Sport

Hugo Broos’ Bafana Bafana are a well-oiled machine – everyone plays their part to perfection

Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen William celebrates during the Fifa World Cup Qualifiers 2026 match against Zimbabwe at Free State Stadium on 11 June 2024. (Photo: Sydney Mahlangu / BackpagePix)

By Yanga Sibembe

19 Nov 2024

South Africa’s senior men’s side completed their Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign with a 3-0 win over South Sudan to finish top of their group.

Not too long ago, Bafana Bafana were the punchline of many jokes, a useful tool to defuse awkward situations at family gatherings. These days, the team has largely shaken off this reputation.

This is notwithstanding the ever-present critics and naysayers. It is an inescapable fact that no matter how close you are to perfection, someone will always have something negative to say.

broos bafana afcon Hugo Broos during the Fifa Series Algeria Edition 2024 match against Algeria at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers , Algeria on 26 March 2024 (Photo: ©Djaffar Ladjal / BackpagePix)

Even the Springboks, the standard for consistency for several years with two consecutive Rugby World Cups, have their detractors.

So it is inevitable that a Bafana Bafana outfit still trying to re-establish itself as a force in Africa will be the subject of occasional criticism. Nevertheless, the team have increasingly provided critics with less ammunition, even though they remain far from the finished product.

The team’s Belgian coach Hugo Broos has done amazingly to help shift the negativity around Bafana Bafana since being appointed in May 2021.

Team effort

ronwen williams bafana Ronwen Williams of South Africa saves the fifth penalty of the shootout in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal against Cape Verde at Charles Konan Stadium in Yamoussoukro, Cote d‘Ivoire on 3 February 2024. (Photo: ©Ryan Wilkisky / BackpagePix)

Of course, Broos has not accomplished this mission alone. The players he has trusted have played their part in ensuring that they progress. It took a substantial amount of tinkering with his side to build the type of chemistry and unity that he has forged in his three-and-a-half years at the helm.

When he arrived, Broos quickly identified several issues with Bafana Bafana.

The first and most important was that the players predecessor Molefi Ntseki had relied on were too old, hence the team’s struggles. Broos and his technical team needed to freshen up the side.

The second was that, unlike several powerhouse soccer nations in Africa, South Africa do not have a plethora of internationally based stars to call on.

broos bafana bafana afcon Bafana Bafana players applaud the crowd at the start of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers match against Congo Brazzaville at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape on 11 October 2024. (Photo: ©Deryck Foster / BackpagePix)

Broos – with the extensive assistance of his lieutenant Helman Mkhalele – sought to find the best locally based talent to build a team around.

It was a slow process, marked by trial and error, which provided ample ammunition for those who revelled in the team’s struggles. Blocking out the external noise was crucial.

Broos faced criticism for leaving out players who were fan favourites.

However, knowing that his decisions were taken on the advice of Mkhalele – a former Bafana Bafana player who was part of the brilliant national side of the mid-1990s and early 2000s – Broos was steadfast.

Trusted soldiers

Now he has created an army of mostly locally based players that he trusts to represent the country to the best of their ability, even against the best teams in the world. Players who fight not just for their country, but for Broos, too.

“Since the beginning, the players felt what I wanted and what I didn’t want. And if you continue with that, automatically you build something up,” Broos has said.

“When you are a coach, and tomorrow you say it’s black, then after you say it’s white, it doesn’t work,” he said on the importance of standing by his principles.

broos Bafana mokoena Teboho Mokoena of South Africa celebrates his goal during the Africa Cup of Nations match against Morocco at Laurent Pokou Stadium in San Pedro, Ivory Coast, on 30 January 2024. (Photo: ©Ryan Wilkisky / BackpagePix)

broos bafana williams Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen William celebrates during the Fifa World Cup Qualifiers 2026 match against Zimbabwe at Free State Stadium on 11 June 2024. (Photo: Sydney Mahlangu / BackpagePix)

Players such as captain Ronwen Williams and other leaders in the team in the form of Themba Zwane and Teboho Mokoena, to name a few, have helped spread the Broos gospel.

“He has brought that brotherhood into the team, and that winning mentality,” the currently injured Zwane has said of his coach.

“You have seen in the games we have played – that fighting spirit. He has brought belief that whoever we face, we can fight and try to win,” said Zwane.

“The guy is so relaxed. But he’s straightforward. So, everyone knows the way things must be done in camp. He puts down the boundaries and that’s how it is. He doesn’t compromise,” Williams said.

Due to Broos’ methods, the team has not only qualified for consecutive Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), but finished at the summit of Group K on their journey to Morocco in 2025.

Bafana Bafana also finished as joint second-best scorers in the qualification campaign, hitting 16 goals in six matches alongside Algeria. Only Morocco, with a ridiculous 26 goals in six games, were better. DM

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Team effort

Trusted soldiers