NOW that he is over his shock Bafana Bafana call-up, Ayanda Gcaba believes the valuable experience he gained from the Caf Champions League with Orlando Pirates might have given him the edge over the more fancied replacements for his injured club-mate, Patrick Phungwayo.
Phungwayo was withdrawn from the 23-man squad at the weekend, leaving coach Shakes Mashaba a player short in his Africa Cup of Nations team for the tournament that kicks off this weekend in Equatorial Guinea.
The most unlikely of alternatives, Gcaba, will board a flight to Gabon on Tuesday afternoon to join Bafana’s pre-tournament camp in Libreville.
"I was genuinely surprised, especially because the last time I was on the radar was when Pitso Mosimane was the coach," Gcaba said on Monday. "But as a player, you can never say you never expect to represent your country. It is not ideal to come in as a replacement for a quality player like Patrick, but this happens to the best of us, and the rest have to go on with the work at hand."
The 28-year-old, from Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal, continues to struggle for regular game time at Pirates and is perhaps not heading to the Africa Cup of Nations to displace another club-mate of his in Thabo Matlaba at left back.
Then again, coach Mashaba overlooked a previous Cup of Nations campaigner in Tsepo Masilela, as well as Luvolwethu Mpeta, who was part of Bafana’s final two qualifiers against Sudan and Nigeria last year, roping in Gcaba instead.
His chances of making the line-up are as good as any of his Bafana teammates, then. The physicality of SA’s opposition in group C means minor knocks are a possibility as evidenced when Tokelo Rantie, Rivaldo Coetzee and Bernard Parker had to sit out yesterday’s training session following their 1-1 draw with Cameroon on Saturday night.
"What is important for me now is to understand what the coach wants from everyone. I am a versatile player and wherever there’s a spot, I am there to fill in. I want to get to know Shakes Mashaba," Gcaba said. "I’ve seen how these guys worked hard for each other during the qualifiers, and you can see that they are hungry and passionate about representing the country. They want to win. I want some off that to rub off on me. This will be my first Africa Cup of Nations and I think I will be happy gaining experience."
He might not find it that difficult to adjust to playing away from Orlando Stadium following eight starts for the Buccaneers in 14 of their Champions League matches nearly two seasons ago, against some of Africa’s premier clubs.
"The best way to use that experience is to talk to each other about playing outside SA. There’s a lot that we can offer as players who’ve played in the Champions League. With my inclusion, Bafana now have Andile Jali, Oupa Manyisa and Thabo Matlaba to offer further input on Caf tournaments," said Gcaba.