Johannesburg — Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broo has launched a scathing attack on South African football, saying it doesn’t have quality players that can compete against the best around the globe.
Fresh from losing their opening game 2-1 in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers to Morocco last Thursday, Broos held a press conference at SAFA House on Tuesday afternoon to reflect on the defeat and map a way forward.
In his opening remarks, the Belgian-born coach, who wore a silver blazer, spit fire, claiming how not only the Atlas Lions, but their last three opponents, including France and Ghana, exposed the gulf in quality between them and his troops.
“It’s time now to face the real problem. And what is the real problem of South Africa? It is that we don’t have those high-quality players, like our last three opponents, Ghana, France and Morocco,” he said
“When you see the players of Ghana, 90% of the players are European-based. France, I don’t have to explain, all the players are playing in big European teams.
“But also, Morocco. When you see the selection of Morocco, there was only one player, the goalkeeper, who played in the CAF Champions League with Raja Casablanca, and the rest were European-based.
“We don’t have those players: the quality that is playing in Europe. We can look at the quality at fantastic races that (Mamelodi) Sundowns and (Orlando) Pirates had in the Champions League and the Confederation Cup.
“But Sundowns lost in the quarter-final and Pirates in the final. But who won the competitions? Two Moroccan teams, Wydad Casablanca and RS Berkane.”
“And I repeat, there were no players of those teams in the Atlas Lions’ selection, except the goalkeeper Anas Zniti (Raja Casablanca).”
With Sundowns and Pirates having failed to come out victorious in their respective continental competitions, Broos said the standard of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) was not of the highest order.
“Again, let’s face the problem of South Africa. The problem is, the level of our PSL is not high enough,” Broos said. “We don’t make players with high quality.”
IOL Sport