Can old gold bring home the gold?

Johannesburg – Opinion is divided over the inclusion of Bafana Bafana captain and No 1 goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune as one of the two over-age players by coach Owen de Gama in the 18-man squad to play in the Olympics for the national Under-23 team. Njabulo Ngidi looks at the pros and cons of Khune’s presence in the side.

Pros

What people against Khune’s inclusion don’t get is that coach Da Gama was forced into selecting him.

Every Under-23 goalkeeper he has called up has seen limited game time in their clubs in the premier division from Jody February to Ricardo Goss, Nkosingiphile Gumede and Luthando Sixhaso – a sad indictment of how little faith is shown on young ’keepers.

They’ve only played consistently in the reserve league, which is nowhere near as competitive as the Olympics.

Kyle Peters and Steve Hoffman had more game time in the National First Division (NFD) but Peters didn’t end the season as strong as he started while Hoffman’s injury affected his game.

Those two are also beneficiaries of the Under-23 rule where clubs in the NFD are forced to start with five players under the age of 23.

In other clubs, especially in the elite league, the only time they use a young ’keeper is when they are forced to, like Jethren Barr (20) who only made his Bidvest Wits debut because Moeneeb Josephs was suspended.

That’s why Da Gama tried Reyaad Pieterse (24) in the Cosafa Cup, an experiment that failed dismally.

Enter Khune, the ’keeper with the record number of appearances (75) in the senior national team, who has played in the World Cup, Confederation Cup and Africa Cup of Nations. He brings a wealth of experience lacking in the goalkeeping department, and his presence also helps February and Gumede raise their game.

The two ’keepers aren’t that vocal, but with Khune in camp they found their voices. As the “big brother”, Khune is also helping them overcome their shortcoming by speaking to them in a way that coach Deshi Bhaktawer can’t. They have seen Khune in action, probably admire him and can identify with him.

Khune brings leadership at the back, someone who can command the box and guide the talented back four who aren’t vocal.

A lot of the goals this team conceded could have been avoided if they were more vocal and had better communication. There is also the matter of February and Gumede struggling to deal with set-pieces, which is why Da Gama selected Khune and the towering Mulomowandau Mathoho.

Cons

In an ideal world Khune shouldn’t have played in the Carling Black Label Cup yesterday for Kaizer Chiefs because that will see him and Mathoho arrive a day before the Olympics team start their campaign against hosts Brazil on Thursday.

But the technical team had to compromise because clubs aren’t obliged to release players for the tournament since it doesn’t fall under the Fifa calendar. It’s counter-productive to have someone whose primary job is to lift the spirit and show leadership, not spend maximum time in camp.

There is also the issue of the fact that Khune hasn’t been the same person since his contractual issues with Kaizer Chiefs dragged from the end of the 2014/15 campaign and spilled into the start of last season.

He had to train alone, picked up weight and has been injury-prone. If injuries persist, he could spend more time in Brazil with the medics than inspiring the young ’keepers.

In his last camp with the Olympic team, he played only 10 minutes in a practice match against Wits before suffering a knock and couldn’t finish the match.

The whole purpose of selecting Khune is to pick someone who is exemplary; that means someone who will be the first at training and give his all so the others can follow. But if he isn’t 100?percent fit, he can’t do that, which would limit his impact.

OVER-AGE PLAYERS AT THE RIO OLYMPICS

ALGERIA: Abdelghani Demmou, Sofiane Bendebka, Baghdad Bounedjah

ARGENTINA: Geronimo Rulli

BRAZIL: Fernando Pras, Renato Augusto, Neymar

COLOMBIA: William Tesillo, Teofilo Gutierrez, Dorlan Pabon

DENMARK: Ediegerson Gomes, Emil Larsen, Lasse Vibe

FIJI: Simione Tamanisau, Alvin Singh, Roy Krishna

GERMANY: Sven Bender, Lars Bender, Nils Petersen

HONDURAS: Johnny Palacios, Romell Quioto

IRAQ: Ahmed Ibrahim, Saad Luaibi, Hammadi Ahmed

JAPAN: Hiroki Fujiharu, Tsukasa Shiotani, Shinzo Koroki

MEXICO: Alfredo Talavera, Jorge Torres, Oribe Peralta