Australia NewsVelaphi's Bittersweet Sympathy |
PERTH Glory stopper Tando Velaphi admits it's 'bittersweet' to be going to the Beijing Olympics after Danny Vukovic failed to win back his place in the team.
The Central Coast keeper was originally handed a 15-month suspension for manhandling referee Mark Shield during the Mariners' A-League grand final loss to Newcastle in February.That suspension was softened slightly on appeal, allowing Vukovic to play at the Olympics, before FIFA stepped in last month, ruling that the 23-year-old cannot play for Australia in Beijing. The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld that finding last week.
Velaphi, though, admits the circumstances are not ideal but says he's still thrilled to be one of the players selected between the sticks in Vukovic's absence.
"Vuka's a massive part of our team and I think he played all 14 qualifiers," said Velaphi after training with the Glory on Tuesday morning.
"We're all disappointed about what occurred, but, at the same time it gave me an opportunity, so it's sort of bittersweet in a sense."
"He's (Vukovic) obviously pretty disappointed and we're all behind him and it's something you can't really explain unless you're in that situation."
"So, we all feel for him and when we go to the Olympics we'll all be thinking of him that's for sure," Velaphi said.
The 21-year-old said he was starting to get excited with the Games just a month away.
"(It's) something I've aspired to as a kid and even as a youngster, I used to skip days of school to watch the Olympics. Now to actually experience it myself, is a childhood dream," he said.
Velaphi will be joined on the plane to China by Glory team-mates Nikita Rukavytsya and Nikolai Topor-Stanley.
Australian goalkeeping duties, meanwhile, will be shared between Velaphi and Reading stopper Adam Federici after regular Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was not selected as one of three over-age players.
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