Bafana Bafana legend Doctor Khumalo says he understands coach Pitso Mosimane’s direction of having more than one captain, especially Themba Zwane who some people have questioned his inclusion in the squad.
Zwane, 37, has been called up to Mosimane’s first squad for the 2027 Africa Cup Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Guinea and Eritrea to be followed by the international friendly against Egypt. Mosimane has already said ‘Mshishi’ is one of his captains along with Ronwen Williams and Sipho Chaine.
Khumalo said he doesn’t want to rubbish those that have questions about Mshishi, however with the experience of being part of the 1996 AFCON winning squad and the 1998 World Cup qualifying team, he knows that transition is a process that needs experienced players.
“Football is a game of opinions, and we don’t have to discard and probably say they are wrong [those that question Mshishi inclusion],” said Khumalo on The DNA Podcast.
“But you know sometimes if you are on the other side of the fence and your opinion is based on whatever – probably you might be thinking, the coach is the one that can give a better insight in terms of why such players.
“But based on my experience, I don’t know whether you still remember the 1996 squad that won it, and then what happened, they qualified for 98. The transition, handover was not proper. And what happened, we struggled until today.
“We looked much better the past four [to] five years with Hugo [Broos]. That’s what happens when you dismantle. So slowly but surely, you need experienced players.
“That is why I wanted to know if [Nkosinathi] Sibisi was in the team because I know he plays a major role.
“Too much of a change at once it’s going to cripple [the team]. So the going gets tough, these are youngsters, it’s international [football], it’s not local.
“What happens, they can’t walk, they can’t do anything. They are scared because they are losing, but when you have experienced players, senior players, captains, guidance is there.
“I don’t even want to touch that one [footballing aspect] because I know he can still give us something. But the most significant one, look at the number of youngsters Pitso has called. They are entering the national team, a new look.
“So, when they are sitting, what do you think they will be talking about? But when there are senior players there, there is guidance, if they want to ask questions, they are there to answer.
“I’m telling you it’s still nice now we are talking about who has been called up but behind the scenes if you dare to know, you’ll be scared.
“It’s okay we are preparing for a game but when game-time arrives or just the knowledge that the game is the next day, you even shake during team talk. It’s even worse when you are in the starting line-up. And I’ve been through that at club level.”