Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos is perhaps one of the most unwanted coaches in the history of the South African football national team. However, his numbers aren’t awful at all and we possibly need to acknowledge his record since taking over Bafana, is not that bad.
Appointed in May 2021, the Belgian tactician did wonders, coming close to going through to the final round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers where nobody gave him a chance. He lost to Ghana in the last game of the group stages, a result that obviously hindered the team’s progress to the next stage.
Broos refused to call up experienced players like Themba Zwane and Andile Jali, saying he wanted to build his own team. Many believed that Bafana wouldn’t have lost to Black Stars had the 70-year-old listened. The 2017 AFCON winner was infuriated by the fierce criticism he received after failing to qualify. That led to him responding frankly about the poor standards of South African football, and lambasting the DStv Premiership.
Suffering two defeats to France and Morocco in a friendly and AFCON qualifier respectively, added weight to the attacks towards Broos, who seemed not surprised though, saying he lost to well-structured teams.
Broos later apologised for hitting out at SA football and admitted his error, and immediately recalled Themba Zwane to the Bafana set up for the friendlies with Sierra Leone and Botswana.
What he will be judged on is delivering on his promise for the nation to qualify for the next Africa Cup of Nations that will be held in Ivory Coast in January-February 2024.
Hugo Broos’ Bafana record:
Matches played – 14
Won – 8
Drew – 3
Lost – 3
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