Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi has hit back at Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos for benching Teboho Mokoena, saying he must focus on managing his own house.
This is at the back of Broos’ comments ahead of Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers recently against Congo Brazzaville.
Broos said it did not make sense why a player of Mokoena’s quality would be overlooked and benched by Mngqithi at Sundowns.
Mokwena has not played in the last four games for Sundowns but was selected for the national team and scored two goals during their 5-0 win over Congo.
To spice things up, Mokwena made a celebration gesture for the two goals that suggested that he was sending a message to the Downs coach.
Each man for his own family
Speaking to the media during a press conference ahead of their Carling Knockout last 16 clash against his former side Golden Arrows on Saturday, Mngqithi said Broos must not tell him who to play in his team.
“He [Broos] must manage his house and allow me to manage my house,” Mngqithi said.
“Nobody tells me who plays on this team. I cannot be expected to be told by another coach who to play on my team.
“The truth is we all know the quality of the players, and they are going to help us. And we don’t have any problem with them. We resolved whatever minor issues we’ve had.
“But each man for his own family. We must take care of our own spaces. Nobody says anything when he plays eight defenders; we keep quiet because we respect him.
“I respect him; he has done very well for this country. Everybody is excited. But you must understand we have a responsibility to manage our whole squads just like he manages his whole squad. I don’t have much to say in that space.
No one is bigger than anyone else
Mngqithi went on to say that the 72-year-old grey-headed Belgian should have picked up the phone and called him instead of addressing the matter in the media.
“The best thing that could ever happen is for him to call me or for us to have a call where we will talk about our situation because I never say ‘why you select that player and don’t select that player’.
“I don’t expect another coach to do that — maybe administrators.
“With the respect that I have for him, you’ll give me a call, and we discuss this thing as coaches. No one is bigger than anyone else; we are both coaches.”
