Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has defended his selection criteria amid the uproar that greeted his squad last week when no Kaizer Chiefs player made the final team.
Broos and his charges are in Polokwane preparing to face Tanzania on June 6 and Mozambique four days later in friendly matches but he has had to face questions over why he overlooked players from Chiefs.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Broos went as far as accusing some journalists of being Chiefs and Pirates supporters so much so that they criticise him when he does not pick or drop a player from the two teams.
“I feel that some journalists are linked with clubs. They are supporters of those clubs,” Broos said as quoted by FARPost.
Hugo Broos defends his section criteria
“For a supporter, it’s very difficult to accept that you didn’t take a player from his team. It’s not really the fact that you chose it, but it’s because it’s a player of that team, and they are a supporter. That is what happens here.”
The Bafana Bafana coach says his selection is based on merit and the tactical approach for certain games and he does not care which team the players come from as long as they fit what he is looking for.
“It’s a question of choice from my side. Sometimes it’s tactics, and sometimes it’s because the player is number two or three in terms of rankings in that position,” Broos further said.
“For people outside, they are always linking players from certain clubs. So when I drop a player from Pirates, they say ‘ah, it’s a player from Pirates’.
Was Bafana coach right to snub Chiefs stars?
“When I don’t take players from Chiefs, it’s like I have killed someone. It has nothing to do with clubs when I make choices. I don’t make choices because they are from Pirates or Chiefs.
“No, I make a choice without knowing if this player is from Chiefs or Chippa [United]. I just take a player. If you have to drop players from big teams, what is the problem? You have to try to make a national team as strong as possible to play games.”
Broos has consistently overlooked Chiefs stars with his stance being that the Glamour Boys have not been having great performances in the league and hence did not deserve call-ups ahead of players from other sides.
Defender Rushwin Dortley has been the only mainstay in the national team from Chiefs but he is currently out with a long-term injury following surgery in April.
