JOHANNESBURG - Bafana Bafana new coach Hugo Broos says his limited knowledge about South African players will help him to build his own team, instead of assembling a squad around players who’ve been preferred by his predecessors.
Broos was announced as the coach of the senior national team last week, taking over the reins from Molefi Ntseki. The latter failed to guide Bafana to the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon after a defeat to Sudan in the last qualifier.
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Broos arrives with a lofty billing in African football, having led the Indomitable Lions to the continental crown four years ago. But he takes over a Bafana side that haven’t qualified for four continental and two global showpieces in the last 11 years.
Speaking to the SABC on Tuesday morning, after arriving in the country on Monday night, Broos said that he’ll be fair in assessment of the South African players, who are based locally and abroad, as he wants to give everyone a chance.
“I can make my own choices. I don’t have to look at anybody. When you know the players already, sometimes it’s difficult to make the choice. I am clean for the moment because I know I don’t have to count the names or whatever,” Broos said.
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Broos has also highlighted that he’s looking to integrate young blood into the team. He’ll have to hit the ground running in that regard as the under-23 national team, coached by David Notoane, will be playing in the Tokyo Olympic Games this July.
However, he’s fortunate enough that the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers have been postponed by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) from next month to September. The South Africans will face Zimbabwe, Ghana and Ethiopia in Group G.
Only the top finishers in the group will progress to the final round. But with Bafana having been underdogs in matches against Ghana over the years, Broos is confident that he’ll have a plan up his sleeve when they meet in September.
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“Every team can be beaten. But it’s not guaranteed that since I know Ghana we’ll beat them again. But we have to be ready for that (game). But we’ll see in September whether Bafana will be ready to beat Ghana. But it’s possible, why not?” he said.
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