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| No walking the plank: Gordon Igesund and Roger de Sa |
The first hint of peace came early this morning when Orlando
Pirates coach De Sa told me: "Gordon is one of the good guys. He is a
reasonable person - we talked nicely. My players won't be playing for South
Africa in the friendly against Nigeria. Hats off to Gordon for agreeing on
that.
“We are doing this for the sake of the nation"
Then the call from Igesund: "Roger and I talked
sensibly. I felt I couldn't pick a squad without any Pirates after their
historic 3-0 win over Al Ahly. I knew this situation could arise, but once we'd
talked about what South Africa needs, we agreed to go without the Buccaneers.
“We have a friendly
against Nigeria. For Pirates, the home game against Zamalek is the game of
their lives. But Roger didn’t demand their release, he requested it. I thank
him for that.
“There are times when you have to put the best interests of
the nation first."
And there it was. Sorted. For the good of the game. And all on my radio show BOLLOCKZ
an hour before the official announcement. Pirates, fresh from that historic 3-0
win over the African champions in Egypt, will save their players on the 14th
for their clash with Zamalek on the 17th at the Orlando Stadium.
A second successive win over the Pharoahs will all but
secure their place in the top half of Group A. Senzo Meyiwa, Thabo Matlaba,
Andile Jali, Oupa Manyisa, Thandani Ntshumayelo and Daine Klate will NOT run
the risk of injury which could derail the quest for a second star to follow the
now-legendary 1995 success.
Igesund, meanwhile, will have to put Jali's international comeback
on hold for Nigeria at the Moses Mabhida in Durban on the 14th. He already knew
Mandela Day - which sees the rugby Springboks play Argentina too - would be
staged against Burkina Faso on the 17th at Soccer City without Roger’s Sea Robbers.
Having already picked a squad of 28 – Gordon knew he would also
have to do without his overseas contingent for the second game – Igesund has
called up SuperSport United’s pair of former Swallows Bennett Chenene and David
Mathebula as reinforcements following the Pirates announcement.
What’s refreshing about this situation is that there was no
war of words as their might have been when club and country fall out in Europe.
No Sir Alex Ferguson declaring Manchester United players with mysterious
injuries, no aggrieved England coach crying foul.
That two men under such huge pressure can come to an
amicable agreement is a real boost for South African football – especially when
you consider Igesund MUST win his final World Cup qualifier against Botswana in
Durban on September 7 to stand any chance of qualifying for Brazil 2014.
Igesund, who is relying on Ethiopia to drop points against
the Central African Republic in Bangui, said: “Look Neal, I had to pick the
best squad I could. That’s my job. I always knew I would lose nine players
after the Nigeria game. Now I’m only losing three – with Chenene and Mathebula
coming in.
“I did call
(goalkeeper) Darren Keet’s agent in Belgium and asked if he’d be
available for the Mandela Sports day game on
the 17th but it’s not a FIFA date and his club (KV Kortrijk) are
in action that weekend. But to be honest, I was going to start with Itumeleng
Khune for both games anyway.”
Speaking on my www.ballz.co.za
show BOLLOCKZ! (see video below), Roger said: “Gordon understood where I was
coming from. We have a good working relationship. Common sense prevailed.”
BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 10am-noon. You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal & Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za. A shorter version of THIS story will be published in The New Age on Tuesday.
BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice!
Indeed football is the winner. I have a slight fear though, that this might open up an unwanted situation or mindset that coaches can pull players off at anytime esp during crucial PSL/cup matches.
ReplyDeleteI hope that all coaches can see that GI and RDS did this bcz OPFC have 'national duty' to honour. So I would hate to see the likes of Clinton Larson saying 'if we were OPFC, KCFC or MSFC we would have been allowed to pull (referring to this instance).
I am proudly S. African thanx to these guys.
Thanx for a great piece Neal. @tebatsol