Mninawa Ntloko
13 November 2009
Johannesburg — RETURNING national soccer team coach Carlos Alberto Parreira will bear the burden of high expectations when Bafana Bafana host Japan at Port Elizabeth's Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium tomorrow afternoon.
The return of the World Cup- winning coach and his decision to recall the player South Africans love to hate -- Benni McCarthy -- have served to heighten interest in a fixture that barely raised eyebrows when it was first announced by the South African Football Association a few weeks ago.
This will be Parreira's first match at the helm since resuming a job he vacated 18 months ago due to his wife's ill-health, and erasing his predecessor Joel Natalino Santana's ghost -- the vilified Santana presided over a shocking run of eight defeats from nine matches before his sacking last month -- will be his immediate goal.
Parreira is well aware that while this is only a friendly match, these are desperate times and a victory will be priceless in his attempt to rebuild shattered confidence.
Captain Aaron Mokoena said this week the players were desperate to forget Santana's turbulent tenure and begin a new chapter in Port Elizabeth. "We want to move on and we want to forget about the past," Mokoena said.
"Reuniting with Parreira was very good for this team and he is already trying to rebuild the spirit. We have a few months before the World Cup and we will gel again as a team. We have to remain positive and we need the support of the country."
McCarthy ensured that all eyes would be on him tomorrow after he boasted this week that his was a rare talent that was greatly missed during his enforced nine-month absence -- due to disciplinary reasons -- from Bafana.
The outspoken striker -- who can never be accused of being modest -- said while the national team had far more skil ful and talented players than he could ever hope to be, none of them possessed his rare ability to score goals in the blink of an eye.
"I do not need to do what (midfielders) Teko Modise or Siphiwe Tshabalala do with the ball," McCarthy cooed. "But I do not think that they can do what I can do -- that is to score goals."
Midfielders Elrio van Heerden and Daine Klate, and striker Kermit Erasmus will be crossing their fingers that Parreira gives them a run against Japan as they hail from Port Elizabeth.
"It is really nice to be back home, and even better to be playing this match here in my hometown," Van Heerden said. "I hope to get a chance to also show what I can do in front of my home fans."
Mokoena said he expected the Japanese to be a handful and warned that the visitors were capable of ruining Parreira's homecoming.
"We have to keep in mind that they are a very experienced side and they have a lot of quality players in their ranks," Mokoena said.
Bafana will parade a new jersey tomorrow that they will also use during the World Cup next year.
BAFANA BAFANA SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Rowen Fernandez (Arminia Bielefeld), Moeneeb Josephs (Orlando Pirates), Darren Keet (Wits)
Defenders: Bongani Khumalo, Morgan Gould (both SuperSport United), Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa), Aaron Mokoena (Portsmouth), Anele Ngcongca (Genk FC), Siyabonga Sangweni (Golden Arrows), Lucas Thwala (Pirates)
Midfielders: Daylon Classen (Ajax Amsterdam), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Fulham), Daine Klate (SuperSport), Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Siphiwe Tshabalala (both Kaizer Chiefs), Teko Modise (Pirates), Macbeth Sibaya (Ruban Kazan), Elrio van Heerden (Blackburn Rovers), Lance Davids (Ajax Cape Town)
Strikers: Kermit Erasmus (SBV Excelsior Rotterdam), Katlego Mphela (Sundowns), Benni McCarthy (Blackburn), Bernard Parker (FC Twente), Richard Henyekane (Arrows).
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