canso Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Article cut and pasted from FIFA.COM. Is there anyne sending an A team to this bloody tournament? 2010 FIFA World Cup hosts South Africa are one of the two countries invited to participate in this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup in the USA. The tournament, scheduled for July, has traditionally invited two teams from outside the confederation to take part, in the same way the Copa America has also sought to increase its field with teams from outside the CONMEBOL region. For South Africa coach Stuart Baxter, participation in the tournament in America falls perfectly into his long term goal of building towards the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals, where South Africa not only want to prove the perfect hosts but also be competitive on the pitch as well. The coach sees this July’s tournament in the USA as a perfect opportunity for much-needed improvement. “In terms of development for 2010, and even 2006, this is a great experience and a great learning curve for us,” he said. However, the competition comes at a difficult time for the players and makes Baxter’s selection process a difficult one. The tournament’s timing falls squarely in the holiday period for the majority of South Africa’s first-choice players, all of whom play abroad in Europe. Finding the right balance for Bafana But Baxter says he is still hopeful that he will be able select a strong squad for the CONCACAF tournament. “I’ve had a long talk with the players,” he remarked. “Their motivation to play is what is going to drive my squad selection but I’m confident that I’ll have most of my star performers available to me.” “Obviously it is also a chance to get a closer look at some of the players who are on the fringes of the national squad,” he went on to add. “Sometimes there has to be a little trade-off between results and development but obviously we don’t want to go there to lose any games,” insisted Baxter. “We will have results uppermost in our minds but we are prepared to trade-off a little for the sake of development. This is a tournament of such significance that we don’t want to be trading off too much because we don’t want to embarrass South Africa and we want to be fair to the tournament and the other teams participating in it.” “But it will be a great experience for the players’ international careers and they know that too. That’s why I have had such an exciting response from them.” Excitement aside, South Africa have been handed a tough draw for the first round of the tournament. No cakewalk in Group C South Africa are paired with Mexico, Jamaica and Guatemala and will have to travel to Los Angeles and Houston for their group matches. They begin against Mexico in Carson, California on 8 July, evoking memories of two heavy hidings suffered at the hands of the CONCACAF Gold Cup defending champions in clashes past. The South Africans were beaten 4-0 by Mexico in a friendly in Los Angeles 12 years ago and then lost to them again 4-2 at the U.S. Cup in Dallas in 2000. Bafana will then play Jamaica at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum on 10 July, before moving to the Reliant Stadium in Houston for the last Group C game against Guatemala three days later. South Africa have met Jamaica twice before and drawn both matches. Their last meeting was a goalless draw in Cape Town two years ago. But Guatemala will be an unknown quantity. South Africa’s invitation to participate in the CONCACAF Gold Cup came as a result of the close ties between CONCACAF president Jack Warner and South Africa’s 2010 FIFA World Cup bid, which CONCACAF vociferously supported. Colombia are drawn with Honduras, Panama and Trinidad & Tobago in group A while in group B hosts USA face Canada, Costa Rica and Cuba. The Gold Cup final is scheduled for Giants Stadium near New York on 24 July. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Yeah, I think there is going to be a build-up of thiese type of articles so that when the final rosters are released the disapointment from the fans will not be too great. CONCACAF has obviously not released the Preliminary rosters filed three weeks ago because of the negative effect on ticket sales and other promotion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canso Posted May 31, 2005 Author Share Posted May 31, 2005 Well it's too late for me to back out. Suppose if I drink enough Sandro Grande will look like Iain Hume. Any point hoping that this is good news and that we will still send our A squad to kick everyone else's B team butts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beaver Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 quote:Originally posted by canso Well it's too late for me to back out. Suppose if I drink enough Sandro Grande will look like Iain Hume. Any point hoping that this is good news and that we will still send our A squad to kick everyone else's B team butts? I get the impression that this will be a B+ team, with a smattering of young A-talent mixed in with the B (primarily domestic). I'd expect Kluka, Simpson and Nsaliwa to be there, and I thought Hume was a definite. I hope to see Stalteri and Deguzman, but these two are probably doubtfuls. Mind you, Larry doesn't usually miss a call up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canso Posted May 31, 2005 Author Share Posted May 31, 2005 Suppose it's not all bad news then. Be interesting to see how the B+ Bafana Bafana fares. No names mentioned in the article but they A team would usually have: Bartlett or Benni in attack with Buckley and Zuma on the wings, Pienaar and Sibaya in midfield, Fortune and Nzama as fullbacks and OJ Mabizela anchoring the backline. Always entertaining to watch and glad to have an African team in the tournamant for variety. Hope we get 'em in the semis! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zacRWE Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 what about Lucas Radebe?? think he will make the team, or did he retire from soccer? Who are there keeps? I know Hans Vonk (Ajax) and Ardenise (not sure of his spelling, dont know what club). I think the South Africans will come to compete, knowing that they played poorly in the nations cup and that they are the wc hosts in 2010. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canso Posted June 1, 2005 Author Share Posted June 1, 2005 Radebe, Fish and "Shoes" Moshoeu, all heroes of the ANC winners in 96 are all retired now. Andre Arendse appears to be first choice keeper instead of Hans Vonk, who looks like Van der Saar but plays like Roy Carroll. Of the next generation, Pienaar of Ajax is the best of the bunch. Kid named Jaba Pule was touted as the next big thing few years back, but haven't heard much of him since. Should be an entertaining tournament despite the lack of credible first choice rosters seen so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Concacaf Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 Here's their roster for the upcoming qualifier vs. Cape Verde Islands on Jun 4. Don't know what happened to Andre Arendse, he hasn't played in any of the qualifiers. Goalkeepers: Calvin Marlin (SuperSport Utd), Hans Vonk (Ajax/NED) Defenders: Siboniso Gaxa and Ricardo Katza (SuperSport), Lucky Lekgwathi (Orlando Pirates), Mbulelo Mabizela (Valerenga/NOR), Aaron Mokoena (Blackburn/ENG, capt), Nasief Morris (Panathinaikos/GRE), Thabiso Rammile (Mamelodi Sundowns) Midfielders: Elrio van Heerden and Sibusiso Zuma (FC Copenhagen/DEN), Delron Buckley (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Benson Mhlongo (Wits University), Steven Pienaar (Ajax/NED), Benedict Vilakazi (Pirates), Arthur Zwane (Kaizer Chiefs) Strikers: Benni McCarthy (FC Porto/POR), Lerato Chabangu (Sundowns), Katlego Mphela (Strasbourg/FRA) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canso Posted June 1, 2005 Author Share Posted June 1, 2005 I just love pronouncing the names! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Boy Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Joe Concacaf Arthur Zwane (Kaizer Chiefs) Kaizer Cheifs are playing sunday night at the Commodore with the Caesars. I predict a riot!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desigol Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Joe Concacaf Here's their roster for the upcoming qualifier vs. Cape Verde Islands on Jun 4. Don't know what happened to Andre Arendse, he hasn't played in any of the qualifiers. Goalkeepers: Calvin Marlin (SuperSport Utd), Hans Vonk (Ajax/NED) Defenders: Siboniso Gaxa and Ricardo Katza (SuperSport), Lucky Lekgwathi (Orlando Pirates), Mbulelo Mabizela (Valerenga/NOR), Aaron Mokoena (Blackburn/ENG, capt), Nasief Morris (Panathinaikos/GRE), Thabiso Rammile (Mamelodi Sundowns) Midfielders: Elrio van Heerden and Sibusiso Zuma (FC Copenhagen/DEN), Delron Buckley (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Benson Mhlongo (Wits University), Steven Pienaar (Ajax/NED), Benedict Vilakazi (Pirates), Arthur Zwane (Kaizer Chiefs) Strikers: Benni McCarthy (FC Porto/POR), Lerato Chabangu (Sundowns), Katlego Mphela (Strasbourg/FRA) And oh My God, I can't believe it, I've never been this Far away from Home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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