Raja Casablanca coach Fadlu Davids has called on South Africans to support Hugo Broos and forget about Thembinkosi Lorch not being included in the Bafana Bafana Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) squad.
Davids was speaking to the media during an exclusive interview with the SA Football Journalists Association (Safja) on Thursday.
“I absolutely respect the coach’s decision [of leaving out Lorch]. We’ve all been speaking about Lorch and Afcon, and he’s up there with the best in South Africa. But the coach has his clear way of playing, and he decides who comes in,” Davids said.
Decision on Lorch is disappointing
“We must support Hugo Broos. I’m disappointed for Lorch. Because as a player, when you’re performing the way you do, outside the country, maybe not appreciated as much as when you do it for [Mamelodi] Sundowns, [Orlando] Pirates or [Kaizer] Chiefs, where everybody sees it weekly, everybody is talking about it.
“Here [in Morocco], we see he is well-respected in the league. [But] we must support Hugo Broos in not selecting him.”
Broos has been the talk of the town since he named his Afcon squad. And he has faced criticism for constantly leaving out an in-form Lorch, who has been on fire for Wydad Athletic Club.
On Wednesday, during a press conference at the High-Performance Centre in Tshwane, Broos set the record straight on why he does not select the former Mamelodi Sundowns and Pirates star.
Coach decision must be respected
Davids, who coached Lorch at Pirates, has since emphasised the importance of respecting the decision of the coach and his stance, as he has a lot of quality players to choose from.
“I read his comments, I saw his video where he spoke about Lorch. We must respect him, we must support him. And we must get behind the national team with the attacking players that the coach selects.
“Because as I said, the talent in South Africa at the moment, especially in the wingers, No10s, is unbelievable. So the coach has a lot to choose from, a lot of firepower in the attack,” he added.
