JOHANNESBURG - The National Under-20 football coach, Thabo Senong, has called for a change in mindset from South African football officials after the club versus country monster reared its ugly head once again. That impasse hurt Amajita’s preparations for the U20 Africa Cup of Nations.
Senong had to prepare for the tournament, to be staged in Zambia from 26 February, without 14 key players who were refused the opportunity to link up with the national team. But Senong soldiered on, leading the side to two friendlies against the University of Johannesburg’s SAB team and Wits.
He watched Phakamani Mahlambi play against Amajita in the colours of the Clever Boys instead of being with the national team. Wits argued that Mahlambi had just returned from an almost year-long lay-off because of a torn ACL.
The other players weren’t released for this camp as their clubs want them to play in the reserve league.
“I will always stress this, the Diski Challenge can never be more important than a national team assignment,” Senong said. “People who believe Diski Challenge fixtures are more important than the national team don’t understand development.
“You can’t develop players in isolation. When you develop players you must allow them to be a part of the national team. We hope that people involved in South African football will change their mindset. They must realise the importance of playing in this tournament that serves as qualifiers for the World Cup.
“That can only happen if we do things as a collective. The national team doesn’t belong to me but the country. For the national team to succeed, we have to work as a collective.”
This isn’t something new, especially for Senong’s assistant coach, Molefi Ntseki, who doubles as the national U17 team coach.
Ntseki had to do without Ajax Cape Town players at U17 level. Ntseki still managed to guide his team to the 2015 U17 World Cup in Chile.
Amajita must finish in the top four in Zambia to book a ticket to the U20 World Cup in South Korea, but they'll have to negotiate their way past Cameroon, Senegal and Sudan in Group B.
“We have video footage of all the games the teams in Group B played to get to this tournament,” Senong said.
“These are all tough opposition. They are strong physically. They dominate set-pieces. That’s why we looked at the height of the players as one of our selection criteria. We brought in a lot of tall and strong players. We still have the quality because we know the best part of our style of play is mobility and speed.
“But you also must be good (at) defending aerial balls. That’s an aspect West African countries dominate. If they don’t win the battle on the ground, they throw a lot of aerial balls. I am happy with the match against Wits. It tested us aerially.
“We responded well to that test. I believe this team has a lot of potential.”
The players Senong worked with left camp on Tuesday. They will return on Monday to prepare for the friendly against Zambia at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium on 12 February.
Four days after that match, Amajita play Mali in Polokwane in two friendlies at Peter Mokaba Stadium in the space of three days.