Dig at Chiefs? Bafana coach on why he can’t do without Sundowns and Pirates stars

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has seemed to aim a thinly-veiled dig at Kaizer Chiefs and other PSL clubs after revealing that he thought of giving their players a chance but changed his mind.

Broos says he considered dropping Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns players for this month’s friendly match with Zambia to give a chance to the others but then rescinded his decision as he was not sure if they would give him victory.  

The Bafana boss ended up calling nine Pirates and five Sundowns players with no Chiefs star in his squad and he has explained how the need to keep a positive vibe in camp and climb up the FIFA ranking made it impossible to test other players, opting to retain his tried and tested.

“For me friendly games don’t exist, every game we have to be focused and concentrated and try to win that game and it will not be different from this game,” Broos told the media on Monday.

Why does Broos trust Pirates and Sundowns stars?

“I want to win on Saturday and that’s all the reason why my first start here was to let players of Sundowns and Pirates in their clubs because of a very overloaded programme but I changed my mind because I want to win. Why I want to win is because it is important for our rankings.

“So, certainly we want to stay in the first 10 and go to nine again but the defeat of Lesotho made us go down to 10 now. Secondly, we are one month before AFCON and it shouldn’t be a good if we should lose the game on Saturday.”

Broos then issued a warning to his players to take the game seriously as any lapse could spill over to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations which is their next assignment after the November international break.

“So, I will ask from every player, focus and concentration, like we had for the qualifiers,” he added. “Even if this is not a qualifier, I will not accept that players are taking this game as a little holiday. I want to win on Saturday.”

“At the other side, it is also for me the last opportunity to call some players who I want to see a little bit more from closer,” said the 73-year-old.

Bafana coach urges new players to grab their chances

With the likes of Thabo Moloisane (Stellenbosch), Thabang Matuludi (Polokwane City), Ricardo Goss (Siwelele FC), Khulumani Ndamane (TS Galaxy) and Sekhukhune United’s Keletso Makgalwa also getting the nod, Broos hopes those who have got chances away from Pirates and Sundowns will grab their opportunities and force their way into his team.

“There are guys here with us who have made good performances with their clubs so I think that they deserve to be with us and it is now up to them in the next days to prove that they are in the right place here,” said Broos.

“That is our players for the future who can help us, it can be the near future, it can be maybe later but that’s the reason why they are here. And again, the performance in their clubs is the most important thing but this is a step higher and it is up to them to show that they can make that step.”

South Africa will take on Zambia at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday.