Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos is not afraid to rock the boat and is a man of conviction. The Belgium-born coach became one of the most unpopular people in the country when he spoke his mind and said the PSL level was not high enough and that South Africa (SA) was not producing players of high quality.
He was addressing SA football problems when he mentioned that the real problem of SA is that our players are not known in European leagues.
“We don’t have players like those of Ghana, France and Morocco. If you look at Ghana, 90% of their (national team) players are based in Europe. Our best player is Percy Tau but he has problems at his team,” he said in June last year.
Broos was torn to pieces by the unimpressed supporters and observers. They said if he did not believe in the abilities of our players, he should not be coaching the national team.
Even Orlando Pirates striker Kermit Erasmus gave his two cents worth when he tweeted at the time: “Why do we have a coach that doesn’t believe in our talent and league. Sorry for thinking out loud!”
Then Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Steve Komphela jumped onto the bandwagon as well: “Our nation is addressed with so much carelessness and lack of tact. It is disrespectful and to some it sounds like the ‘honest truth’ but others the tone is just as condescending.”
The unapologetic Broos raised eyebrows again this week when he named his final squad for the two friendly matches against Namibia and DR Congo.
The same squad will feature for the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers later this year.
He landed in another tug-of-war after he explained why there were no Kaizer Chiefs players in his latest Bafana squad. “Chiefs have to improve. I saw the game on Saturday, I was at the Chiefs game and I’m sorry, but at the moment there’s no player who deserves to be a Bafana Bafana player.”
Broos has proven that he does not use popularity contests when he selects players – he sticks to soldiers that will die for him on the field. For instance, there are still questions as to how a player like Nyiko Mobbie continues to make the team even though his club Sekhukhune United are not setting the PSL scene alight.
To be fair, Mobbie has not put a single foot wrong in the green and gold colours.
Broos was also pressured to pick Andile Jali but said that he knows the midfield workhorse from Belgium and explained that he was not prepared to work with him because of his off-the-field conduct. Jali never got that call-up.
He even risked qualification for the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers when he stuck with the diminutive Ethan Brooks and snubbed Themba “Mshishi” Zwane – even though SA legends like Doctor Khumalo were up in arms. He later changed his tune and included the Sundowns dribbling wizard into the team after some serious convincing.
Sentiments and emotions aside, Bafana are looking much better under Broos than in the last couple of years.
There is a ray of hope, and the fans are coming back in large numbers, as witnessed in the 2-1 victory over Morocco in June.
There’s also a feeling the team will fare better at the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast but, most importantly, that they will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, for the first time since the 2002 tournament in Korea and Japan.
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