‘It will be war against Zambia’ — ‘Bhodlela’

Bafana Bafana centre-back Nkosinathi “Bhodlela” Sibisi has echoed the sentiments of coach Hugo Broos that there are no friendly games for them as they welcome Zambia to Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday (3pm).

Sibisi, one of the leaders in this Bafana team, is expected to start at the heart of defence alongside his Orlando Pirates teammate Mbekezeli “TLB” Mbokazi as Bafana aims to use this friendly to prepare for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco from December 21 to January 18.

“We totally agree with the coach [Broos] … there’s no such thing as a friendly game. I think as soon as you wear that [Bafana] jersey and you are on that field, it’s war, but it’s a peaceful war,” Sibisi said.

“All guns will be blazing against Zambia. The motivation is always the same whenever we are in camp, whether for qualifiers or friendlies...we’ve always trained as if it was our last training session because we don’t take it for granted to be here. It’s always a privilege to be here, and I think you have to earn your spot in order for you to play.”

At the Afcon finals, Bafana are pitted against Egypt, Angola and Zimbabwe in Group B. Sibisi maintained the team was not thinking about Afcon yet as they are fully concentrated on Zambia.

“For us it’s just taking one game at a time,” he said. “We have a mammoth task against Zambia, and we have to make it count that we are playing at home. We can’t look ahead of ourselves and think of Afcon now because we are focused on the game against Zambia.”

Meanwhile, midfield workhorse Teboho Mokoena is expected to play his 50th Bafana game on Saturday, equalling the record of legendary midfielder Doctor “16V″ Khumalo.

The 28-year-old Mokoena has already netted nine goals in a Bafana shirt, the same as Khumalo.

Sowetan