Iniesta in my pocket: Dean Furman |
DEAN FURMAN was in the passport control queue when I got
hold of him last week after South Africa’s epic 1-0 win over world champions
Spain.
With the new FIFA rankings out on Thursday, 61st-placed
Bafana are expected to move up in the world, but for the 25-year-old Cape
Town-born midfielder, this was simply: “One of the highlights of my career. A
night I’ll never forget.”
Speaking on my football show BOLLOCKZ! on www.ballz.co.za, Furman laughed loudly when I
suggested he had to allow Barcelona great Andres Iniesta out of his pocket for
a second-half substitution.
Furman marshalled the World Cup winning Spaniards with some
authority and Iniesta – scorer of the winning goal in the final at Soccer City
in 2010 – was unable to repeat his heroics at the same stadium with Oupa Manyisa and Andile Jali creating a dynamic midfield trio for the first time.
With Furman and Bongani Khumalo playing for Doncaster Rovers
and striker Tokelo Rantie now at Bournemouth, South Africa’s epic victory
sparked interested in England too with Furman admitting: “Everone is talking
about Bafana now. I’m still scratching my head about how we actually did it but
in all honesty we played very well on the night.
“We had a game plan, we sat back and let the Spanish have it
in their own half and when they came into ours, we pressed them, tried to catch
them on the counter. We’ve got some great players going forward, with real
pace.
“We knew that would cause them some problems on the night.
“Up against Alonso, Iniesta, Busquets, then Mata and
Cazorla, it didn’t get an easier the whole night but it was a great spectacle,
great to come up with a win.
“Against players like that you have to raise your game.
Their movement off the ball is spectacular, they’re so clever. Communicating
with each other was vital.
“It was unbelievable.
For a very proud nation, there have been some disappointments, going out on
penalties in the AFCON, not qualifying for the World Cup.
“This was a victory for the fans, the nation. The supporters
were all coming up to thank us. It was a great moment for everyone. We can
really build from here.”
Furman, who scored before being sent off in his first game
back with Doncaster against Yeovil last Friday, grinned: “It’s been a crazy
week Neal, great to get a goal and three points but gutted to get my first red!”
BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 9am. See the Ballz channel on www.YouTube.com for our growing collection of interviews with the big names in South African football.
You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.
BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice and how we are doing in using @thumperpigeon's R5,000 to make money for the Ball's charity WINGZ OF CHANGE.
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