Why Broos might quit the game if Bafana fail at Afcon

On the eve of Bafana Bafana’s opening Group E Africa Cup of Nations clash with Mali, head coach Hugo Broos has said that he isn’t worried about the sack, and is thinking about quitting the game altogether.

Broos gave an extensive interview over the weekend with Belgian website hln.be, and he did not hold back, admitting that he felt he could well be dismissed if South Africa fail to make it out of the group stages.

Bafana will take on Mali on Tuesday at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo, a city in the north of the Ivory Coast.

“If we don’t survive the group stages, I will … find myself in a storm of criticism,” said Broos.

“And then I wonder whether the federation will resist that pressure (to fire me). But honestly? It doen’t concern me that much any more. I’m almost at the end of my career. I know that, I feel that. I let my assistant do the field training, I dread mandatory numbers such as press conferences. I used to do those things with a smile, but now … you know, this might be my last job. That’s actually how it is in my head.”

Some may feel Broos should not be expressing these kinds of emotions just ahead of a major tournament with Bafana. Yet it is hardly out of character. Since he took over as head coach, the Belgian has always spoken his mind, regardless of the circumstances.

With 16 teams out of 24 at the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying for the next round, the odds, in any case, are stacked in Bafana’s favour to make the last 16.

Fast start

They could, however, do with a fast start against Mali, as points on the board will stand them in good stead going into their clash with Namibia on Sunday.

In Mali, however, Bafana face a side with a host of stars of European club football, and a team determined to start their own Afcon campaign with a bang.

“We’re determined to win his match and ready,” said Mali captain Hamari Traore at the pre-match press conference, though he also expressed an admiration for the Eagles’ opponents.

“South Africa is a solid country with good players,” added the right back, who plays his club football in La Liga with Real Sociedad.