The 2017 Afcon-winning coach was on Wednesday confirmed as the new SA national team coach and his immediate focus is on the 2022 World Cup qualifiers
Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi has mixed feelings over the appointment of Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos.
Broos, 69, spent the bulk of his playing and coaching career in Belgium although he also had stints managing clubs in Turkey, Greece and Algeria, while Cameroon is the only national team he has coached.
Mngqithi is hopeful that Broos’ presence may bring something positive to South African football, but also questions if a local coach would not have been better suited to the job, in terms of knowing the players specifically.
“The truth of the matter is that the development of our coaches is also very important,” the Sundowns coach was quoted saying by the Daily Sun.
“Even if you bring foreign expertise, it is important that you have some local coaches within that space so that they benefit from the legacy of that coach.
“They must believe that he brings something that South Africans might not have so it would be good for our local coaches to learn from him.
“If someone brings some scarce skills, we have to support him and ensure that we learn from them.
“But I would always be someone who supports the thinking that South Africans are capable.
“The other thing is that whoever you bring in, if you ask them who the key players at Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates or SuperSport United are, they might not even know one.
“It will take them time to adjust and understand the profile of our players locally and abroad. That is why it is important to surround that coach with people who know the local game well.”
Mngqithi thinks that Broos should work closely with local coaches, rather than importing too much of his technical team.
“The culture of having foreign coaches with full time South African assistant coaches will help a lot, it benefitted coach Pitso Mosimane when he worked closely with coach Carlos Alberto Parreira and I think it can benefit someone else that can be given the privilege,” the former Golden Arrows coach concluded.