South Africa

Carlos Alberto Parreira Wants Benni McCarthy Back For South Africa

On the eve of his departure from Rio de Janeiro, new South Africa head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has told the Brazilian media that he is planning to recall striker Benni McCarthy and that he expects to reach the quarter-final stage of the 2010 World Cup.

Nov 5, 2009 8:40:14 AM

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Speaking to TV Globo, he said, “I think Benni’s the best striker, if he’s willing to play, sacrifice himself and make a commitment to the team – I think he deserves an opportunity.

“He will probably be called up for the games against Japan and Jamaica on November 14 and November 17, respectively.

“The greatest challenge is to go through to the second phase; we are going to have to work hard but we’ll get there. I hope that with the backing of the home fans we’ll reach the quarter-finals – after that the sky is the limit!

“World Cup is kill, kill; it’s not always the best team that reaches the final – it’s different from a championship! I think that we could have a very competitive team.”

Parreira also spoke about the value of training in Brazil next year, which he deems vitally important for preparation.

“Training in Brazil will be a valuable experience, but we need to get into an agreement between coaches from the players' respective clubs because the dates planned are not FIFA dates and therefore clubs are not obliged to release the men," he said.

“For the training camp to be successful, we’ll need at least 70 or 80 percent of the main team present, otherwise it will be unproductive to have just a reserve team.”

While the enthusiastic Parreira talked openly about Bafana’s chances, he admitted that next year’s World Cup would be his last.

“I can see myself back on the field but not in another World Cup,” he added. “I didn’t even think I was going to be involved in 2010 after returning to Brazil for family reasons.”

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