Having been brave enough to hand unknowns from less-fancied teams opportunities –sometimes at the expense of fan favorites from big clubs – Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has explained what he mostly looks at before he calls up a player.
“We have a profile of what a Bafana player has to be; that’s the start. What is that profile? It’s the quality, that’s the first important thing... If you don’t have quality, you don’t come to Bafana,” Broos explained.
“The mentality is very important as well, so when you go and watch games, we’re not only looking at, let’s say, football technical qualities but also how the mentality of the guy is; he gets a kick and he is down for five minutes before he stands up again, and then you realise, that’s not the right player for Bafana.”
The 73-year-old Belgian, who’s won 25 of the 48 games he’s overseen for Bafana, with seven defeats and 16 draws, since his arrival in May 2021, emphasised that the behaviour of a player was crucial when he’s called up for the national team.
“Thirdly, when he comes to us, how does he behave in the group? I’ve said it before, if you have one player with [a] bad mentality in your group, it’s done; so it’s important how a player carries himself,” Broos said.
“It can be that a player has the quality, certainly, but he doesn’t have the right mentality, and it has already happened in the past that I don’t call players anymore because they don’t have the right mentality.”
Broos’ men are currently in camp in Gqeberha, gearing up for Saturday’s friendly against Zambia at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (3pm). This friendly against Chipolopolo, who are 18th in the CAF rankings, is aimed at preparing for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morocco from December 21 to January 18.
Bafana, who’re ranked 10th on the continent, are in Group B with Egypt, Angola, and Zimbabwe.
Sowetan
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