Xulu says Bafana players need more experience abroad

South African footballers should leave their ‘comfort zone’ and move abroad if Bafana Bafana are to close the gap on some of the big hitters on the continent.

That is according to Azerbaijan-based defender Siyanda Xulu, who has previously played his club football in Russia and Israel.

One such powerhouse, Morocco, is in town for the final match of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

The North Africans made history last year by becoming the first African nation to reach the FIFA World Cup semifinals.

In their ranks, they boast superstars such as Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi, Chelsea forward Hakim Ziyech and Sevilla’s prolific striker Youssef En-Nesyri just to name a few. In fact, only three players of their star-studded world cup squad played their club football at home.

“Personally, I always thought plying your trade outside your comfort zone in Europe or wherever, it improves you as a player,” the Turan Tovuz centre- back said.

“We have seen in Morocco, they have 90% of the players playing in Europe, that’s why they were able to compete at the highest level. It’s very important and it’s one thing we need to make sure we try and do as South Africans whereby we import more players overseas so that we can try and compete
against bigger countries, because that is the only thing they have.

“They have more players playing in Europe and in the Champions League so they have a bit of advantage by playing competitive football week in and week out.”

In stark contrast, only six players, including Xulu, in the 23-man Bafana squad ply their trade outside South Africa.

“When you play (at) home and we play against them we don’t have that much experience when it comes to the national team,” the former Rostov and Hapoel Tel Aviv man continued.

“We have 10% of the squad that plays in a competitive league and it becomes very difficult. Personally, I think that is one thing we have to try improve as a country to get more players competing in big leagues.”

Despite the 31-year-old’s admiration for the Atlas Lions, he maintains that he is not fazed by their array of stars.

“I think I’ve faced quite a few of those players before. It’s just a normal game but when you play those quality players, you also have that awareness.

“Against quality players, you know if you give them one chance then they will score so you have to be on your toes,” he added.

“I think the Azerbaijan (league) is slightly (more) competitive because they have players from all over the world and they play Champions League so it’s very competitive compared to back here at home.”