Johannesburg - The national Under-23 coach Owen da Gama will have to cast his net wide in search of a reliable goalkeeper for the Olympics with most of the keepers he has used struggling for game time at their respective clubs.
Even though the Eight Nations in Senegal last year saw Jody February assume hero status after helping Da Gama’s men qualify for the Olympics in penalty shoot-outs against the hosts, February returned to the country to continue playing second fiddle to Anssi Jaakkola at Ajax Cape Town.
Ricardo Goss, who started in goals for the Under-23s in their first match of the Eight Nations against Senegal, is way behind the pecking order at Golden Arrows.
Kyle Peters and Steve Hoffman, in the first division, have seen more game time than the pair while Kaizer Chiefs keeper Luthando Sixhaso has been struggling to even break into Chiefs’ MultiChoice Diski Challenge.
Because of that, Da Gama describes their match against Brazil at the Rei Pele Stadium in Maceio that they played in the early hours of today as “invaluable experience and exposure”.
The mentor hopes to get more such games so that the team doesn’t only gel but have the number one goalkeeper grow in confidence.
“Unfortunately there isn’t an under-23 goalkeeper who is playing regularly in the Premier League,” Da Gama said.
“There are those who get regular game time in the NFD and the MDC. That’s something. I think these international games will help these boys get into another level.
“They will help them get that confidence maybe to go back to their clubs and get the opportunity to play in the Premier League. These goalkeepers who are in the under-23s are going to feature in the Premier League in the future, you just wait and see.” February and Sixhaso have a lot to do if they’re to become their club’s number one keepers. But that doesn’t look like it will happen before Da Gama names his 18-man squad to take to Brazil when they return for the Olympics.
That leaves the coach with two other options, either one of the three over-age players he is going to select is a keeper or he gives a chance to those who are getting regular game time in the first division. Da Gama, however, seems settled on February as the first choice, which means he will use every opportunity he can get to get him ready for the Olympics.
That makes it important that the team plays in the Toulon Tournament which runs from May 18-29 where they have been invited. Japan, Nigeria, Czech Republic, England, France and Portugal are among the nations that have confirmed their participation.
Japan, Nigeria and Portugal have also qualified for the Olympics and will use this tournament to prepare for the global showpiece.
In 2012, Mexico won the Toulon Tournament and went on to win gold in the 2012 Olympics in London.
“We are still waiting from management to hear if their finances allows us to play in Toulon,” Da Gama said.
The Star