International Football
South Africa’s Coach, Baxter, Faces Dilemma over Captain
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
South Africa’s new manager is apparently facing a dilemma as he prepares a team to face the Super Eagles side that had always gotten a better result in previous encounters. Apart from not getting to meet his selected side until June 3, – seven days to the match with Nigeria, he is yet to name a skipper for the side.
Also, he still juggling between two jobs as his current contract with SuperSport United runs till June 24. He had to skip the club’s trip to Gabon for a continental assignment so as to concentrate on selecting a side to face Nigeria.
Sports Village Square gathered from reports emanating from South Africa that fans are still unsure of who will be donning the captain’s armband in Uyo, with Baxter having several options available to him.
The South African Football Association website however quoted the coach as saying he already had an idea of who will lead the Bafana Bafana.
He told the media South African media, “I know who the captain is, but I’m not giving it out today because I want the captain to hear it from me face to face and not read it one of the publications.”
Speculations are rife in the South African media that Itumeleng Khune, the goalkeeper of Kaizer Chiefs, is the most likely player to be given the skipper’s armband.
Some others claim he may give it to Dean Furman, the captain of SuperSport United, which he currently handles.
Sports Village Square gathered that other likely candidates include: Thulani Hlatshwayo and Hlompho Kekana – all who are skippers of their clubs.
Baxter is the only coach to have led a squad that first scored and defeated the Super Eagles 13 years ago.
He is quoted as being eager to see his side get off to a winning start and become the only coach of the South African national team to triumph over the Super Eagles twice.
He has named 25 players for the match with Nigeria. He picked only two from his club, Super Sport United which he will still handle till June 24.
There are six Europe-based players in the 25 man squad he has named for the Nigerian match.
He is reported to have recalled midfielder, Bongani Zungu, who is set to play in the Portuguese Cup final on Sunday for Vitoria Guimaraes, and striker Tokelo Rantie, who scored twice in Uyo in the 2-2 draw with Nigeria in November 2014.
“We have players who have been outstanding in the Premier Soccer League the whole season, and we also have continuity with a number of players that SAFA has invested much time in. I believe we have a good mix,” said Baxter, who is back as coach for a second time.
He added: “We have also looked at aerial strength and tried to spread that well throughout the team; it means if we can have good preparation before we go, then we have a squad that is capable of giving Nigeria a good game.”
Bafana Bafana Squad:
Goalkeepers: Darren Keet (Bidvest Wits), Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs), Ronwen Williams (SuperSport United)
Defenders: Rivaldo Coetzee (Ajax Cape Town), Lorenzo Gordinho (Kaizer Chiefs), Sifiso Hlanti, Thulani Hlatshwayo (both Bidvest Wits), Tebego Langerman (Mamelodi Sundowns), Mulomowandau Mathoho (Kaizer Chiefs), Abubakar Mobara (Orlando Pirates), Ramahlwe Mphahlele (Kaizer Chiefs)
Midfielders: Keegan Dolly (Montpellier, France), Dean Furman (SuperSport United), Andile Jali (Oostende, Belgium), Hlompho Kekana (Mamelodi Sundowns), Kamohelo Mokotjo (Twente Enschede, Netherlands), Aubrey Ngoma (Cape Town City), Bongani Zungu (Vitoria Guimaraes, Portugal), Themba Zwane (Mamelodi Sundowns)
Forwards: Kermit Erasmus (Racing Lens, France), Thamsanqa Gabuza (Orlando Pirates), Lebogang Manyama (Cape Town City), Tokelo Rantie (Genclerbirligi, Turkey), Percy Tau, Sibusiso Vilakazi (both Mamelodi Sundowns).
International Football
Former Brazil coach Tite taking break to take care of mental, physical health
Former Brazil coach Tite said he is taking an indefinite career break in order to take care of his mental and physical health.
The 63-year-old, who led Brazil to the 2019 Copa America title, was hospitalised due to a heart issue last August. He was sacked by Flamengo the following month and had most recently been linked with the Corinthians job.
“I realised that there are times when you have to understand that, as a human being, I can be vulnerable and admitting that will certainly make me stronger,” Tite said in a statement posted on his son Matheus Bachi’s Instagram on Tuesday.
“I’m passionate about what I do and I’ll continue to be so, but after talking to my family and observing the signals my body was giving off, I decided that the best thing to do now is to take a break from my career to look after myself for as long as it takes.
“As has become public, there was a conversation in progress with Corinthians, but it will have to be paralysed by a difficult but necessary decision.”
Tite, who stepped down as Brazil coach after their quarter-final exit from the 2022 World Cup, has previously coached a string of Brazilian sides including Gremio, Atletico Mineiro and Palmeiras.
-Reuters
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Brazil have sacked head coach Dorival Jr, the country’s football confederation (CBF) said on Friday after the five-time world champions were thrashed 4-1 away to fierce rivals Argentina in a humiliating qualifying loss in Buenos Aires.
The 62-year-old was appointed in January 2024 after the team spent a year under two caretaker coaches as the Brazilian FA were unable to lure Italian Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid.
“The Brazilian Football Confederation informs that coach Dorival Jr is no longer in charge of the Brazilian national team,” the confederation said in a statement.
“The management thanks (Dorival) and wishes him success in continuing his career … the CBF will work to find his replacement,” it added.
Dorival was handed the job after his success with Flamengo in 2022 where he won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Cup, a trophy he lifted again the next year with Sao Paulo.
However, he never seemed to get to grips with the national team job and failed to earn the trust of Brazil’s demanding fans after winning only seven of his 16 games in charge.
Sources told Reuters the CBF was not confident in Dorival’s work, considering there had been little to no progress since a lacklustre Copa America campaign when Brazil were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Uruguay last year.
Still, the CBF was willing to wait and see until the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June to reassess the situation following the end of the European season and the Club World Cup in the U.S. in June and July.
But after Brazil slumped to their heaviest-ever loss in a qualifier when they were thrashed by Argentina this week, CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues decided to pull the trigger.
IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sources told Reuters Ancelotti was still the ideal candidate but he is under contract with Real until July 2026 and there is no indication he would leave the European and Spanish champions.
Brazilian media have reported that Al Hilal’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus is the favourite to replace Dorival.
Brazil have been in unfamiliar territory for over two years since crashing out of the 2022 World Cup against Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals, a heartbreaking elimination that led to the exit of long-time manager Tite.
Their humbling defeat in Buenos Aires was the latest of a series of negative records Brazil have set under caretakers Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz and with Dorival in charge. They had never conceded four goals in a World Cup qualifier.
Brazil are in the midst of their worst-ever World Cup qualifying campaign. They are fourth in the South American standings with 21 points, a point above sixth-placed Colombia who currently occupy the final direct qualifying berth.
Never have Brazil lost so many games, conceded so many goals or set so many negative records in the qualifying competition. They have lost five of their 14 games and conceded 16 goals.
Brazil’s 1-0 defeat by Argentina in the Maracana late in 2023 was their first-ever qualifying loss on home soil.
They also lost to Colombia for the first time, saw the end of their unbeaten run against Uruguay stretching back over two decades and were defeated by Morocco and Senegal, having never previously lost to an African nation.
-Reuters
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International Football
England’s German manager Tuchel will not sing the English anthem in his first game
England manager Thomas Tuchel said he would have to “earn the right” to sing the national anthem, God Save the King, after announcing his 26-man squad on Friday ahead of the team’s World Cup qualifiers.
Tuchel, who was appointed as Gareth Southgate’s successor in October and named his first squad to face Albania and Latvia this month, said he would not sing the anthem in his first games in charge.
“It means a lot to me, I can assure you, but I can feel that because it is so meaningful and it is so emotional and it is so powerful, the national anthem, that I have to earn my right to sing it,” the 51-year-old German told a news conference.
Former caretaker manager Lee Carsley was criticised last year for not singing the anthem during his tenure.
However, Tuchel added that while he is proud to be in charge of the team and knows the words to the anthem, he plans to earn the right with results.
“Maybe I have to dive more into the culture and earn my right from you, from the players, from the supporters, so everyone feels like ‘he should sing it now, he’s one of our own, he’s the English manager, he should sing it’,” he said.
-Reuters
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