New Bafana coach must dispense skills
JOBURG – Time to rebuild a new Bafana Bafana, say two of the top most SA midfield kingpins.
Two of South Africa’s former midfield maestros have welcomed the appointment of Bafana Bafana’s new coach 69-year-old Belgian Hugo Broos albeit with some reservations.
Speaking in an interview with Alex News on the sidelines of a press conference held for the Nedbank Cup final on 8 May, Doctor Khumalo of the 1996 African Cup of Nations winning team and distinguished SuperSport United, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns midfield kingpin Teko Modise, said they would reserve their comments until Broos had unveiled his plans for the national team.
“We want Safa [South African Football Association] to make it crystal clear about a succession plan for the ageing coach [Broos]. We want him to nurture and mentor his potential successor so that there is a clear plan of succession in place to allow for the [sharing] of skills,” said Khumalo who is a Kaizer Chiefs legend.
“We [legends of SA football] were made [by Safa] to run around like rats to sell the idea of a ‘vision 2022’ for South African football and Bafana in particular, and we did, but one can ask today as that vision nears its end, what have we done to attain the goals of that vision?
“Instead, our football is worse off with that vision lying idle somewhere in our drawers. Why do we make visions and plans that we cannot execute. A plan that cannot be put into action remains just a plan, and so is a vision.”
Modise, well-known in Masandawana fan circles as the ‘General’ for marshalling the ball around like an army general, said he would be tight-lipped until Broos announced the timelines around his plans of turning the fortunes of Bafana Bafana around.
“We wait with bated breath to see what he can do for us. Our national team is in a shambles with so much work to be done. We don’t want to always rely on one player [Percy Tau] to carry the lot.
“We would like to see the team rejuvenated back to its glory days and we all trust Safa to have handed us the right men with the right remedy for an ailing team,” said Modise.
Modise called on the Safa administration to allow the new coach to watch all matches of the DStv Premiership and even the GladAfrica Championship, and not a few select teams.
“This would give him a wide berth of advantages in order to select the best of the best and develop a core of the team.”
On where he thought Benni McCarthy lost it in the race to be the Bafana coach, Modise was adamant that McCarthy never lost it. “Instead of thinking he lost it, we and [McCarthy] must look at it as an honour and a pure admission and recognition of his capabilities.
“Look at what he has done for AmaZulu in a short space of time. He found a team fighting relegation and turned it into one fighting for league honours. What more do we want from the man.”
