'It is amazing that this happens, that I am here as a coach, and again I am excited,' said the 74-year-old Belgian.
Bafana head coach Hugo Broos will lead his side against Mexico on Thursday the Azteca Stadium, 40 years after playing for Belgium in the 1986 World Cup against Mexico at the same venue. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu BackpagePix
When Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos stands on the touchline at the Azteca Stadium for the opening match of the 2026 Fifa World Cup against Mexico on Thursday, it will provide an amazing moment of synchronicity for the 74 year-old Belgian.
Belgium’s Broos in ’86
It was 40 years ago that Broos was a defender in the Belgium team who walked onto the field at the Azteca Stadium to take on Mexico in their opening Group B match of the 1986 Fifa World Cup.
While Mexico won the game 2-1, it was Belgium who went further in the competition, finishing fourth.
“It was a fantastic event 40 years ago and something I will never forget, when we played our opening game against Mexico” Broos told reporters this week at Bafana’s training camp in Pachuca.
“For me as a player it was also a period where I could feel that the World Cup was something special. I played in a team in Belgium that had played in the European Cup and won games. But if I compare that with the World Cup, that was something fantastic and I was so happy as a player and motivated and excited that I was there at 34-years-old.
“Now I am back in Mexico, playing the opening game against Mexico in the Azteca Stadium. It is amazing that this happens, that I am here as a coach, and again I am excited.
“The World Cup now is also so much bigger than it was 40 years ago. If what I read is right, a billion people will be watching Thursday’s game. It is unbelievable. It will again be for me the biggest highlight of my career, to be here at the World Cup.”
Bafana’s Broos – ‘There is no revenge’
Broos brushed off suggestions that he had any personal mission of revenge for that 2-1 loss to Mexico in 1986.
“Not at all. There is no revenge. If we were playing another team (on Thursday) I would have the same feeling now,” he added.
“The history of 40 years ago comes back to me now. But it has nothing to do with the team (we are playing). It has to do with the environment, the stadium. I am not sitting on the bench to take revenge for that defeat against Mexico with Belgium.
“I am not that kind of person, I just want to win against Mexico like any other coach would.”
