South African overseas-based goalkeeper Jethren Barr has pointed out why playing COSAFA Cup was meaningful to him.
Barr, who’s currently a free agent, was one of the three goalkeepers who represented SA in the regional tournament a few weeks ago. COSAFA Cup took place in Durban between 5 and 16 July.
Barr had an opportunity to don the Bafana Bafana shirt for the first time. He has three caps now after he played all three group-stage matches. However, he missed the semi-final and the 3rd place clash.
Barr says COSAFA was his “platform” to show the nation how mature he is now in goals having spent some time in Northern Ireland. Besides, he got to witness his Bafana dream come true.
WHY COSAFA CUP WAS MEANINGFUL TO JETHREN BARR
“Obviously, to wear a Bafana Bafana jersey was a dream come true for me, you know it’s something that I always wanted to do since I was young,” Barr told FARPost.
“And I have always been watching Bafana Bafana since I was a baby. So, obviously, it was a huge dream come true for me.
“Also it was nice to have a platform to show the rest of the country the kind of goalkeeper I’ve become since I left South Africa. When I left, I left having done well on the back of a couple of clean sheets against [Mamelodi] Sundowns, AmaZulu, [Kaizer] Chiefs.
“And I came abroad, the experience has been good but tough. You know it’s a tough league for goalkeepers [you play against] big, tall, strong and physical players.
“[You deal with] a lot of balls in the box when it’s like windy and rainy often because the weather is so bad. And the pitches become muddy. So, it was a huge adjustment for me. Obviously, very difficult conditions for the goalkeeper.
“I just had to stand up to it, take the challenge head-on, and ended up getting Player of the Year. Fans rated me Goalkeeper of the Season, all those kinds of things. It shows that I came here and did well.”
Meanwhile, as previously reported by FARPost, Barr is under assessment at Shamrock Rovers in the Republic of Ireland as he continues to search for new home.
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