Standing on the Brink of History – Hugo Broos
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By Satish Sekar © Satish Sekar (February 7th 2024)
Comparing Hugo Broos’ Achievements
The Bafana Bafana struck coaching gold with Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winning coach, Hugo Broos. When he was appointed in May 2021 he made outlandish promises that they could kill him if he did not qualify South Africa for the Africa Cup of Nations. He avoided the bullet by bringing South Africa to la Côte d’Ivoire. He obviously likes pressure as no sooner had he qualified the Bafana Bafana than he made another promise offering detractors another opportunity to shoot him, this time if the Bafana Bafana failed to impress. His life was safe after the formidable tactical masterclass he delivered to steer South Africa into the last eight. Ronwen Williams’ performance – captaincy obviously agrees with him – in the penalty shoot out took the Bafana Bafana to a semi-final berth against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In 2017 Broos delivered one of the most seemingly impossible AFCON triumphs ever. The age-old club versus country conflicts had led a number of established Indomitable Lions to refuse their call-ups for the Africa Cup of Nations. That forced Broos to rely on largely untested local-based players. The lack of experience was soon made up for with undefeatable team spirit and ethic. Broos only had players who really wanted to be there and were hungry. They would not waste their opportunity.
Hervé Renard is the only coach so far to win AFCON titles with two different teams – Zambia in 2012 and the hosts of this edition, la Côte d’Ivoire, three years later. If Broos can steer his team past Nigeria he will be one match away from an even more impressive achievement, as he will have matched Renard, but done it with players predominantly based in Africa. I asked him to compare his achievements with Cameroon and his current one at this AFCON https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uHImP4Ahnk (Hugo Broos’ Comparison)
Hugo Broos stands on the brink of making AFCON history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1WEGBhhy-4 (Hugo Broos Stands on Brink of Making AFCON History)
