BBK UNPLUGGED | There’s wisdom in Zwane’s curious Bafana case - TimesLIVE
In a country where clubism (that weird behaviour by fans who see the national team through club-coloured lenses) reigns supreme, it is little surprising some parts of the public commentary that greeted the Bafana Bafana final squad centred on Themba Zwane.
No squad announcement is ever enveloped by unanimity.
There’s never been consensus on all the call-ups. The 30 men Pitso Mosimane has selected for the first game of his second coming are not an exception. It has elicited various views from the fan base.
To be fair, most choices have been warmly welcomed. Few have debated Puso Dithejane’s well-deserved inclusion. There’s nothing to argue against. The 22-year-old’s selection is a just reward for him, on the back of a blazing form, churning out sizzling showings for Chicago Fire in the US.
Dithejane is a genuine gem hopefully set to earn his maiden cap for his country against Guinea at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
Relebohile Mofokeng’s inclusion is a no-brainer. Sharpeville’s finest son is a sensation in his Belgian environment. Since Royale Union Saint-Gilloise became his home two months ago, he’s producing performances that make a mockery of Hugo Broos’s warped prediction it will take him at least six months to start playing.
In previous columns. I’ve mentioned players like Ime Okon, Olwethu Makhanya, Thapelo Maseko (all below 22) and Shandre Campbell, who at 19 is the baby of the team.
Our brightest boys are becoming men in the fast lane of foreign fields, honing their skills in Germany, Scotland, Denmark and Belgium. They have not been exposed to combustible cauldrons.
Which brings me to the curious case of Zwane, whose name creates a commotion around Bafana. Broos was questioned for omitting him until Zwane forced himself into the team.
Questions have again arisen after Mosimane chose him. At 37, the Mamelodi Sundowns skipper would be the first to admit his days as a 90-minute man are behind him and his form has not scraped the sky lately.
While form is the primary criterion for selection, there are other factors a coach like Mosimane considers in composing his team. Zwane’s playing time may be minimal. It is what he offers off the field that is maximal and beneficial to the squad.
Your blood pressure will shoot up if you see Zwane as the heartbeat of Bafana. That is a role he has relinquished to Mofokeng, whom Mosimane appears to have chosen as the chief creative fountain to offset Bafana’s offensive wave for this era.
Encouraging experienced players to be exemplary to their younger teammates has always been a strong element that goes back to Mosimane’s early coaching days.
In Zwane, there’s a lot of wisdom that cannot be wantonly discarded. See him as an oasis the younger ones can imbibe in; an epitome of excellence to be modelled at professional and personal levels.
No scandal of women bashing, dabbling in drugs, excessive drinking and other ills that bedevil a country where many footies have fallen by the wayside because of ill-discipline.
We have seen stardom driving people to delusional decisions to the point of failing to deduce what is harmful to their professional careers.
Lest we forget, we have a painful past of players who lacked the know-how to handle fame and fortune, who were devoid of the discipline to desist from temptations that prematurely ended their profession.
The examples are plenty. Listing them would be akin to opening old wounds.
We must be protective of this generation that is bursting at the seams with the promise to chart a path anew for Bafana. A path to promising careers reaching their full potential. A path that can lead them to a prosperous life now and beyond football.
Who better, from the current crop, to learn the ropes from than one who has seen it all? In “Mshishi” you get a senior statesman who can impart precious pearls of wisdom gained from a multiple domestic league title and double Champions League-winning career spanning 15 years.
In any case, many have confessed to being active participants in falling off the wagon.
