Mokoena drops a bombshell
2006-01-05 21:32
Billy Cooper
Johannesburg - Former Bafana Bafana skipper Aaron Mokoena dropped a bombshell on Thursday, announcing that he would not be travelling to Egypt with the
national team to play in the African Nations Cup finals this month.
And Mokoena would not be available for selection for the national team
while Ted Dumitru is head coach of Bafana.
Mokoena is upset at the way Dumitru replaced him with Sibusiso Zuma as captain this week.
Players were asked to vote on a captain for the continental showpiece and picked Zuma.
Mokoena arrived in Johannesburg on Wednesday to a storm. He feels he has been badly treated by Dumitru after years of service to his country as a player and captain. He says he has made sacrifices and has always put his county first.
Mokoena said: "I find it hard to accept when I read in the media that coach Dumitru did not know when I was arriving in camp. In the third week of December I informed team manager Barney Kujane that I would be released by Blackburn Rovers after January 2.
"I arrived on Wednesday and if Rovers wanted they could have insisted I only join on January 8 according to Fifa rules."
"Either there is a communication problem in the set-up or Dumitru is not telling the media the truth, because Safa officials met me at the airport. If they knew I was arriving, it is strange the coach did not know of my travel plans."
He said he had expected Dumitru to call him after taking charge of Bafana to outline his plans: "If he felt I was not up to the job as captain surely the decent,
professional thing would be tell me face to face. Yet there was a ballot for a new captain on Tuesday - the day before I arrived - and I was not given the chance to vote."
Wished the new skipper all the best
Mokoena stressed that he wished new skipper Sibusiso Zuma all the best for the future.
Dumitru said at training on Thursday he did not know where Mokoena was. "I wish I knew where he was. He arrived in Joburg on Wednesday and asked for permission to visit his family. We agreed. He was told to be back in camp at 19:00 on Wednesday, but he has not returned."
The Bafana squad, minus Mokoena, travelled to Durban on Thursday afternoon for Friday's farewell match against a PSL XI in Durban.
Dumitru was upset, but said he would wait and see what explanation the Blackburn star offered. He added that he would not be making any attempt to phone the player known as "Mbazo".
Dumitru said: "The days of national coaches going on their bended knees to beg players to play are over. The responsibility here is for the player to report back to camp.
"He could have been involved in an accident. I do not know. But I want to state that I am not running a school football team," he said.
- Daily Sun