Bafana at crossroads

2008-01-23 13:51

Accra - Bafana Bafana soccer coach Carlos Alberto Parreira often speaks about destiny as if he has some sentimental claim to the word.

Well, his team's destiny will hinge heavily on Wednesday's all-important Africa Cup of Nations Group D encounter with their southern African counterparts Angola at Tamale Stadium.

This match has been touted as the platform to set South Africa back on the comeback trail.

Angola's Black Antelopes will be tough nuts to crack and are a tricky hurdle for Bafana to scale, being blessed with players such as Flavio Amado, who turns out for Egyptian giants Al Ahly, and strike partner, Manucho Goncalves, who is reportedly headed for Manchester United.

Parreira is aware his team's performance needs to give credence to the belief that South African soccer is indeed at the crossroads. A good showing by the squad will attract new admirers to their cause.

Parreira believes his team is pregnant with possibilities, but all will be revealed around 23:00 on Wednesday. Parreira has warned the rest of the continent to underestimate his charges at their peril.

Watch out for him

Having coached in Ghana during the initial periods of his career, the conditions in Tamale will be familiar for Parreira.

The Brazilian-born guru waxes lyrical about his newly discovered gem Teko Modise of Orlando Pirates, telling scribes to watch out for him. But with little international experience under his belt, Modise may struggle to perform.

One man who holds the trump card for South Africa's hopes is Sibusiso Zuma, who no doubt will come under close scrutiny by the Angolans.

Having hit the target in both Bafana's last two games, Zuma travelled to Ghana a rejuvenated player.

It is still not clear whether Parreira will stick to using Zuma as sole striker or will have Thembinkosi Fanteni or Surprise Moriri accompanying the Armenia Bielefeld target-man upfront.

Parreira may be forced to rethink his 4-5-1 formation against a side of the calibre of Angola, not good at defending, but dangerous on the counter.

Uproot seeds of doubt

There are those who believe Bafana will not cut it, and utterances by senior players of 'just going there to enjoy ourselves' may not engender confidence.

Self-doubt about the team during former coach Stuart Baxter's time proved toxic until Parreira arrived. The new coach vowed to uproot any seeds of doubt with a positive approach about Bafana's destiny.

There is incentive enough for the players to do well, win the title and become R500 000 richer.

A win over Angola tonight will reduce any unnecessary pressure for later battles against Tunisia and Senegal.

A cautious warning: Angola topped their group having lost only once in six qualifying games, and all this talk of destiny may come to nothing if Bafana don't step up to the plate.

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- Kickoff