES B4 FURTHER COMMENTS ON THE PEFROMANCE OF FAT BENNIE & CASH ROLLING PERREIRA.
2 Weeks ago Chillipeppa wrote :
For years we have heard people like Stofile bleat that in rugby there were not enough black players, we've had black journalists bleat that rugby was not "demographic" in player selection etc. And then we heard last year that Ricky should not have been left out of the Boks etc So now we have the soccer world cup and I'd like to know where are the white players? Why arent there any? Why is soccer not "developed" in formerly white schools? Perhaps we all know the answers. Whites generally are not adept at this game in SA. Same the other way round with rugby. So now can we please leave the colour thing alone and enjoy the world cup for what it is and enjoy Bafana Bafana just for whom the represent. (and the same for rugby too in 2011)
2 Weeks ago Fikile wrote :
SAFA must drop the un-writen policy of fielding a minimum of 7 "black" African players. PEOPLE OF ALL COLOUR ARE SOUTH AFRICAN AND SAFA MUST FIELD THE BEST TEAM even if it has zero "black" African players in it. Khoisan is brown and have been here for 10000's of years. NUF SAID.
2 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
Unhappy to see Benni Back in the squad No booth either who has be a creditable defender but we'll see what happens when the squad goes out on the field and when they meet for training.
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