Sibusiso Zuma recalls how he missed out on 2010 FIFA World Cup
Former Bafana Bafana star Sibusiso Zuma has recalled how he missed out on the 2010 FIFA World Cup on home soil, South Africa.
‘Rhee’ notched up 67 caps and scored 13 goals during his time with Bafana. He was part of the team that represented SA in the 2002 FIFA World Cup under the guidance of Jomo Sono.
He also captained the national team in the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations [AFCON] that was held in Egypt.
The 2008 AFCON was the last big tournament where Zuma donned the yellow and green shirt of Bafana. He wasn’t part of the teams that represented the country both in the FIFA Confederations Cup [2009] and the World Cup [2010].
Speaking in an exclusive interview with FARPost, Zuma says he first went under the knife after he picked up an injury when he was playing for Mamelodi Sundowns during the 2008/09 season.
The injury kept on haunting him after he returned to Europe in the following campaign when he turned out for Nordsjaelland in Denmark.
However, Zuma insists that he was fit when the squad was called up. He says he also told the coach [Carlos Alberto Parreira] who was in charge that he would have recovered when the time for the international showpiece arrived.
SIBUSISO ZUMA SAYS HE WAS FIT AND READY FOR 2010 WORLD CUP
“In 2010, I was playing in Denmark and I got injured but I spoke to the [Bafana] coach and told him I’m gonna be ready for 2010,” Zuma told FARPost.
“I don’t know if they didn’t believe I was going to get better. But training-wise, I had four weeks in Australia just training for 2010. And I was not given an opportunity but I was very ready.
“I was fit and ready to go. The thing is, I came back, played for [Mamelodi] Sundowns and then I got injured. I did my first operation when I played for Sundowns and I then decided to go back to Europe.
“So, they hadn’t seen me for quite some time and then they just forgot about Sibusiso. And jah that’s our football.”
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