As Pitso Mosimane begins his second stint in charge of Bafana Bafana, ex-Sundowns defender Wayne Arendse has weighed in on how the national team’s rising number of European exports will shape the coach’s mission to deliver silverware.
Mosimane is the new Bafana coach after succeeding Hugo Broos. It is a second national team stint for the highly rated coach, who previously led Bafana between 2010 and 2012.
He returns armed with the experience of winning CAF Champions League titles with Sundowns and Egyptian giants Al Ahly. Also, coaching spells in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran could have prepared him for the bigger national team challenge.
The upcoming 2027 AFCON qualifiers against Guinea at home and Eritrea away, as well as an international friendly match against Egypt, will thrust Mosimane into the spotlight. Scrutiny on the coach will be around whether he will be able to guide Bafana to silverware after a largely unsuccessful first stint when he failed to qualify for the 2012 AFCON.
SUNDOWNS AND PIRATES DOMINATING BAFANA SQUAD
Mosimane has already named his preliminary squad for the upcoming assignments. Included in that selection are Europe-based players like Relebohile Mofokeng, Olwethu Makhanya, Sphephelo Sithole, Ime Okon, Thapelo Maseko, Shandre Campbell, Luther Singh and Samukele Kabino.
Sundowns and Orlando Pirates players have been dominating the national team, and South Africa has been able to compete on the same level as teams predominantly made up of Europe-based stars.
With a squad composed of more Betway Premiership players, Broos helped Bafana to a bronze medal at the 2023 AFCON, before qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where they made history by progressing past the group phase for the first time.
Arendse, however, says having more players in Europe is advantageous, although it will not automatically make life easy for Mosimane, but it will have his work cut out.
ARENDSE EXPLAINS HOW EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE CAN LIFT BAFANA
“I was having this conversation with someone, and he was talking to me about the appointment of Pitso and everything else. We were saying that the players who are abroad, we need a lot of them for Bafana to compete,” Arendse told FARPost.
“But I think it’s very important because of the know-how, and the level of competition is a bit higher, bringing it when you come back home to play for your national team. You can see when the Morocco team is there; you just see Europe-based players.
“When you watch Senegal, you see those playing in Europe. So, I think it’s good for the country when players go abroad and get exposed to these levels. By the time they come back and play for the national team, we are strong in depth.
“I wouldn’t say [it will make Mosimane’s job] easy, but you know it obviously helps because the player picks up that experience, and the more players we have playing abroad and have experience, the more it can only help the team.
“But I wouldn’t say easy; however, it definitely helps, and yes, it’s very important for a lot of players to go abroad and challenge themselves.”
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