Bafana Bafana can't score goals. Siyabonga Nomvethe and Benni McCarthy can. Bring them back. Simple né?
Or maybe not. Bafana boss Pitso Mosimane insists Nomvethe and fellow thirtyatric McCarthy are too old for his Brazil 2014 master-plan. Fair enough, although we still need to qualify for the samba showpiece, as well as ignite next year's AFCON on home soil. It makes no sense to ignore the pair simply because they grew up on MacGyver instead of Survivor.
Both players are 34 but Nomvethe is still one of the quickest and seemingly fittest marksmen in the league, while Benni remains our finest finisher, rivaled only by Bafana's go-to-man Katlego Mphela.
Nomvethe's hat-trick against Golden Arrows at the weekend rocketed his tally to 16 for the season - five ahead of nearest rivals Edward Manqele and Eleazar Rodgers on the PSL scoring charts. Nomvethe's efforts, coupled with David Mathebula's 10 goals from midfield, are largely why Swallows are surprise title contenders after narrowly escaping relegation last term.
Benni might be a fatty, which Cosmo tells me is fine, but 11 goals in all competitions shows his value to the treble-seeking Buccaneers. The Champions League winner and double World Cup veteran has shone despite limited game-time amid injury and suspension setbacks. Admittedly he has fired blanks of late but the former Blackburn Rovers ace is still seen as Pirates' best bet for a goal.
Form aside, Nomvethe and Benni boast over 150 caps between them, with the latter South Africa's record scorer with 31 goals - nine more than Mphela, who is currently unable to command a starting place at Sundowns.
Mosimane's tenure, since replacing Carlos Alberto Parreira in July 2010, has been ultra-defensive, be it on the field or when the ex-SuperSport United boss reacts emotionally to audits of his unit, who have slipped to 71 in the world rankings under his watch.
His belated, insincere apology for the 2012 AFCON qualifying farce - an equivalent error that would have cost any Proteas or Springbok coach his job without question - and his belligerent assertions that he is powerless to remedy our striking woes portrays a stubborn man insecure in his position.
Admitting he may now need the likes of Bhele and Benni could bolster his battered image rather than harm it as he might fear.
By Stephen Kihn
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