Wildly excited over the prospect of playing in the World Cup finals on
home soil in 2010, prodigal Bafana Bafana son Benni McCarthy seems less
enamoured over the prospect of playing in the 2008 African Nations Cup
- or helping South Africa get to Ghana in the first place.
This emerged on Tuesday in an interview that appeared on the Fifa website
with the Blackburn-based striker.
"I'm so excited," said McCarthy when asked how he felt about
playing in the 2010 tournament. "It would be great to be there, to
play in front of my people - and the fact that it's the first World Cup
Final tournament ever to be played in Africa makes it even more exciting.
The fact that McCarthy has not yet made himself available for the tricky
2008 African Nations Cup qualifying games - or other recent international
matches - and has aroused a groundswell of anti-Benni sentiment in the
country seems to have passed over the Blackburn player's head.
Ultimately, the decision as to when and if to approach McCarthy about
returning to Bafana's ranks might rest with new coach Carlos Parreira
when he takes over at the start of 2007.
And while Parreira is known as a stern disciplinarian, it has been surmised
he might be prepared to approach McCarthy in the first instance.
But he is unlikely to tolerate the same frustrations and ambiguities that
other coaches have suffered in the past regarding the Blackburn striker's
availability for his country.
In addition, apart from weighing up McCarthy's prowess as a footballer,
Parreira is shrewd and experienced enough to take into account the varied
consequences of making allowances for one player
and not others.
McCarthy also made it clear in the Fifa interview that he believed Bafana
needed an overseas-based coach "because they are generally a lot
more experienced and advanced than their South African counterparts".
McCarthy said he had not made himself available for recent Bafana games
because he wanted to establish himself in the gruelling English Premiership
with Blackburn first - and because
of his wife's pregnancy.
"In the future, if they still think I'm the best striker, I'd be
honoured to go back," he said.
But as to when and where, the prodigal Bafana son remained less forthcoming.
