Brad Morgan
5 September 2007
As Benni McCarthy returned to the Bafana Bafana fold, South African football lost a potential 2010 World Cup star when it was revealed that Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Gift Leremi had been killed in a car accident on Monday night.
McCarthy, true to his word, arrived in South Africa on Tuesday to join the Bafana Bafana squad in preparation for Sunday's final African Cup of Nations qualifier against Zambia in Cape Town. Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira's charges need only a draw to advance to Angola 2008.
McCarthy touched down a day earlier than expected and practiced with the Bafana squad at the University of the Western Cape on Tuesday afternoon, drawing a number of fans, students, and media representatives to view the goings-on.
For McCarthy, it is a return to the city where he first made his mark. As an 18-year-old, he shone for Seven Stars, netting 37 goals in 29 games in the 1995-96 season.
Squad
arrivals
The arrival of the Blackburn Rovers striker left only the Aalborg pair of Siyabonga Nomvethe and Benedict Vilakazi to join the squad. Otherwise, Parreira has a full squad at his disposal, although Bradley Carnell was unwell and failed to take part in training on Tuesday.
Reporters were not able to speak to McCarthy, but a press conference was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at which the player would be made available to the media.
The striker is expected to bring a cutting edge to Bafana Bafana's attack and, with goal-scoring having revealed itself as the team's most pressing weakness, the addition of the country's acknowledged number one goal scorer is good news indeed for a squad that is beginning to show some familiarity; it appears that Parreira has identified his best players and is now working on building an experienced team for the 2010 World Cup.
African Cup of Nations
Sunday's match, however, is
about the African Cup of Nations, a tournament which takes place next year.
Thanks to a miserly defence that has conceded only one goal in five matches, South Africa is top of its qualifying group, with 11 points from three wins and two draws, while Zambia is in second place, with eight points after two wins, two draws, and a loss.
Bafana Bafana has a positive goal difference of eight, while the Zambians' goal difference is four. That gives South Africa some leeway; even if Chipolopolo wins, it will still need to win comfortably, by at least three goals, to wipe out its inferior goal difference.
Strong Zambian squad
The Zambians have selected a strong squad for the showdown, filled with players well known to South African soccer fans. A number of players who previously plied their trade in the PSL are in the line-up, including strikers Christopher Katongo, and Collins Mbesuma, and midfielder Isaac Chansa.
In Katongo and Mbesuma, the Zambians boast two players who have topped the PSL goal-scoring charts in the past.
Among those currently playing their football in South Africa are Moroka Swallows' striker Songwe Chalwe, Golden Arrows' defender Joseph Musondo, and Free State Stars' goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene.
After Bafana Bafana's clash with Zambia on Sunday, the team will be in action again at Ellis Park on Wednesday, 12 September, when it tackles Uruguay in a friendly. The South Americans, ranked twenty-first in the world, are sure to provide the kind of stiff test that coach Parreira wants for his side.
Untimely passing
On a sad note, highly regarded Mamelodi Sundowns' playmaker Gift Leremi was killed in a motorcar accident on Monday night. He was expected to challenge for a place in the Bafana Bafana squad for the 2010 World Cup.
His death, ironically, came on Lesley Manyathela's birthday; the former Orlando Pirates' marksman, who would have been 26 on Monday, died in August 2003, also in a car accident.
Leremi joined the Buccaneers in 1999 and emerged as a key player during the club's PSL title winning season in 2002/03. He earned a number of Bafana Bafana caps, but off the field problems dogged his development.
It appeared that, with his move to Sundowns this season, he was getting his career back on track, and he was in good form in early season games for the Brazilians.
Unfortunately, SA soccer fans won't get to see Leremi deliver on his potential when the country hosts the 2010 World Cup.
Squad to face Zambia and Uruguay
Goalkeepers: Rowen Fernandez, Calvin Marlin
Defenders: Vuyo Mere, Cyril Nzama, Benson Mhlongo, Nasief Morris, Aaron Mokoena, Bevan Fransman, Bradley Carnell, Brett Evans
Midfielders: Steven Pienaar, Papi Zothwane, Surprise Moriri, Siyabonga Nkosi, Benedict Vilakazi, Delron Buckley, Teko Modise, MacBeth Sibaya, Dillon Sheppard
Strikers: Benedict McCarthy, Thembikosi Fanteni, Siyabonga Nomvethe
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