Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos revealed he invited the six players who didn’t make his 26-man World Cup squad to the presidential dinner because he still views them as part of the group.
Kaizer Chiefs trio Brandon Petersen, Thabiso Monyane and Lebohang Maboe, Durban City midfielder Brooklyn Poggenpoel, Orlando Pirates attacking midfielder Patrick Maswanganyi and Mamelodi Sundowns utility player Thapelo Morena experienced disappointment when Broos whittled down his party from the 32 he had selected last week.
The Belgian’s decision to include the six axed players for the event at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House was described as a ‘humiliation’, but he insisted it was to show them that they’re still members of the national team.
“You know, I am a coach who believes very much in the group. For me, there is no player who is above the group, because one player can’t win a game. We win a game with the group, and a group is not only 11; it’s 26 players, as it is today,” Broos said during his press conference.
“So I wanted to keep that group together, even in bad moments. For me, it should be worse for the players if I had told the new guys, ‘Go home because you are not among the 26.’ That would not have been honest to them.
“So that’s why I kept them together. They went to the event with the president, and they all know the decisions that were made. It was important for them, but they were still members of Bafana Bafana, and that was important to me.”
The 74-year-old spoke to each of the six players about the choices he made and admitted he wanted to avoid any further disappointment by keeping the whole squad together on Wednesday.
“It was a disappointment, and it was not a good moment for the players yesterday evening – not saying, ‘You’re out’, but just, ‘I’m not with the 26,'” Broos added.
“I think it would not have been so bad if I had said it yesterday afternoon and told them, ‘Yeah, guys, go home. You’re not even going with us to the president’s farewell.’
“That’s what I wanted to avoid. I wanted them to feel that I was confident in them but that I still had to make a choice. It has nothing to do with anything else; it’s just about making the choices. And I think it was the best moment – or the best way – to do it.”
