‘I felt betrayed’: Janine van Wyk on her delayed record-breaking moment
Former Banyana Banyana captain Janine van Wyk has spilled the beans on her delayed record-breaking moment in international football.
This comes after van Wyk’s dream record almost ended sourly when the retired defender left the Banyana camp when she was not given a chance to earn her 184th cap during their 2024 CAF Women’s Olympic qualifiers against DR Congo in October.
Coach Desiree Ellis had named van Wyk in her squad that will face the Congolese side in Olympic qualifiers, as the 36-year-old footballer was set to bring the curtain down.
However, to van Wyk’s surprise things did not go as planned, and that made her lose her cool when the final whistle blew without getting a chance to play.
JANINE VAN WYK OPENS UP ON HER DELAYED RECORD-BREAKING
Van Wyk revealed how disappointed she was about what had happened in Congo, with coach Ellis claiming she had lost track of time.
“Well, obviously it was a disappointment for me. You know, being able to go to camp and everything was planned around that specific camp just to announce my retirement,” said van Wyk in a conversation with the SA Football Journalists’ Association [SAFJA].
“I went in with full heart and full force. There were so many new faces as well. So, I had so much energy to give out the last of who I was. Especially for young girls who just came to the camp and being the leader that I have been for the national team.
“I wanted to spend some time with every single individual. Just to ask how they were and how they were feeling especially the new ones. I also wanted to spend some time with the players that I have been with on this journey for so many years.”
JANINE VAN WYK: ‘I FELT I HAD GIVEN SO MUCH’
The JVW FC boss continued: “So, I felt like in that camp given so much of myself because I knew it would be my last, and then that big disappointment came. I didn’t take the feeling when the final whistle blew.
“It was all the energy that I had drained before that match, that had led to huge disappointment. So, I left the camp because I felt betrayed and hurt. However, I understood it wasn’t about me but the team that needed to get results.
“I just couldn’t understand. Even with the results that could still stand if I had gone on for three, four or five minutes of the game towards the end, as was planned.
“So, the excuse that coach Desiree Ellis gave me was that the game was so intense and she needed the results and lost track of time it just hurt for me. When we flew back in, I just decided to go home. I felt had left so much in camp and didn’t get anything in return as it was planned. Therefore, I didn’t see the point of going to play the last match at Orlando Stadium. Also still lose out on the record.”
JANINE VAN WYK HAD LEFT EVERYTHING IN GOD’S HANDS
The former Glasgow City defender went on to say that she had left everything in God’s hands on whether she was going to get another opportunity to get her last two caps.
“For me, it was just like whatever happens in the future, because I don’t know if I will get it. But I told myself I would rather not go because the plan was to get my two caps. But if in the future I get another opportunity so be it. I didn’t know if I would get it. SAFA CEO came to have a chat with me and I expressed my emotions and feelings to her,” she added.
“A week or so before the Burkina Faso match, they called me up. This was after all the emotions had settled and clear-minded then. I accepted the call-up to the national team to go get the last two caps.”
With that being said, van Wyk managed to set a new African record for the most capped player, male or female when they played against Burkina Faso in the CAF WAFCON qualifiers this month.
She broke Ahmed Hassan’s 11-year-old record of the most caps [184] on the African continent with 185 appearances.
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