Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has once again highlighted how prioritising physical power in player selection helped transform the South African national team.
Under the 74-year-old Belgian, Bafana Bafana have reawakened as one of Africa’s sleeping giants. The former Club Brugge and Anderlecht coach arrived on Mzansi soil in May 2021, facing plenty of question marks before steadily silencing his doubters.
Bafana Bafana brought home a bronze medal from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations [AFCON], a first step up to the podium in 24 years, followed by automatic qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, breaking a 16-year absence. The run included a superb 24-match unbeaten streak and a welcome rise in the FIFA rankings.
BAFANA BAFANA SHIFT TOWARDS MODERN PROFILE
In the background, Broos and his technical team focused on something beyond talent; they reimagined what a Bafana Bafana player should look like to meet the demands and changes of the modern game.
“For one year before, we looked for the right players. We had a profile, a certain kind of player. We looked into modern football,” Broos said on the Robert Marawa on 947.
“Technically, a South African player is good; there is no problem. But 20 years ago, when you were a technical player, you were a good player, a very good player. Now it is finished. You are a good player.
“But if you want to play at the highest level, you need power. You need physique, much more than only technique. This is something we looked at [in changing Bafana’s selection policy].
HUGO BROOS ON PHYSICALITY AND SELECTION
Broos also pointed to the growing physical demands of international football, citing recent matches as clear reference points.
“In the beginning, we had small players. South Africans are not a big race. They are small people. We had guys of 1.85 [metres]. We faced Nigeria in the World Cup qualifiers. The smallest guy on the pitch was 1.83, the smallest!
“So football evolved. You need big guys. 20 to 30 years ago, big guys could not run. But now they are athletic. Those guys of 1.85 make sprints of 100 metres in 12 seconds. So football has evolved on the physical side. So this is something we looked at when we searched for players.
“Central defenders have to be big guys or somebody who is good in the air. Or somebody talented like [Mbekezeli] Mbokazi. He is not the biggest, but he has big talent. He has the power. This is what you need in modern football. Technique is not enough,” Broos added.
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