The heatwave that gripped parts of the Western Cape has been both good and bad for the national football team, Bafana Bafana, who have been in camp for the past few days in university town Stellenbosch.
Bafana coach Hugo Broos said the extreme heatwave has restricted the amount of work he can do with the players. On the other hand, the players got a taste of the high temperatures they will encounter in Ivory Coast, and the chance to learn to cope with the heat.
According to Broos, the temperature in the Winelands yesterday was an energy-sapping 35°C, similar to the temperature in Korhogo, the city in northern Ivory Coast where the team will be based during the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
“We are very happy with the facilities at the university (of Stellenbosch) and the pitch is first class,” said Broos at a media conference yesterday afternoon. “We can’t (ask) for more.
“I would have liked it to be less warm but okay, it will be good preparation for Ivory Coast. The daily temperatures in Korhogo will be around 35°C and after a few days here (in Stellenbosch) we will be used to it.
“This weather can be exhausting and we must take care that we do not do too much in this heat.”
Broos said he feared for the well-being of the players after the Premier Soccer League (PSL) declined his request to stop the league earlier so that players could arrive fresh for the national team camp.
On a previous occasion, Broos said players arrived exhausted at a camp and he feared this would impact on the amount of work he could do with them.
“Last May, I wrote to the PSL to ask about stopping the league early so that players will not be exhausted by the time we go into camp,” said Broos.
“As it turned out, the players had four days off before reporting for camp but that was not enough. As you know, for the PSL there are more important things than the national team.
“It is not something I can understand. When you see how late they allowed play to continue into December, and they said in a statement that they support Bafana Bafana and the coach, then I had to laugh.
“But it is what it is, and we’ll see that the guys will be fresh when they play on the (Tuesday next week) for our first game.”
Talisman Percy Tau, who will shoulder the responsibility of leading the team’s attack in the absence of Burnley marksman Lyle Foster, said the team was determined to make the country proud in Ivory Coast.
“It’s always difficult to satisfy the public, but we’ve always wanted to be a team that could compete,” said Tau.
“The last time I went to Afcon in Egypt, we wanted to compete and try our best to go all the way. It is the same with this team and that determination has not changed.
“But people have different opinions about the process we’re in because they say this based on missing out on the last tournament. We understand that but we want to go all the way.”
@Herman_Gibbs