Pirates legend accuses Baxter of favouritism

The squad may have been announced almost a fortnight ago, but the outcry is still alarming to this day, just three days away from Bafana’s opening match against Ivory Coast in Egypt. Players like Kermit Erasmus, Vincent Pule, Thapelo Morena, were among those who fans and pundits expected to see in the Bafana set-up but Baxter decided otherwise.

As to who is selected and who is given a cold shoulder will forever be part of the on-going debate, but what bothers former Orlando Pirates captain, 1995 Caf Champions League and 1996 Afcon winner, Edward Motale, better known as “Magents”, is that the squad is no longer open to everyone, he believes. Magents fell short of accusing Baxter of being bias towards Gauteng-based players, going on to say the national team is running the risk of being reduced to a provincial side.

“According to me, the national team has to be national, but now it seems like it is now a provincial set-up and that is something else, said Motale, as 16 out of the 23 players are from Gauteng-based sides.

“Everybody who is performing, whether they are from Pirates, Baroka FC, AmaZulu or wherever, they have to be included or at least be given a chance to be assessed before the final squad. Everybody who is consistent and on form need to be give a chance,” he told Phakaaathi Plus.

“If we start tribalizing the national team, so to speak, then it becomes a problem. The national team has to be for everyone. During our time the team was a mixture for all. Those who were consistently on form and performing during that time of the national team were given a chance and that is how we managed to win the 1996 Afcon,” he added.

To support his argument, Magents referred to Polokwane City captain Jabulani Maluleke, who was the propelling engine for Rise and Shine last season, but was overlooked because he is on the wrong side of 30 years, while Cape Town City’s Kermit Erasmus was in the form of his life towards the end of last season.

“We all know that Jabu is a great leader and he has done well. He has been a crucial for his team but he has been left out. You look at Kermit, he has the international experience and he has played for Bafana and he was recently on form, banging in goals and then you start asking yourself why he is not there.

“Baxter said he only selects players based on what he see and what he believes in. Basically those players who you see there are based on believe and what he sees. I wish him good luck and all that I wish for is Bafana to go further than the group stages, and if possible, go to the final and win it.

“If I have got 50 caps and he believes in someone who has five caps, it is puzzling. Some guys have got more caps and more experience but they are not there but someone with no cap is there. Is he going to be able to pull through? We will wait and see but for me that is a risk.”

Magents, who is a budding comedian and one with the gift of the gag, spared Baxter from the jokes and addressed how disappointed he is in the Scot, who, according to Motale, fell short of inspiring the nation ahead of the continental showpiece.

“There were a couple of words that he uttered, saying something along the lines of the team is going there to make a mark. But how do you make a mark while my generation has already won it? We won it immediately after we were reinstated to international football. As a legend who has won this trophy, it does not sit well with me to say we need to go there and make a mark. What mark? We are already known in the continent, we made that mark over 20 years ago, and we played in the final again in 1998 against Egypt. We are not going there to learn and make a mark or announce ourselves. What is it that we are going to learn?

He continued: “If you say to me as a coach coaching in the Absa Premiership, you are targeting to finish in the top-eight, it means that you will be happy at the end of the season if you finish in the top-eight because your job will be secured because that was the goal. But if you say you want to win the league and you want to win the Telkom Knockout or the MTN 8. This will only spur the ambition of your players and they will put in extra effort because they know that is what the coach wants from them. The bar needs to be set high. If we just play for the sake of playing, it will be a problem. You need to put your head on the block and say I, as a coach, I want to win this thing and bring it home.

“Sometimes when you talk as a coach, you must not talk for the sake of the media. You need to be aware that your words need to serve as motivation to the players first. They need to be moralized and the nation needs to be inspired as well,” said the former Buccaneers’ skipper.

However, as a patriot, Motale hopes that Bafana do well in Egypt. “Let us bless him (Baxter) as a nation and see what is going to happen at the tournament… we just wish them good luck and hope that they can pull through,” he concluded.

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