Igesund pleased with player progress
Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund says
he is happy with the progress of his overseas-based players.
Igesund is getting ready to announce his
squad for the friendly international against Brazil in Sao Paulo on September
7, his first match in charge of the team after taking over from Pitso Mosimane.
Among the players singled out for praise
are Kagisho Dikgacoi, Dean Furman, Bongani Khumalo and Kamohelo Mokotjo.
Due to time constraints and a tight
schedule, Igesund has not managed to go and physically watch players who ply
their trade overseas, especially in Europe and has been forced to monitor them
from home.
And after learning of Dikgacoi’s storming
performance for Crystal Palace in their match against Second Division side
Exeter City in the League Cup, the Bafana coach said he was encouraged by
performances and progress of overseas players and also by the report back from
their respective managers.
The former Golden Arrows midfielder
scored Palace’s winner with a header just before half-time in a 2-1 victory
over Exeter to progress to the next round.
Apart from the burly midfielder’s
sterling show, Igesund said he had also monitored and continued to follow the
likes of Oldham Athletic captain Furman who played a key role when Athletic
defeated English champions Manchester City in a recent friendly match.
Both Bongani Khumalo who recently moved
to Greek side PAOK and Mokotjo who plays for Dutch giants Feyenoord had also
received the attention of the wily coach who insists he is merely monitoring
potential candidates for the Bafana place.
“Not everyone being observed will
automatically get called to the national team. This is a normal exercise in the
name of fairness that I assess as many players as possible,” added the Bafana
coach.
“Having said that, I must admit that I
am generally happy with what I have seen from most of these players. It gives
me a fantastic headache because I will have a bigger pool on which to choose
from,” said Igesund.
Igesund said not only was he happy with
the progress of the overseas-based players but was also encouraged by the form
of many of the players in the domestic league.
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