ACTUALITE |
22.12.2001
Bartlett u-turn over African Nations Cup
JOHANNESBURG
Crack South African striker Shaun Bartlett has done a u-turn by agreeing to play at the African Nations Cup in Mali next month.
Assistant coach Trott Moloto said Bartlett from English Premiership side Charlton Athletic and 32 other players named in a preliminary squad for the biennial three-week showpiece had confirmed their availability.
Last month, Bartlett said in London he would not travel to west Africa for the competition from January 19 to February 10, despite being national captain and a key figure in the Bafana Bafana (The Boys) squad.
"I have made it clear that I`m not going and have told South Africa coach Carlos Queiroz. My club is the most important thing and going to Mali would jeapardise everything," Bartlett said last month.
"I have played hard all my life, all over the world, and have fought hard to be in England. Now that I`m finally here, suddenly I have got to jeopardise that and I am not prepared to do it," Bartlett added.
Moloto, who guided South Africa to third place behind Cameroon and Nigeria at the 2000 Nations Cup before relinquishing control to Mozambique-born Queiroz, did not say why Bartlett had undergone a charge of heart.
The squad, which will be trimmed to a final 22 next Friday, includes five of the 1996 Nations Cup-winning squad - goalkeepers Andre Arendse and John Tlale, midfielders Eric Tinkler and John `Shoes` Moshoeu, and Bartlett.
Unlucky to be left out were Ajax Cape Town goalkeeper Calvin Marlin and workaholic midfielder `Naughty Boy` Mokoena from surprise Premier League leaders Moroka Swallows.
Among the seven strikers is 20-year-old Lesley `Slow Poison` Manyathela of Orlando Pirates, who followed up his two-goal demolition of Kaizer Chiefs last Saturday with two more for the Olympic squad against Malawi 48 hours later.
South Africa, third, second and first in the previous three editions of the Nations Cup, have been drawn with four-time champions Ghana, under-achievers Morocco and outsiders Burkina Faso in Group B.
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