Hugo Broos has been a divisive figure ever since his announcement as Bafana Bafana coach.
Taking the reins from Molefi Ntseki in 2021 after South Africa failed to qualify for that year’s Afcon, football in Mzansi had reached another painful low.
Missing out on the tournament in Cameroon with a 2-0 defeat to Sudan on the final match-day was a massive blow to the psyche of the football fraternity.
With Ntseki unceremoniously dumped, Broos was not a popular choice to succeed him, with Carlos Queiroz very close to returning to the helm with Roger de Sa in tow.
Broos had led an unfancied Cameroon team to the African glory in 2017, but when the man from the Flanders arrived in SA he made himself nog unpopular.
Like most men from that part of the world, his frank words were a bietjie too much for us South Africans.
We never want to hear just how bad things truly are.
We say things “shame” and “voeitog” for alles. Not Broos.
Broos came into the job calling out the quality of the PSL and his South African Football Association (Safa) for their setup.
I actually found it very entertaining, to say the least.
But, honestly, the man has been a breath of fresh air in our soccer circles.
He ripped into the team that Ntseki built and said he’d build a younger one. The knives were out quickly.
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— Velile Mnyandu 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 (@Velile_Mnyandu) October 17, 2023
Mshishi with the early opener that takes us to half-time. Let’s come back stronger boys & tighten up. @SABC_Sport | #InternationalFriendly pic.twitter.com/yVAdbfsNFd
Broos though has owned up to his mistakes, seeing the value in a player like Themba Zwane, who has become one of his irreplaceables.
The Mamelodi Sundowns veteran once again showed his worth with a classy performance against a powerful Cote d’Ivoire side with a goal in this week’s 1-1 friendly draw in Abidjan ahead of their return to the west African nation in January for the 2023 Afcon.
Broos may not be a tactical genius, but he believes in his players.
And had it not been for a swak decision by Khuliso Mudau - shooting wide when Lebo Mothiba was open in front of goal in the 57th minute - SA would have beaten a star-studded Elephants side.
In his post-match comments, Broos said it’s time that his players start to believe that they should be winning each game they play against their continental rivals. And it’s not just him.
Coming off a weekend draw with Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire boss Jean-Louis Gasset said of the friendly matches they playing: “Bafana Bafana and Cote d’Ivoire, and all the teams are on the same level in Africa, we will try to play with the same team, a strong team to progress towards Afcon.”
While it seems unclear, he is saying SA, Cote d’Ivoire and Morocco are all on the same level.
This is what Morocco boss Walid Regragui had to say over the weekend: “In the African Cup, you have every team that can win the African Cup, also South Africa. When I travelled there I lost, now you don’t have easy games anymore.
“For the Morocco team, Inshallah, we’ll try to do our best [to win the competition] the same like the World Cup, I think many teams are outsiders to win [the Afcon].”
After going over a year without a defeat, if Broos and his rivals think this team is on the up, the players must start believing now.
And maybe we should too.