Opinions  ·  Soccer  ·  Sports

Bring Benni back to Bafana Bafana


By The Editor    02-Mar-2012 21:13 UTC+02:00

Bafana Bafana has not been performing well lately. They failed to qualify for the African Cup of Nations and have been going without a win for six consecutive matches. This is worrying considering that Afcon 2013 is around the corner and the 2014 World Cup qualifiers will be starting in June this year. Experienced strikers are needed urgently. Benni McCarthy has proven that he still has what it takes.

According to The Timeslive, Bafana Bafana coach, Pitso Mosimane, “insisted that there is no place for Benni in Bafana Bafana”. It does not make sense to say Benni is not needed while the current strikers are failing to score goals. Mosimane says young players need to be given a chance. This is true. However, there is not enough time to be training strikers at the moment. Only strikers who are able to score goals should play for our national team. If they fail to score they should go back and train harder in the PSL or the National First Division. It would be better if Benni was excluded because there were too many well-honed younger strikers who were better than him. He should not be left out for the sake of giving others a chance even if they do not deliver.

There are players who have played in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers and finals at the age of 40+. Dino Zoff played in the finals at the age of 40 in 1982 and MacDonald Taylor also played in the qualifiers at the age of 46 in 2004 (Wikipedia). Benni is only 34, is still scoring goals and has extensive experience. The decision to sideline him seems to be a personal one and is not in the interest of our national team. Pitso Mosimane should consider bringing him back to Bafana Bafana at least for two years.


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