Marumo Gallants head coach Dan ‘Dance’ Malesela has revealed what he told SAFA president Danny Jordaan about the association taking the route of developing players at Bafana Bafana.
Malesela says Bafana Bafana or any senior national team should not be a place for experiment in the name of giving youngsters experience.
According to Malesela, South Africa won’t taste success anytime soon if they continue to use the national team; Bafana Bafana to build.
Malesela insists that only the best should be playing at international level.
This comes after the 57-year-old tactician stated that Ethan Brooks’ Bafana Bafana call-up might have come up too early in his career as the midfielder continues to be sidelined from the national team lately.
Malesela divulged how he had a conversation with Dr Jordaan, telling the SAFA leader how the national team can never be a place for casting the net wide and giving a chance to youngsters to gain experience.
‘ONLY THE BEST SHOULD PLAY AT BAFANA BAFANA’
The former Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns star also highlighted the danger that many experiments at Bafana level can result in; disastrous outcomes and hamper the national team’s progress.
The well-travelled coach believes that youngsters need to be given more game time at their respective teams to get experience and understand the nature of the beautiful game.
Malesela reckons that one can have talent, but talent without being smart and understanding the tricks of the game is not good enough.
Hence he maintains that young players should not be rushed to be called up to the national team.
WHAT MALESELA ONCE TOLD SAFA PRESIDENT
“I had a conversation with the SAFA president to say that the national team can never be a place to experiment with players,” Malesela told FARPost.
“There is never that chance. Some teams survive maybe because of the quality of the players they have at that time and all of that.
“But you can never take young players to the national team and say we are giving them experience. It will be an experience to go where? Because that is the last line.
“There is nothing above the national team. So, when you say you give them experience, you give them experience to do what?
The ex-TS Galaxy coach continued: “When you coach a national team, there are already made players you should take. These young ones must join in if they have that quality.
“For me, it wouldn’t make sense to take young players and leave someone like Themba Zwane. You can’t compare in terms of experience because you need that kind of experience of players like Zwane.”
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