Itumeleng Khune may have been a controversial choice in some quarters for the SA Under-23 side going to the Rio Olympics, but he is determined to take the team to “greater heights” in Brazil.
Bafana Bafana captain and goalkeeper Khune was one of two over-aged players selected by coach Owen da Gama for the Olympics, with the other being Khune’s Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana teammate, central defender Erick Mathoho.
The fact that Jody February was the first-choice goalkeeper for the SA Under-23s during the Olympic qualifiers, and played a heroic role against Senegal in the final decider for Rio.
Ajax Cape Town shot-stopper February saved a penalty during the match and another three in the penalty shoot-out as South Africa won the third-place playoff 3-1 on penalties to clinch the final African qualifying spot for the Olympics.
Former Bafana star goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs expressed his unhappiness about Khune’s selection to kickoff.com last week, stating that February should not suddenly be sidelined and that he couldn’t understand why Khune had been picked.
“First of all, it is still an honour to selected to this team,” Khune told the Safa website this week.
“I would like to thank the technical team for giving me the opportunity to be one of the participants at the world’s biggest spectacle. I am at a loss for words, but would just like to say that I will do my best whenever I am called upon to represent my country. I just hope my experience and that of Mathoho will take this team to greater heights, whether we play or not.”
That last phrase seems to suggest that Khune may not necessarily be the first-choice goalkeeper at the Olympic tournament – South Africa’s first match takes place on August 4 against hosts Brazil (9pm SA time) – and that the 29-year-old will hope to make a big impact in a leadership role, even though playmaker Keagan Dolly is likely to be named as the captain in Rio.
Khune – who has 77 Bafana caps – missed out on a chance to play at an Olympics previously when the SA Under-23s failed to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Games.
He picked up a slight knock to his ankle during the SA Under-23s’ 1-1 draw against Wits in a practice match on Monday, but he took to Twitter and said that it was “nothing serious good people. It’s just a bruise, but I will be OK”.
While Da Gama’s team will leave for Brazil on Saturday, Khune and Mathoho won’t be joining them as the coach has allowed them to turn out for Kaizer Chiefs in the Carling Black Label Cup pre-season friendly next Saturday, July 30. That means they will only leave Johannesburg on July 31 and probably arrive in Rio on Monday, August 1, just three days before the opener against Brazil.
That makes it highly unlikely that they will feature in the starting line-up in that match, with the other group games against Denmark on Sunday, August 7 (2am SA time on Monday, August 8) and Iraq on Wednesday, August 10 (3am SA time on Thursday, August 11).
Dolly was set to join the side on Wednesday after returning from Egypt, where he played for Mamelodi Sundowns in the African Champions League on Sunday, while French-based striker Lebogang Mathiba is expected in camp on July 27.
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