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| Joel Santana © Backpagepix |
The National Senior Team, Bafana Bafana, arrived on Thrursday morning from Switzerland where South Africa played against Portugal in a Friendly Match on Tuesday, 31 March 2009 at the Olympic Stadium in Lausanne. Bafana Bafana Coach, Joel Natalino Santana describes the two games, which included the Nelson Mandela Challenge on 28 March 2009 against Norway at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Phokeng, Rustenburg, as important lessons for the Team ahead of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup starting in June.
“Since Santana took over the Team, there has not been many opportunities to have long camps like the one we have just finished,” explains Santana, “and is very important for us to keep the Team together longer in order to achieve our goals of doing well in the Confederations Cup. Both games were important because we cannot buy international experience. We played two teams from different schools of football, one being the old European approach and the other, a classic school of play.
“My Players therefore played well and gave their best technically and tactically. I take the opportunity to thank them for the level of discipline and attitude towards their job as Players during the entire camp. This camp was important because it allowed for the Players’ continued development. We will now continue to monitor all Players through their Leagues and international club matches as move towards the Confed Cup,” says Santana.
Lance Davids, who featured in the game at midfield, says: “I think we will be ready for the Confederations Cup. We came out with a 2-1 win against Norway, a Team that came with a high reputation, while we had not been given a chance. In that game we enjoyed possession and in some instances dictated the mood of the game. It was a tough match, but we played as a unit. If we look where we were 10 months ago, I think we also played pretty well against Portugal even though we lost the game. We managed to contain them in open play and lost the game in set pieces. That is how we conceded the goal against Norway as well, so that means we must improve our concentration on set pieces as well.
“What is important is that we played as a Team and lost as a Team. Playing in contrasting seasons within three days of each game, also affected our game. You must understand that we played in Rustenburg in temperatures that touched around 30 degrees and then went to Europe to play at zero degrees in Switzerland, three days after. That was not easy for the South African based Players, in particular, to adjust to. South African based Players formed the bulk of this camp. We thank the Coach for this opportunity and we are happy that we are now playing according to instructions and are more familiar with each other’s playing styles. We are now looking forward to the Confederations Cup with confidence,” says Davids.
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