Bafana coach Broos cannot see the point of Carling Cup now

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos is crossing his fingers, hoping that none of the players he included in his 23-man squad announced on Tuesday is injured in the Premier Soccer League’s Carling Black Label  Cup on Saturday.

Kaizer Chiefs meet Orlando Pirates in the second semifinal of the single-day friendly tournament, and AmaZulu meet Mamelodi Sundowns in the early game, with a final in the afternoon of a gruelling schedule at FNB Stadium.

Broos has had to leave out players because of injuries and lack of game time at their clubs from his squad for the friendlies against Mozambique on November 17 and Angola three days later. Both games are to be played at Mbombela Stadium.

Absentees include Al Ahly’s Percy Tau, Bongokuhle Hlongwane of Minnesota FC, the Orlando Pirates trio of Nkosinathi Sibisi, Innocent Maela and Evidence Makgopa, and Lebo Mothiba of Strasbourg in Ligue 1.  

There are 13 players in Broos’s squad who play for the four clubs that will be involved in Saturday’s event.

Among those AmaZulu have goalkeeper Veli Mothwa and Sundowns have Themba Zwane, Tebogo Mokoena, Grant Kekana, Aubrey Modiba, Thapelo Morena, Rushine de Reuck and Ronwen Williams. Njabulo Blom and Kgaogelo Sekgota play for Chiefs and Monnapule Saleng, Miguel Timm and Zakhele Lepasa for Pirates.

Announcing his squad in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Broos said he would have preferred to see the cup played before the PSL season resumes from the two-month Fifa domestic break for the World Cup, towards the end of December. He fears his preparation for the two friendlies could be disrupted if players are injured at the weekend.

“I don’t see the sense of it,” said Broos of the competition. “It’s [about] money. I would have been more happy if that tournament is played just before the restart of the league.

“And I hear that people [supporters] can change [vote for] the teams, but what is that? OK it’s publicity and I understand that, but why do it now?

“Why do we have to lose a week [of preparation for the friendlies]? We should be happy for these four teams to play this tournament a week before the start of the league. Clubs maybe are happy because there’s money to win.

“But I don’t think players are happy to play such a tournament now — even the coaches, I don’t think they are [happy].”

Broos insisted that the timing of the competition does not help Bafana, who gather on Sunday. “If there was no tournament we could have been together maybe now. That was the plan.”

The international break for the World Cup in Qatar starts on Sunday and ends on December 18. The World Cup kicks off on November 20 and the final is on December 18.