Doctor Urges SAFA To Plan For Broos’ Departure
South African football legend Doctor Khumalo has expressed hope that the South African Football Association (SAFA) has a succession plan in place to ensure the continued success of the national team, Bafana Bafana, after coach Hugo Broos leaves.
Broos, appointed in May 2021 when the team was struggling after failing to qualify for the 2022 AFCON, has brought Bafana Bafana to the brink of qualifying for the next World Cup.
In the tournament, which will be co-hosted by Mexico, Canada, and the United States, South Africa is in a strong position following a 3-0 victory against Lesotho on Friday and a draw with Nigeria on Tuesday in matches played at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.
The team now needs just one more win from their two remaining games against Zimbabwe and Rwanda next month.
Khumalo, a key player in the 1996 AFCON-winning squad, emphasized the importance of planning.
“I would like to believe that SAFA has a plan for that kind of situation, and we don’t have our former player [Helman Mkhalele] just sitting there as an assistant,” he stated.
“I don’t want to get into politics, but as a legend of the game, I would like to believe that SAFA will take care of that.”
Broos’s Coaching Philosophy and Future
Broos is already the longest-serving coach of Bafana Bafana. While Sportswire has been informed that the association has tried to convince him to stay, he is not willing to do so and is expected to retire at the end of the World Cup campaign.
Khumalo, who scored 10 goals in 50 matches for the national team, sees clear parallels between Broos and the late Clive Barker, the coach of the 1996 AFCON-winning team.
“I think he didn’t do anything different,” Khumalo said, referring to Broos.
“When he came, he wasn’t too sure about our DNA. But I think he got it right when he continued where Clive Barker left off. Clive had a core of players that were built into that team. About 80 to 90 percent were always part of the side. He kept the core of the players, and probably one or two new players would be introduced due to footballing problems—like injuries, red cards, or players out of form from their clubs.”
Khumalo continued, “Do you remember Clive once dropped me because I was too fat? So, it was a footballing problem. But he kept the core, and Hugo has kept the core players. That is the reason why his philosophy is being adapted by the boys.”
