Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane has provided clarity on his selection of Mamelodi Sundowns defender Thabang Matuludi despite his lack of game-time.
Matuludi recently joined Sundowns from Polokwane City and played his first game of the season when Sundowns faced Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.
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He was, however, named in the Bafana squad before even turning out for his new employers which raised eyebrows among many football lovers in the country who said Matuludi did not warrant a deserved call-up.
‘Jingles’ has since explained why he chose Matuludi even before he played a single match this season.
“Well, sometimes you need to have a little bit of Sangoma next to you, right, to predict and tell you what you should do, and I know that somewhere somehow somebody’s gonna say ‘why are you picking a player who’s not playing right? We do our research. I’ve watched him,” Mosimane told the media.
“I know he’s been training the whole pre-season. He has played a few friendly games in the pre-season. I don’t get involved in the other stuff that clubs do. The players belong to clubs. We should respect the clubs. We should also respect the coaches at their respective teams.
“But a national team player is a national team player, right? And also it’s important that the players must know that if they train and they’re doing things well, and we are watching, we know what’s happening.
“We don’t just arrogantly choose a Matuludi because we want to put a Matuludi, and unfortunately, as a coach, you know how it is. You guys tell after, right? If he was right or wrong, and if he’s wrong, we know that we’re gonna get the grill out of it, right? And if we are right, that’s why we are coaches. So yeah, we do our research. I’ve followed Matuludi all the way.
“Ever since I’ve been given the opportunity to be a Bafana coach, I’ve just researched everything and everywhere long before I signed the contract. I don’t want to sound smart here. Matuludi was in the World Cup, right? So, what am I saying to you, he was already there.
“The previous coach had him, so I think we should give credit to the previous coach for having him in the team. And yeah, that’s it. So thanks to the boy who played in a cup final on Saturday, I think it was a decent performance to show that he’s a decent player and he needs to fight for the position.”
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