Rédaction Africa Links 24 with lexpress
Published on 2024-03-06 02:45:00
Social media has commented a lot on the preliminary list of Barea for the friendly matches from March 18 to 26. Coach Romuald Rakotondrabe does not want to comment.
Many Malagasy football fans, especially Barea fans, have been expressing themselves in recent days after the publication of the list of thirty-three preselected players for the friendly matches scheduled during the FIFA window from March 18 to 26. They make remarks, comments, criticize, and some even denigrate the coach and his staff by calling them incapable and amateurs.
“It is not the time to debate the situation. I confirm that I have called, met, and consulted these players. I have also met with or called their agents. Some of our photos together with some players and their agents have even been published on social media,” reaffirms coach Romuald Rakotondrabe, also known as Rôrô.
“I have even recorded some of our phone conversations,” continues the coach of Barea. The technician emphasized that he has consulted other players, at least four among the most commented on social media, “but these players did not give me the phone number of their respective agents. Some have put a stop to our exchanges. Therefore, we could not conclude the negotiations, and we did not include them in the preliminary list,” specifies the coach.
Negotiations
The coach emphasized that his staff must meet the presentation deadline no later than March 3, the deadline for sending convocations to the respective clubs of the players. Rôrô Rakotondrabe listed some expatriates such as the defensive midfielder of Villarreal in Spain, Francis Coquelin, or the striker and top scorer of Ratchaburi in Thailand, Njiva Rakotoharimalala, among those already consulted, but for different reasons or due to injuries, they are not yet in the pre-list for the upcoming friendly matches around March 18.
The technician stressed that they will be able to join the selection for the matches counting for the third and fourth matchdays of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June at home against Comoros and Mali. Local players, on the other hand, will start their groupings next week as they are still focused this week on the Pure Play Off recovery.
The tournament format, which includes Burundi, Botswana, and Rwanda in addition to Madagascar, has not yet been defined. “We will define it with the federations of the nations concerned. These will be arranged matches, and each team will play two matches,” said Helly Zafinimanga, head of competitions at the Malagasy Football Federation.
Serge Rasanda
Read the original article(French) on lexpress.mg
