From the Sidelines: Plaatjies makes bad move

THE recent shock announcement by Brave Warriors striker Sidney Plaatjies that he will not be available for national team selection anymore, is a slap in the face for the nation.

The player, who is only 26 years of age and with possibly many years of football ahead of him, failed his country by making such a statement. The player did not start the African Nations Cup quali?er against Libya in an away match recently, arguing that it was not fair that the coach left him on the bench and that no reason was given to him.He argued that as a professional player, he needed to be told why he did not start the match, irrespective of the tactical approach taken by the coach on the day.Plaatjies’s action is disrespectful to the coach who has ?elded him on numerous occasions and worse than that, he has shown a lack of patriotism.In the world of football, top-class players who are playing in lucrative leagues around the world have been left on the bench many times, but this just encourages them to work harder to make it into the starting lineup again.Plaatjies, who is not even getting a weekly salary at his club Jomo Cosmos in South Africa, like international footballers do in foreign leagues, really disappointed many by snubbing the national side.The player, as young as he is, will regret the decision and it will just be a matter of time before he accepts the offer from Bamfuchile again.Bamfuchile insisted that he would still call him up for international matches despite expressing his unavailability.It is a sorry state that a player of such quality decides to leave a team that every player aspires to be part of.Each player in this country wants to play for Namibia and in my opinion, it was foolish for Plaatjies to pull the handbrake now.Namibia still has crucial qualifying matches ahead of the African Nations Cup and professional players are important for the team to give them the edge.Plaatjies does not realise that he will be one of the senior players in 2010 in case Namibia quali?es for the World Cup in South Africa.He in fact should form part of the team that takes the country to both the 2010 Nations Cup and the World Cup.These are major milestones for any professional footballer and it is a pity that such a young player is dumping them like that.He has been playing football for most of his life and representing the national team was surely his ultimate goal as he went through the ranks from the age of 17.It was bad move from the striker who was growing into a very ef?cient frontman, especially for his club Cosmos.The question now is whether he would want to be part of the Warriors team in case they qualify for the Nations Cup in Ghana next year, or will he stick to his guns of coming nowhere near the team? I respect Bamfuchile for saying that Plaatjies is still part of his plans, but sometimes lines have to be drawn against disrespectful players who don’t appreciate the status of playing for the national team.The national team is the pride of any country and if a player expresses a lack of interest, I think he should be left out because there are many players who want to get into the team.There are players who have been working hard for a place in the team, but sometimes are overlooked or are not playing for the right teams to be noticed.No one is bigger than the game.If players, irrespective whether they are professionals or locals, do not take the decisions of coaches in a sportsmanlike manner, they should simply go.If players do not perform to the best of their abilities or are off form, they should also not be considered for the national team.Players are not doing the national team a favour if they behave like untouchables or if they get big headed after hitting the big time in professional leagues.The coach has the right to pick his team the way he sees ?t for any game and players should not show resentment or unhappiness whatsoever.As a professional, Plaatjies was supposed to take the decision and instead concentrate on working harder to be part of the tactics of the coach in future, but for now, he has dug his own grave.The player did not start the African Nations Cup quali?er against Libya in an away match recently, arguing that it was not fair that the coach left him on the bench and that no reason was given to him.He argued that as a professional player, he needed to be told why he did not start the match, irrespective of the tactical approach taken by the coach on the day.Plaatjies’s action is disrespectful to the coach who has ?elded him on numerous occasions and worse than that, he has shown a lack of patriotism.In the world of football, top-class players who are playing in lucrative leagues around the world have been left on the bench many times, but this just encourages them to work harder to make it into the starting lineup again.Plaatjies, who is not even getting a weekly salary at his club Jomo Cosmos in South Africa, like international footballers do in foreign leagues, really disappointed many by snubbing the national side.The player, as young as he is, will regret the decision and it will just be a matter of time before he accepts the offer from Bamfuchile again.Bamfuchile insisted that he would still call him up for international matches despite expressing his unavailability.It is a sorry state that a player of such quality decides to leave a team that every player aspires to be part of.Each player in this country wants to play for Namibia and in my opinion, it was foolish for Plaatjies to pull the handbrake now.Namibia still has crucial qualifying matches ahead of the African Nations Cup and professional players are important for the team to give them the edge.Plaatjies does not realise that he will be one of the senior players in 2010 in case Namibia quali?es for the World Cup in South Africa.He in fact should form part of the team that takes the country to both the 2010 Nations Cup and the World Cup.These are major milestones for any professional footballer and it is a pity that such a young player is dumping them like that.He has been playing football for most of his life and representing the national team was surely his ultimate goal as he went through the ranks from the age of 17.It was bad move from the striker who was growing into a very ef?cient frontman, especially for his club Cosmos.The question now is whether he would want to be part of the Warriors team in case they qualify for the Nations Cup in Ghana next year, or will he stick to his guns of coming nowhere near the team? I respect Bamfuchile for saying that Plaatjies is still part of his plans, but sometimes lines have to be drawn against disrespectful players who don’t appreciate the status of playing for the national team.The national team is the pride of any country and if a player expresses a lack of interest, I think he should be left out because there are many players who want to get into the team.There are players who have been working hard for a place in the team, but sometimes are overlooked or are not playing for the right teams to be noticed.No one is bigger than the game.If players, irrespective whether they are professionals or locals, do not take the decisions of coaches in a sportsmanlike manner, they should simply go.If players do not perform to the best of their abilities or are off form, they should also not be considered for the national team.Players are not doing the national team a favour if they behave like untouchables or if they get big headed after hitting the big time in professional leagues.The coach has the right to pick his team the way he sees ?t for any game and players should not show resentment or unhappiness whatsoever.As a professional, Plaatjies was supposed to take the decision and instead concentrate on working harder to be part of the tactics of the coach in future, but for now, he has dug his own grave.