Carlos wants fit players

Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has admitted that he is concerned that some of his overseas-based players are not playing regularly enough.

“It will make my job much easier if they were playing regularly. But I guess there isn’t much I can do. We have to learn to work with what we have,” Parreira told FIFA.com.

He added: “For the World Cup, you need fit players. For example, (Steven) Pienaar is no problem, he has been outstanding in England; he doesn’t need me to work on his match fitness as he plays regularly. The same can be said about Tsepo Masilela, who plays regular football. We need more players like Pienaar in our team.”

Parreira said he would have preferred to have had the overseas-based players in his team’s training camps in Brazil and Germany.

“I would have loved to have the overseas-based players in our team. Unfortunately, they have not been released by their clubs and there is nothing I can do about that. I have to work with what I have.

“The most important thing is to identify a group of players from this local squad, and when the overseas-based players are available, blend the two groups together. You see, this is a process — it’s like building a house. You cannot think about putting furniture inside when there is no roof. You have to do things step by step. It’s a process that involves patience and skill,” said Parreira.

Parreira, however, is confident that despite these setbacks, his team will progress to the second round of the World Cup.

“A lot of people will say we won’t make it, but we don’t have to listen to everyone who has an opinion. The most important thing is to concentrate on our priority, and that is to go beyond the group stages. We believe we can do this,” commented the Brazilian mentor.

Meanwhile, Parreira said South Africa’s preparations for the World Cup are “going according to plan”.

“I cannot say I’m satisfied because there is always room for improvement and we constantly look for those areas. What I can say is that everything has been going according to plan,” concluded Parreira.