Mokoena returns as Bafana capt

2006-05-02 20:09

Johannesburg - Blackburn Rovers defender Aaron Mokoena will captain South Africa again after refusing to play at the African Nations Cup finals in Egypt earlier this year, caretaker coach Pitso Mosimane said on Tuesday.

Mokoena pulled out of the squad for the tournament in January after he was replaced as captain by previous coach Ted Dumitru.

He said he had refused to play under the veteran Romanian because of the way he was replaced as captain in a vote instituted by the coach before Mokoena had had a chance to join up with his teammates in early January.

Mosimane said he had persuaded Mokoena to make a return for the side in the Cosafa Cup mini-tournament in Botswana later this month.

"I have spoken at length to him ands he has agreed that he'd like to come back and play," Mosimane told Reuters.

Mosimane is to finalise his squad for the tournament on Friday but said he was delighted at Mokoena's agreement to play.

"He has the experience and he is still a key figure for our team in the future," he said.

South Africa, who host the 2010 World Cup finals, lost all three of their matches at the Nations Cup finals and play for the first time since the tournament in a friendly against Lesotho in Maseru on May 10.

Mosimane said the match would serve as a warm-up for the tournament in Botswana, part of the annual southern African championship.

South Africa play Swaziland in Gaborone on May 20 and will compete again the next day against either Botswana or Madagascar.

Mokoena, 25, has won 55 caps for his country, 14 of them as captain. Mosimane takes charge of the side for the first time on May 10 but has been installed as caretaker only until the selection of a permanent coach for the 2010 World Cup, due to be made in the next few months.

- Reuters