Kickoff (Cape Town)
19 November 2008
Bafana Bafana midfielder and recently-crowned champion of Russia Macbeth Sibaya says next year's Confederations Cup holds the key to South Africa's future international success.
"We have kept getting better the longer Joel Santana has been in the job. The Confederations Cup next season will be key in determining how far we have come," Sibaya says in an exclusive interview with Kick Off in Russia.
Sibaya was bubbling with confidence when Kick Off visited him just after his side, Rubin Kazan, clinched the Russian League title for the first time in their history.
He is confident, too, of South Africa building on their recent success by getting a win over Cameroon in tonight's Nelson Mandela Challenge match in Rustenburg.
Victory would mean Bafana equal their all-time run of four consecutive victories, underscoring the recent upswing in from under Santana.
But for Sibaya, Saturday's Fifa Confederations Cup draw is just as important, as it will decide which teams Bafana Bafana face in next year's tournament.
"We have to have a good Confederations Cup and get out of our group at least," Sibaya says. "Even I will be a little bit worried if we don't!"
A good tournament will boost confidence in Bafana's ability to at least be competitive hosts during the 2010 World Cup - a "once in a lifetime chance," Sibaya calls it - and avoid the embarrassment of being the first host nation that fails to get past the group stages.
"We don't want to be the team that goes down in history as the first not to get past the groups," the former Jomo Cosmos midfielder says.
Read the full interview with Sibaya in the next edition of Kick Off , on sale December 1!
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