Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso - The road to redemption for Shakes Mashaba got a little rocky here on Thursday, the Bafana Bafana coach admitting that the absence of striker Tokelo Rantie, who has failed to turn up for the national team’s Group D opening 2018 World Cup qualifier against Burkina Faso at the Stade du 4 Aout on Saturday, has left him with less options upfront for a game he must win.
Mashaba is being closely watched by his bosses at the SA Football Association following a disastrous and unsuccessful qualification campaign for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Gabon. The 66-year-old starts afresh this weekend, so to speak, but will go into battle without a key player he has often backed in the midst of a barrage of criticism even when the one-time record signing at Bournemouth was left out of the English Premier League side’s roster for the second half of the 2015/16 season.
Rantie, Mashaba confirmed, showed no interest in being part of a team that will face The Stallions in search of three very crucial points.
“We sent a call-up letter to the club (Genclerbirligi in Turkey) and they released him. Our team manager (Barney Kujane) then made follow ups as he needed his passport to arrange the visa and he was not picking up his phone. Eventually we got hold of Tokelo’s sister after asking for help from his club, and he was at home sleeping,” Mashaba explained.
“He then agreed to come to camp, but never turned up physically. I don’t want him to think I am punishing him for whatever he has done in the past, but I cannot condone the behaviour of a player who fails to report for camp. He is a good player and, to be honest, when you have Tokelo in the striking department you always know he is going to rattle the opposition. Not that he would have walked straight into the line-up, but I have often told him that he can be the best striker in South Africa if he gets his act together.
“With this situation, I would like to wash my hands and leave it to the association because the CEO (Dennis Mumble) is up to date with all the necessary information.”
Mashaba now only has Thamsanqa Gabuza, Eleazar Rodgers and Thobani Mncwango as out-and-out strikers to pick from for Saturday night’s massive encounter, with Sibusiso Vilakazi and Thulani Serero often used just behind the big forwards in previous matches. The coach said he did not want to use the unavailability of such an important player, especially during his tenure, as an excuse for anything other than a win against Burkina Faso.
“I always say that in the absence of the best, make the worst the best. We have got four or five strikers in the team. Yes, here and there we will miss Tokelo, but we are ready and the guys that are here will definitely do the job for us,” Mashaba said.
When Mashaba gave this interview, Bafana had only managed a single training session since they left South Africa on Tuesday afternoon, flying to Accra, Ghana for a pit stop, then settling in Abidjan, Ivory Coast for one night before finally arriving in Ouagadougou on Wednesday day afternoon. Questions will be asked about whether Safa put a price on the all-important opening World Cup qualifier by not using a chartered flight, which would have ensured the national team get in a few more training sessions before making their way here for Saturday night’s game.
“We don’t want to come up with excuses that we didn’t do this or that, but this is not acceptable. We wasted two days on the road without training. It was hectic for the players and that is why we even settled on an artificial field so that we could try and work,” the coach explained. “We looked at them and their legs were heavy. We had one session at home and we realised we need more because the guys looked a bit sluggish and some were fatigued. I did indicate that I am worried about the physical attributes of the Burkinabe players because of players like Aristide Bance, who was on trial at Bidvest Wits and eventually signed for Chippa United. But with (Mulomowandau) Mathoho in defence, that is half solved, but we should be aware of other players as well.”
@superjourno
@extrastrongsa
The Star