South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has claimed that he is happier with the work he is doing with Bafana Bafana compared to what he did with Cameroon.
The 73-year-old spent almost two years with the Indomitable Lions as the head coach between 2016 and 2017, which saw him guide the team to their fifth Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title in 2017. However, the Belgian was sacked after Cameroon’s poor performance at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Broos has so far guided Bafana to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations third-place finish, earning South Africa bronze after being appointed in 2021, replacing Molefi Ntseki. The former RSC Anderlecht coach has also ensured that Bafana secure qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and 2026 World Cup.
“You know, when I’m honest, I think what we did with South Africa was better than what I did with Cameroon. We built a team here, and that team progressed day by daym” Broos told reporters.
“And then you go to AFCON, and you have ambitions, but you never think that one moment you should have the opportunity to play the final. The first time I think 95% of the group for them was the first AFCON they played.
“So, you don’t expect that, but the progression we made was enormous. Cameroon was a team they were used to being in an AFCON. “They were seen as one of the favourites to win AFCON. So, it was a little bit different, and the pressure was also much higher in Cameroon,” the former Belgium international continued.
So, I think what we did with South Africa here is third in the previous [AFCON], again now two times in a row, qualified for AFCON and qualified for the World Cup. I wasn’t with Cameroon. We won AFCON and four months later, we were out of qualification. Nigeria went to AFCON.
“So what we did here for me, I am happier with the work I did here than with the work I did with Cameroon, because you can expect that from Cameroon when you go to AFCON, but I don’t think that everyone here in the room, and even I expected two years ago that we should play the semi-finals,” he explained.
“So yeah, it was a great campaign, and it’s still not finished, not at all. So, we will see now in two weeks, and then again, I will try to end my career with a fantastic performance in America, Oh, no, in Mexico now it’s not America anymore. Yeah, it’s very nice for me, really.”
Broos’ Bafana side will take on Angola (December 22), Egypt (December 26) and Zimbabwe (December 29) in AFCON Group B matches in Morocco.
