Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos might have dropped a big hint about his future with the South Africa senior national team.
Broos, who at 71 is the oldest coach at this year’s TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, says the Bafana job could be the last of his professional coaching career.
The Belgian has also hinted that he is expecting to be relieved of his duties if Bafana do not do well in the tournament.
“If we do not survive the group stage, I will at minimum end up in a storm of criticism and then I’m curious whether the Football Association will resist that pressure,” Broos said, as quoted by Belgian publication Het Laatste Nieuws.
“But honestly? It doesn’t concern me too much anymore. I am almost at the end of my career. I know that, I feel that. I let my assistant do the field training, I look after mandatory duties such as press conferences. I used to always do those things with a smile, but now… You know, this could well be my last job. That’s actually how it is in my head,” the coach has been quoted as saying.
Broos' words, however, do not confirm that he wants to leave the Bafana job prematurely, nor does it say that he will retire now. In context, he is discussing how SAFA might not want him if South Africa's results at Afcon are disappointing. In light of a potential ''storm'' after AFCON, Broos feels that this could be his last coaching job, only based on his current age.
Furthermore, Broos spoke about what he feels is a lack of support from PSL clubs to the national team, while he also took a swipe at Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena, as quoted by MTNFC.co.za.
“I tried four times to have a meeting with all the coaches of the Premier League, but I was boycotted by the league. My letter was not even sent by the league to the clubs. You should know that there is a row between the League and the football association. As a result, I was denied entry to the Orlando Pirates stadium three times. Can you imagine that?” he added, as quoted by MTNFC.
South Africa take on Mali in their opening AFCON match on Tuesday night, and Broos will be hoping his team will focus on the big game instead of getting distracted by speculation on his future.
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