Hugo Broos has transformed Bafana Bafana over the last five years.
Image: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Media
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has urged the public to respect the work he has done over the last five years when he eventually steps down and brings his coaching career to a close.
An unexpected candidate to bag the Bafana job in May 2021, Broos dealt with a host of criticism, including suggestions that he took the position for a final big paycheque as he was then close to 70 years of age.
But the Belgian vehemently denied those suggestions. He promised that he simply wanted to awaken a "sleeping giant", pledging that if he did not qualify for the last Afcon and the upcoming Fifa World Cup, he would gladly step down.
That was a promise kept. Broos returned Bafana to the best continentally and globally as they finished third at the Afcon in Ivory Coast and qualified for the most recent continental showpiece without defeat. They also automatically qualified for the upcoming World Cup in North America for the first time in 24 years.
The event will mark a full circle and déjà vu moment for both him and the team. Broos will return to Mexico, where he played his first World Cup as a player, while Bafana will face El Tri in the opening game of the global showpiece on June 11 — a repeat of the 2010 event on South African soil.
Amid all the success, Broos revealed how he would like to be remembered by locals when he finally leaves his post and potentially returns home to Belgium.
“I just hope that people will respect what I did here in the last five years,” Broos said. “I am a stupid man. I know where Bafana were before I arrived here; I see where Bafana are now. Everyone loves Bafana again. They come to the stadium and support us. I just hope that people know that it was five years of hard work."
Broos had initially declared that he would retire post-World Cup. However, such has been his impact that Safa president Danny Jordaan suggested they would open talks with the 73-year-old after the tournament over a potential extension.
Broos sounds open to that conversation, saying that the focus now is solely on doing well at the World Cup, not his future.
“Maybe it was not a good idea for me to say I should retire after the World Cup. I should have said, 'I will decide',” Broos added. “So, let’s wait and see what will happen in three or four months. If I decide to retire, I will do so with beauty. It has to be a beautiful ending for me."
Broos' men have been hard at work, continuing their preparation with two international friendlies against Panama: at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday night and at DHL Stadium on Tuesday night (7.30pm kick-off).
Ahead of the two clashes, Bafana captain Ronwen Williams urged his troops to win back the coach’s trust and return to their core values — the team’s DNA, positive attitude and strict discipline — which were evidently lost at the recent Afcon, resulting in a disappointing exit in the last 16.
“We need to go back and return the coach’s trust,” Williams said. “Obviously, we’ve let him down. We have built a very good thing over the last few years. So, for us to let it go at a crucial moment shows that this game can humble you."