MZANSI football legend Andre Arendse is concerned about the Bafana Bafana goalkeeping department.
The Africa Cup of Nations 1996 winner is worried that the Premier Soccer League (PSL) is dominated by foreign goalkeepers.
Football is set to return after Minister of Sports, Arts and Recreation Nathi Mthethwa gave the PSL the green light to resume games after three months of shutdown.
The 52-year-old, who currently serves as assistant coach at SuperSport United, has urged local goalkeepers to pull up their socks when football returns.
“I’m worried about Bafana goalkeepers. There’s Ronwen Williams, Itumeleng Khune and Darren Keet. But who is coming after the three goalies?
“There’s not enough pool of local keepers to choose from in the PSL because they’re not playing,” said Arendse.
“Those who are playing are on the right track, but when you look at the numbers of SA vs foreign goalkeepers, there’s a huge gap. There’s a large foreign contingent in the PSL and I urge our goalkeepers to challenge them and work their way into the starting line-up,” he said.
Arendse has a Fifa coaching goalkeeper licence and plans to do on-field coaching qualifications when football returns.
He won the Premiership title with four different teams during his glittering football career.
Arendse hung up his gloves at the age of 42 years after he won his fifth league title with SuperSport in 2010. Apart from being Kaitano Tembo’s second in command at Matsatsantsa A Pitori, he also dabbles as a goalkeeper coach.
Matsatsantsa a Pitori recently announced that first-choice goalkeeper Williams as the new skipper after regular captain Dean Furman returned to England.
Arendse said Williams, who is also the first-choice keeper for Bafana, will do an excellent job with the armband. “ Being a captain comes with its own challenges and it’s even more difficult if you are a goalkeeper. But Williams will come to terms with it we will help him to do that. Being a goalkeeper and a captain can be destructive, but we will help him so that his the game must not suffer,” said Arendse.