Broos’ assessment of Bafana Bafana’s progress in his tenure
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has detailed where he believes the national team has improved under his tenure, which also includes an AFCON bronze medal.
South Africa beat DR Congo 6-5 on penalties during the AFCON third-place play-off match on Saturday night.
It’s a second medal for Broos in Africa, as the Belgian coach won Gold with Cameroon in the 2017 CAF tournament. The Bafana job is also his second as a national team coach in his 36-year coaching career.
Broos, who seems to have won over many South Africans due to the team’s performance in Ivory Coast, has had a hostile start to his tenure. This is due to his outspoken nature and addressing things as they are about his employer, SAFA, and his relationship with PSL teams.
WHERE BAFANA BAFANA HAS IMPROVED UNDER THE BELGIAN MENTOR
During the post-match briefing against DR Congo on Saturday, the 71-year-old commended the mentality of the current team.
“There is still a lot of work to do, but I think the basics are there,” said Broos.
“Everyone knows now what we expect from them as a player when they play for the national team. The good mentality, we showed it today [Saturday]. If you played all those games and you do it today, like my team did, then you have the right mentality.
“So again, the basics are there now. The players are there now, even though we have to go to work later to try to make some progress with the team. But we are two steps further than two years ago.”
WHAT HUGO BROOS LEARNT DURING HIS TENURE WITH THE CAMEROON NATIONAL TEAM
“When I was in Cameroon, I didn’t know what the AFCON was. I learned a lot. I knew that it was a championship for Africa, and I knew the teams. But I didn’t know how the games were, and for me, the big surprise at the beginning when we were in Gabon was the intensity of the games.
“Every team [nation] is playing for their lives. They want one thing, which is to win the game, and this AFCON, you saw little teams who made a lot of progress and eliminated big teams. But for me, this was a very good experience.”
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