Cape Town - Despite having a five-year contract in place, Hugo Broos’ tenure as Bafana Bafana coach hangs by a thread after the team’s disastrous Africa Cup of Nation (Afcon) qualifying outing at Orlando Stadium on Friday.
The 2-2 stalemate against Liberia was a hammer blow for the 70-yearold Belgian, and for several moments after Friday’s match, the media thought he had resigned his post when he did not pitch up for the post-match interview with the SABC.
Broos was an emotional mess and only after he was told by the Safa hierarchy to face the media rather than his assistant Helman Mkhalele, did he share his feelings.
His behaviour on Friday is a pointer to what will happen if Bafana lose in Monrovia tomorrow (6pm kick-off). Broos will surely resign on the spot and will return to his native Belgium faster than you can say “you’re fired!”
Broos is a vastly experienced coach. Belgium enjoyed limited spells as the world No 1 in 2015, 2016 and 2022 and during that time, Broos also had working experience there and would have had access to the football intelligence that helps a country to be the best on the world.
Broos was appointed in May 2021, and he has on occasion found the South African landscape to be ‘hostile territory’ as he tried to impose his vision and tactics on the national team.
From the outset, it was not easy because how he operated bordered on arrogance.
Over time, relations improved, and a week ago Broos spoke highly of the national squad, which he said had improved in leaps and bounds.
ALSO READ: WATCH: The wait continues ... Spurs end unhappy relationship with Antonio Conte
He was confident about the team’s strike-force, which he felt could spearhead the side’s challenge in the back-to-back Afcon clashes against Liberia.
That attacking force failed Broos miserably and it was painful to see how wasteful Percy Tau, Themba Zwane and Bongokuhle Hlongwane were. They had 17 shots at goal and failed to convert 15. The lone striker, Lyle Foster, was on target with the other two shots at goal.
Undoubtedly, Broos is equipped to devise a gameplan that can defeat Liberia.
To date, Broos has guided the team to eight wins in 14 matches. The three defeats were against teams ranked higher than Bafana on the Fifa world rankings, namely, France, Morocco and Ghana.
Broos’ experience also gives him an intimate knowledge of playing conditions in Africa and he is a past Afcon winner, after leading Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions to victory in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
He also spent several seasons working in Algeria, so he has travelled the continent often enough to know what awaits the team in the Liberia capital.
Despite Friday’s shocking draw, Bafana remain overwhelming favourites and should win against Liberia. The Liberians know this, too, and after last Friday, they know what it takes to unsettle Bafana Bafana. Tomorrow they won’t be waiting for an invitation to do so.
@Herman_Gibbs