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PREPARING SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE WORLD |
Kermit Erasmus is a young man on a mission. Just like every player in South Africa, he drea,ms of playing at the World Cup and representing his country in a World Cup on home soil. Together with Andile Jali, Daylon Claasen and Thulani Serero (who are both with Bafana Bafana in Brazil), Erasmus was part of the squad that played in the FIFA Under 20 World Cup in Egypt in September last year. He spoke to SAFA about the team camp which is currently underway in Brazil...  How was your experience here in Brazil? It was a good experience for me as a youngster, and I think for all the youngsters in the squad. I really enjoyed my time and I really hope to get another opportunity to be part of another camp. But I know that if I work as hard as I have been doing at my club I stand a good chance. What are you taking away from this camp? I play in Holland where I am exposed to European style of play, but here I got a mixture of South African and Brazilian flair. I got back the passion of playing the game differently and I go back to my club a better player. This whole experience will really help me, not just now but also long into the future. The final 23 has not been announced, what are your thoughts? Every player that is here deserves to be here because they worked for their places. The coach is working towards his final side and as such there is a lot of competition for places, which is healthy. But we must all continue to work hard to make things difficult for him to select his 23-man squad. No one can give up now, and if I am not selected I will be at peace with myself knowing I gave it my best shot. And we know there are limited places in the side not every player will make it to the world cup. So what have you learnt here during your stay? In a short space of time we have improved a lot in keeping ball possession and when you do that well it boosts confidence. Now we need to be quick in the final third, which is key because we do all the right things going forward and then we get there and we lose it. Executioned perfectly, we can be lethal and kill off many teams. We also need to shoot from long range, that is something that we don't really do much. We create so many opportunities but we often let the opponents off the hook. Teams that win games are the ones that take their chances, it doesn't matter how small it is. But I am not discouraged because we will be ready for the World Cup. On a plus, we have played five practice matches so far, (Volta Redonda, Fluminense, Boavista, Cruzeiro and Cruzeiro B) and we haven't conceded a goal which shows we are doing something right. The style of play we are working on here suits us well - we are keeping it plain and simple and the results speak for themselves. What are your hopes and dreams as you leave camp? As I said before, I hope to be part of the final 23-man squad for the World Cup. Every player wants to play at the World Cup especially at senior level because I have played a World Cup in the Under 20s and it was an unforgettable experience. We did not bring anything back home but much-needed experience and good memories. Nothing compares to a World Cup. It would be great to be part of the squad on home soil, because this is a once in a life-time opportunity. And even if I don't play, being in the final squad will be quite an achievement. more interviews... |
