Cape Town - Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has a nice selection headache at the start of their pre-camp today ahead of their last Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Morocco next month.
The curtain on the domestic season was drawn last weekend as Orlando Pirates claimed their second trophy, the Nedbank Cup, after already winning the MTN8.
The Premiership crown, though, once again belonged to Mamelodi Sundowns, who won the league with seven games to spare, falling just a point short of their 2016 record of 71 points.
While Sundowns and Pirates duly walked away with the respective honours, players, coaches and referees were also rewarded for their performances at the virtual annual awards ceremony on Sunday.
And to the delight of Broos, the duo of Teboho Mokoena and Monnapule Saleng were big winners at the event as they were crowned the Footballer and Players' Player of the Season respectively.
Amid all the nominees, a player that perhaps deserved some reward for his impressive performance this season was Pirates midfielder Miguel Timm – but it wasn't to be.
He lost out on both the MTN8 Last Man Standing and Nedbank Cup Player of the Tournament to teammate Saleng and Stellenbosch's Iqraam Rayners respectively.
And while that might have hurt Timm, who's wormed his way into ‘The Ghost' after a lukewarm reception as they call out his name in a low-tone hum “Timm” with every pass or tackle in the midfield, he'll want to focus on the future as soon as possible.
That's why there'd be no better time for him than to make the final Bafana 23-man squad that will host World Cup semi-finalists Morocco in their last group-stage Afcon qualifier at the FNB Stadium on June 17.
Of course, this match is considered a dead-rubber, given that both Bafana and the Atlas Lions have sealed their passage to the finals next year in Ivory Coast after finishing second and first in their group respectively.
But Broos is not leaving any stone unturned, calling up a strong preliminary 34-man squad, which he'll trim early next month to his final 23.
Bafana start a pre-camp with mostly the locally-based players from today until June 7 in Johannesburg.
The official camp starts with the final squad, including the overseas-based players, on June 11 – six days before the game.
Timm cannot afford to miss out on being part and parcel of that final squad, especially having been lauded for his tactical prowess by Pirates coach Jose Riveiro after the Nedbank Cup final.
“Miguel has an excellent understanding of the game. He has the game in his head, and that helps him to review his own deficits as well,” Riveiro said.
@MihaliBaleka