Pitso Mosimane announced a strong squad for the 2012 Afcon qualifier against Niger on Saturday. It is encouraging to see Jingles including youngsters like SuperSport United striker Kermit Erasmus, Daylon Claasen, Keegan Ritchie and Andile Jali. It shows that the coach is not only worried about getting results now, but is also planning for the future.

Having said that, I must say that I am still surprised by the omission of Mamelodi Sundowns midfield general Matthew Pattison. Ever since he joined the Brazilians, the player has proved himself in each and every game he plays. He is one of the most talented players in the Absa Premiership.

The issue of national team selection can be very confusing, we usually see players who are off-form being selected to represent the country while those who are in form and good enough for Bafana are ignored. A player like Teko Modise is not at his best at the moment, but he is still being selected, the less said about that as well as the selection of Happy Jele the better.

If anyone says Pattison is not Bafana material, I’ll tell them they’re crazy. The boy is excellent, he works hard and smart on and off the ball, he creates a lot of goal-scoring chances for Sundowns strikers because of his vision and passing ability, he is not shy to take shots at goal from a distance even though he has not scored much and his work rate is excellent, his attitude and work ethic is also another plus. Pattison is a player of international standard and definitely deserves a chance to prove himself in the national team. The fact that he is still only 23 years old, means that he still has age on his side and will improve further.

Mosimane is good at spotting talent and Pattison’s talent is obvious, hopefully he will give Matty a call-up soon.

Before I go, let me wish Bafana Bafana all the best for their match against Niger, a win at home will be the perfect start for our boys.

• The Alternative 2011 Awards

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 12:17 pm and is filed under SA Soccer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.