TS Galaxy chairman Tim Sukazi expects his midfielder Bathusi Aubaas to be on the plane with the Bafana Bafana squad for the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ivory Coast next year.
Aubaas made what was a perfect debut to the national team this past weekend, with a performance that caught many eyes as Bafana beat Morocco 2-1 at FNB Stadium in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The midfielder broke the play effortlessly, playing in tandem with Teboho Mokoena, looking unflustered by the high occasion, displaying the performance of someone who has been long in the national team.
He was unlucky not to be given the Man of the Match, as he won many duels, hardly lost the ball and even when he was in possession, he was never put under pressure, releasing it on time.
There was a lunging tackle in the second half, with fans’ hearts in the mouth but he cleanly won the ball and cleared the danger away against the nation that became the first from Africa to reach the World Cup semi finals, leaving his club boss impressed.
“You look at his performance, he showed more than enough that he’s of that high standard,” Sukazi told iDiski Times.
“South Africa were playing against Morocco that reached the World Cup semi-finals last year, therefore it is a good game to gauge and measure the level of the player. We all know how Bathusi performed and for sure I believed that he should be part of the team in Ivory Coast.
“But I’m not the national team selector but he showed enough to justify his selection going forward.”
Before the match at FNB Stadium on Saturday, Aubaas was listed as Orlando Pirates player on the team list, which left Sukazi angry, demanding an apology from SAFA and all involved.
It became a huge talking point on social media as Pirates fans were salivating that the club had captured a gem midfielder. But Sukazi is confident that Aubass will be with Galaxy next season, unless the club offered a good deal but as of yet he has not received any.
“It should be, he’s our player,” said the former agent.
“But I have not received any offers from Orlando Pirates, and that is the starting point. There have been rumours in the media and rumours you can’t control.
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“As a professional organization, we cannot respond to the rumours because they are everyday things. If you do, you will be responding every day to the rumours, no. We can probably, where it warrants justification, issue one statement and that should be that [if he leaves]. But rumours you can’t control.”
Aubaas, who was part of the Galaxy side that made history by winning the Nedbank Cup trophy in the 2018/19 season when the club was playing in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, featured in 26 matches as the club 10th in the DStv Premiership.
