THE discussion regarding Hugo Broos' replacement intensifies at Safa House , especially with assistant Helman Mkhalele having ruled himself out for now.
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Former Bafana Bafana team manager Zola Dunywa has criticised Safa president Danny Jordaan for overlooking local coaches, insisting that a "son of the soil" should succeed Hugo Broos after the upcoming Fifa World Cup.
Broos announced a few months ago that he will retire from coaching after the global showpiece in North America, following an illustrious career that includes winning the 2017 AFCON with Cameroon.
Broos will likely have fond memories of his time with Bafana. He restored the country’s pride in the national team by backing youth over experience, and form over popularity and hype. His strategy paid dividends, with Bafana winning bronze at the 2023 AFCON and automatically qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 24 years.
Given his success, Broos’ boss, Jordaan, seems hesitant to let the man who has changed the face of Bafana over the last five years, leave.
“He’s (Broos) indicated that at the end of his contract he’ll have reached his retirement age, but we still have a conversation to have,” Jordaan revealed earlier this week during the announcement of Safa’s partnership with Standard Bank.
However, Jordaan’s comments have angered Dunywa, his former comrade and colleague. Speaking exclusively to Independent Media on Wednesday afternoon, Dunywa accused the administrator of being anti-local and preferring only foreign coaches.
“My problem is that I am not a fan of foreign coaches for our boys,” Dunywa revealed. “I think the things that started the conflict between myself and Danny, who brought all these coaches by himself – Phillip Troussier, Carlos Queiroz, and Alberto Perreira – still apply.
Dunywa also expressed shock at claims that Bafana’s failure to progress past the last-16 at the previous AFCON was due to a lack of depth from players currently playing club football abroad.
The Eastern Cape-born former football administrator rubbished the claims, insisting that it was a travesty given Bafana's top-three finish at the 2023 tournament in Ivory Coast.
“I have no problem with Broos. Fine!” Dunywa said. “What he did was wise. He took the Mamelodi Sundowns team, almost its entirety.
“About 10 players, including Percy Tau, who was playing in Egypt at the time, were at the 2023 AFCON. They did wonders in Ivory Coast. They beat everyone until they finished third.
“They are all locally born and played for the same team, which was already an engine. He has now given us an excuse that we ought to accept when we haven’t done well, given the lack of overseas-based players.”
Dunywa supported his sentiments by highlighting the success stories of the late Clive Barker (1996 AFCON gold), Jomo Sono (1998 AFCON silver), and Trott Moloto (2000 AFCON bronze), all of whom he worked closely with at Safa before his resignation as Bafana team manager in 2001.
“When we went to the World Cup in Japan and Korea, I told Carlos Queiroz there that I even resigned because I couldn’t work with him. They all don’t know the culture of our players,” Dunywa added.
“All the coaches that went through our program, including Shakes (Mashaba)) who beat Brazil abroad, are nowhere to be seen. He (Danny) didn’t want Shakes messing things up with Trott, and Pitso (Mosimane) will probably be too late to afford.”
While he didn’t reveal the local man that he feels is capable of filling Broos’ shoes, Dunywa said Safa should turn to Bafana’s all-time leading goal scorer, Benni McCarthy, as he likes to make things about him, instead of the team effort.
*Mihlali Baleka is Independent Media's senior football reporter and a panelist on the group's soccer podcast, The D-Line, which is exclusive on our YouTube channel The Clutch