Bafana Bafana are going to Afcon… so net net.
Hugo Broos’ manne made heavy weather of getting the better of 140th-ranked Liberia.
And this in a three-team qualifying group in which they only had to finish above the Lone Stars, after Zimbabwe were banned by Fifa.
Having said that his critics could “kill him” if he didn’t guide South Africa to Cote d’Ivoire, Broos survived by the skin of his teeth.
And it emboldened the Belgian to put his head on the block again, saying that they can kill him if Bafana don’t get out of their Afcon group.
After seeing SA come close to sabotaging themselves, Broos better have an escape plan.
😀 🆁![CDATA[]]>🅴![CDATA[]]>🅻![CDATA[]]>🅸![CDATA[]]>🅴![CDATA[]]>🆅![CDATA[]]>🅴![CDATA[]]>🅳 😀
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) March 28, 2023
"I think we put the right players in the right place today..."
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos' reaction following their 2⃣➖1⃣ away victory over Liberia.#SABCSportFootball #AFCON2023Q pic.twitter.com/7uYbYJvuxY
It seems to me that as much belief the 70-year-old has in his players, his critics expect a whole lot more.
According to many Bafana fans, we should be at the very top of African football.
Nevermind that. We should be competing at the World Cup.
I’m sorry to say, but we’re not world beaters after reaching Afcon by virtue of scoring one more goal than Liberia after failing to see out a game we were winning 2-0 at home.
Let’s be honest.
We have a one-team league, with Mamelodi Sundowns set to win a sixth title in a row.
👉 Sundowns are one win away from a record extending #DStvPrem title.
👉 SuperSport, Pirates and Chiefs are in a three-way tussle for the second CAF Champions League spot.
The final seven matchday will be a treat to watch 👀
In fact, the Brazilians could be crowned champions this weekend if second-placed SuperSport United fail to beat Chippa United on Saturday.
Other than a handful of players, we have few players actually playing at the highest level week in week out in better leagues.
That Broos got us to Afcon should be applauded, rather than a mob waiting for him to fail.
We’re not that great.
It’s time to realise that driving a GTI and carrying a designer toiletry bag doesn’t make you the business.
Earlier this week, former Bafana boss Pitso Mosimane had a wake-up call for local players.
He told them that they're selling themselves short for having no ambition to leave SA’s shores.
Even if it was just about the money, the riches on offer abroad are exponential more you begin to realise that a Euro is worth almost R20.
But until Bafana players realise that they're supposed to represent the best South Africa has to offer, then I doubt we'll see an improvement.
It starts with proper player development, with a fundamental understanding of the game - that you must score goals as a team and stop the opposition from scoring.
Any misplaced criticism of Broos show just how clueless the haters are about the standard of the game here.
I mean, just take a look at the PSL goalscoring charts. The top South Africans haven’t hit double figures at this stage of the season and Golden Boot leader Peter Shalulile of Sundowns has just 11.
I’ve been writing about SA football for 15 years and there has been little to convince me that our game has improved after all these years.
What I can say about Broos’ contribution so far, is that he sounds like any man who has been steeped in top-level football and realises that the difficult thing about excellence is maintaining it.
Having joined Walid Regragui’s Morocco in getting out of our qualifying group, June’s “dead rubber” should be about stepping up the Atlas Lions' level.
Becoming Africa's first World Cup semifinalists in Qatar last December, Morocco must be at the level we strive for.
And while we are years behind them, they weren’t much better than us in last June's 2-1 defeat.
It’s time to get serious.
matthew.marcus@inl.co.za