Johannesburg - The National Under-23 coach Owen da Gama struggled to contain his frustration because of the uncertainty over when captain Keagan Dolly will link up with the side for the Olympics.
Dolly was supposed to have joined the team upon his return from Cairo where he helped Mamelodi Sundowns put one foot in the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League after their 2-1 win over Zamalek.
But that didn’t happen. Dolly was still not in camp yesterday when the players returned from a two-day break to put final touches to their preparations in the country before they leave for Brazil on Sunday.
The Kaizer Chiefs pair of Mulomowandau Mathoho and Itumeleng Khune, along with French-based Lebogang Mothiba, have made arrangements to link up with the team in Brazil.
Khune and Mathoho, who have been in camp with the Under-23s this week, will travel on Sunday next week after playing in the Carling Black Label Cup against Orlando Pirates in front of a sold-out crowd at FNB Stadium the day before. Mothiba will join the team on Thursday in Brazil from France.
“Keagan was supposed to be released to us after the game against Zamalek in Cairo,” Da Gama said.
“That didn’t happen and we don’t know what is the reason for the change of heart because they haven’t told us why they didn’t release him and when will he join us. It’s very disappointing because we had wanted to finalise the issue of who will captain the team in the Olympics but we couldn’t do that without speaking to everyone (who is a candidate to do the job).
”This hurts our plans because there are things that we can’t do because of this. Keagan hasn’t been a part of this team since the friendly against Brazil (in March). We understood because the original agreement was that he would play for Sundowns in the Champions League while we were in the Cosafa Cup and only join us later. It was the same agreement we reached with Chiefs that their players will come after the Carling Black Label Cup. But the worrying thing in this Keagan issue is that we haven’t been told anything by the club.”
The Brazilians are planning on releasing Dolly after their return leg against Zamalek on Wednesday at Lucas Moripe Stadium. A draw in that encounter will secure Sundowns a place in the last four with a game to spare.If that happens, Pitso Mosimane will become the first South African coach to lead two different teams to the semi-finals of the Champions League after doing the same thing with SuperSport United in the 2004 edition.
Da Gama is looking to become the first coach from the country to lead a team to the knockout stage of the Olympics. He will have his work cut out for him in Group A that has the hosts Brazil, Denmark and Iraq.
Da Gama’s Banyana Banyana counterpart Vera Pauw has found things smoother in her preparations. All 22 players, 18 registered for the tournament and four on stand-by, will leave together tomorrow for Brazil where they will play a friendly against New Zealand on Thursday.
Six days after that they will start their campaign against Sweden, then China before taking on the hosts Brazil.
The Star