BENNI MCCARTHY, the man who needs only one touch to score, must be given a chance to get back into shape to lead Bafana Bafana's attack during the 2010 World Cup.
BENNI MCCARTHY, the man who needs only one touch to score, must be given a chance to get back into shape to lead Bafana Bafana's attack during the 2010 World Cup.
This is according to coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who remains adamant that McCarthy is the man for the job.
"Benni is the most experienced striker we have in the country, but we have to talk to him and I have no doubt he will help us," Parreira said.
He insisted that McCarthy's partnership with Katlego Mphela upfront would do wonders for the national squad despite their failure to score in the international friendlies against Japan and Jamaica. The Brazilian also attributed McCarthy's failure to score to his level of fitness since he was not playing regularly at his English Premiership club Blackburn Rovers.
Bafana's all-time top goal-scorer with 31 goals bragged last week that he only needed one touch to score a goal but he had many touches in the friendlies and still failed to find the back of the net.
"The problem with Benni is that he is not getting enough game-time at his club, that is why his fitness level is not up to scratch," Parreira said.
He said the job of scoring was not exclusively for strikers, adding that midfielders and the rest of the team can also score. Parreira is also happy that the squad will camp in Germany and Brazil next year to finalise their preparations for the World Cup.
"We will have the first camp in January for the locally based players as part of our preparations. It is vital that we get the right preparations for a tournament of this magnitude. I plan to play at least six friendlies in Brazil, that is why it is important for all our players to be with us. I will also get involved in the release of the players for those camps," he said.
Parreira keeps faith in Benni
BENNI MCCARTHY, the man who needs only one touch to score, must be given a chance to get back into shape to lead Bafana Bafana's attack during the 2010 World Cup.
BENNI MCCARTHY, the man who needs only one touch to score, must be given a chance to get back into shape to lead Bafana Bafana's attack during the 2010 World Cup.
This is according to coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who remains adamant that McCarthy is the man for the job.
"Benni is the most experienced striker we have in the country, but we have to talk to him and I have no doubt he will help us," Parreira said.
He insisted that McCarthy's partnership with Katlego Mphela upfront would do wonders for the national squad despite their failure to score in the international friendlies against Japan and Jamaica. The Brazilian also attributed McCarthy's failure to score to his level of fitness since he was not playing regularly at his English Premiership club Blackburn Rovers.
Bafana's all-time top goal-scorer with 31 goals bragged last week that he only needed one touch to score a goal but he had many touches in the friendlies and still failed to find the back of the net.
"The problem with Benni is that he is not getting enough game-time at his club, that is why his fitness level is not up to scratch," Parreira said.
He said the job of scoring was not exclusively for strikers, adding that midfielders and the rest of the team can also score. Parreira is also happy that the squad will camp in Germany and Brazil next year to finalise their preparations for the World Cup.
"We will have the first camp in January for the locally based players as part of our preparations. It is vital that we get the right preparations for a tournament of this magnitude. I plan to play at least six friendlies in Brazil, that is why it is important for all our players to be with us. I will also get involved in the release of the players for those camps," he said.