Johannesburg – Kaizer Chiefs striker Bernard Parker made a timely return from injury to be part of the 23-man Bafana Bafana squad travelling to Equatorial Guinea for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) this month.
“It feels great to be back in the team and thanks to the coach for selecting me and believing in me,” Parker said on Monday.
“It is just an unbelievable team spirit that we have here in the team, the guys are just out of this world to work with.”
Parker last played for South Africa in their 5-0 loss to Brazil, in Johannesburg, last March.
He made his return to Bafana Bafana in the second half of the international friendly match against Zambia on Sunday, at Orlando Stadium, where South Africa won the match 1-0.
“When the coach announced the preliminary squad, it was just perfect timing with me coming back from injury.
“I think I proved myself in the league that I am Bafana Bafana material and that I can help the squad. I am still as hungry as I was from day one. I still want to be the top goal scorer of all time in Bafana Bafana.”
Bafana Bafana will face Algeria, ranked number one on the continent, Ghana and Senegal in the group stages at Afcon.
“The group is almost the same as the qualifiers where many were scared of Nigeria, but look what happened to the Super Eagles,” Parker said.
“The coach told us that we have to believe in ourselves and put our focus on winning each and every game. With a positive mentality and a good fighting spirit ... we can come out of this group.”
Parker has scored 23 goals in 69 appearances for South Africa. His first goal was against Malawi in 2008.
Bafana Bafana have one more training session before departing for Gabon on Wednesday for a pre-tournament camp. – Sapa