Doesn’t matter if you are performing open-heart surgery, the man with the most important job in South Africa on Saturday afternoon is Kagisho Dikgacoi.
While the Bafana Bafana midfielder might not be as handy with a scalpel as the late Chris Barnard, he will have to shut down the heart and soul of the Ivory Coast football team, Yaya Toure, when the two teams clash in the Nelson Mandela Challenge match.
The Crystal Palace-based Dikgacoi is back in the Bafana squad after a spell on the sidelines with injury. And in his first game back for the national team he has got the unenviable task of keeping one of the world’s best players quiet.
Toure has been phenomenal for big-spending English Premiership outfit Manchester City since he steered them to the FA Cup towards the end of the previous season.
He has remarkable skill and quick feet for a man his size, while his driving runs into the opposition penalty area cause chaos.
He also has a massive pair of lungs on him, and he can turn defence into attack with timely tackles and by spreading the ball so that his teammates hurt you on the counter-attack. No wonder he is reported to earn over £200 000 (R2.5 million) a week.
Dikgacoi is aware of the danger Toure poses, but on Thursday said the entire midfield of the Elephants would be South Africa’s biggest threat, and that the game was likely to be won and lost in that area of the park.
“It’s going to be tough in midfield, Yaya, Emmanuel Eboue and (Cheik) Tiote are all very good players. I think the game will be won and lost in the middle of the park,” Dikgacoi told reporters on Thursday.
“Obviously Yaya is a good player and he likes to go forward. So I think he is definitely going to be the dangerman on the day, but they have other dangerous players too. They are going to try and play a mobile and quick game. But we have got some good players in our team as well. We are certainly not going to stand back for them,” he added.
The former Golden Arrows player had a difficult time initially when he moved to England and joined Premiership club Fulham. He fell out of favour with then manager Mark Hughes, and was sent on loan to Crystal Palace in the English Championship.
He has since moved to across London to Palace on a three-year deal, and he has certainly enjoyed the game time afforded to him on the field. That can only benefit Bafana, who need a player like Dikgacoi to add stability in the middle of the park.
“If I play regularly for my team, obviously I’m going add value to the national team,” the solidly built anchorman said.
Dikgacoi is likely to be partnered in central midfield by Kaizer Chiefs star Reneilwe Letsholonyane. The two operated together during the team’s training season at the Gelvandale Stadium on Wednesday, and at the match venue yesterday.
It seems likely that Steven Pienaar and Siphiwe Tshabalala will have wide roles, while the young Daylon Claasen, who impressed during the botched 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, could be a surprise inclusion to play just behind Katlego Mphela up front. Coach Pitso Mosimane also asked the ground staff at the Gelvandale Stadium to wet the pitch, probably because rain is expected for tomorrow’s encounter at the Nelson Mandela Stadium (kick-off 3.15pm). Goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs, who is expected to start in the absence of Bafana No 1 Itumeleng Khune, wasn’t sure why Mosimane had wet the pitch, but said the coach did not like to leave anything to chance.
“It could be because of the rain that has been forecast (for tomorrow), but it could also be that the coach wanted the ball to travel faster along the surface to give the boys a good workout. Either way, our preparations have gone well,” the Orlando Pirates shot-stopper said.
Possible Bafana line-up: Josephs; Ngcongca, Gould, Sangwenim, Masilela; Dikgacoi, Letsholonyane, Pienaar, Tshabalala, Claasen; Mphela.