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SA ditch Benni for Nations Cup
30/11/2007 16:27 - (SA)
Johannesburg - South Africa have ditched star striker Benni McCarthy for the 2008 African Nations Cup in Ghana.
Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira also dumped first choice defender Bradley Carnell and midfielders Delron Buckley and Macbeth Sibaya from a 23-man squad named here on Friday.
Parreira, coach of the 1994 Brazil World Cup-winning team, refused to reveal why a footballer he had battled to get back into a goal-shy Bafana Bafana (The Boys) squad was suddenly surplus to requirements.
The coach who has been in charge of South Africa since March said he had not informed McCarthy of English Premiership club Blackburn Rovers that he would not be going to the biennial African football showcase.
Struck a deal with Mark Hughes
Rumours swirled around the five-star hotel where the squad was named as to why the joint leading Bafana scorer with 29 goals had not made a squad to be captained by Blackburn team-mate, defender-cum-midfielder Aaron Mokoena.
Some observers suspected South Africa struck a deal with Blackburn manager Mark Hughes to leave McCarthy out as Premiership clubs brace for a mass exodus of stars for the January 20 to February 10 tournament in west Africa.
When Parreira took over charged with building a strong squad for the 2010 World Cup hosts, his first serious challenge was to woo temperamental McCarthy out of self-imposed retirement since the 2006 Nations Cup in Egypt.
Wrongly accused by officials
Benni, who burst into prominence by scoring nine goals at the 1998 Nations Cup in Burkina Faso to help South Africa finish second, claimed he was wrongly accused by national association officials for stirring a bonuses storm.
Parreira eventually got his way after a five-minute meeting in England and McCarthy scored on his return against Zambia in Cape Town two months ago to draw level at the top of the goals list with retired Shaun Bartlett.
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