Bafana Bafana’s revival under Hugo Broos will take time

The South African Football Association (SAFA) finally named a new Bafana Bafana head coach yesterday, with Belgian Hugo Broos the latest man tasked with turning around the fortunes of the South African national football team.

The decision caught many by surprise, with AmaZulu head coach Benni McCarthy strongly linked to the position. Son-of-the-soil McCarthy, who also happens to be his country’s all-time leading goalscorer, would no doubt have been a more popular choice, but Broos, while he may not be so well-known in South Africa, comes with continental pedigree.

In 2017, the former Anderlecht and Belgium defender led Cameroon to an unexpected triumph at the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon, getting the best out of a young squad, with only one player over 30.

ALSO READ: Broos vows to build youthful Bafana

This ability to get the best out of a youthful set-up that is not packed with star names is, no doubt, what partly attracted Safa to Broos.

It seems as though Safa and their new head coach are on the same page in looking to the future, with qualifying for the Fifa World Cup finals in Qatar next year not an absolute priority.

After all, the team failed to even make it to next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals under Molefi Ntseki.

Any Bafana revival will take time, though even there may well not be enough. Good luck, Mr Broos.