Broos says South Africa will "go back five years in time" if they appoint Mosimane.
Pitso Mosimaneis set to replace Hugo Broos as Bafana Bafana head coach. Photo: Phakamisa Lensman/Backpagepix
Former Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has questioned whether appointing Pitso Mosimane as the new national team coach is the right route for South Africa.
Broos left his role as Bafana head coach in July following the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup and the SAFA NEC has since agreed to appoint Mosimane as his successor.
Mosimane, however, is yet to sign his contract with image rights, his podcast and his school’s football project involvement stalling the signing of the contract.
According to the Sunday World, Mosimane and SAFA have agreed in principle on financial terms but the matter of the image rights has become a stumbling block.
Speaking to Niewsblad inBelgium, Broos said South Africa will “go back five years in time” if they appoint Mosimane.
“Maybe so. You know, South Africa still doesn’t have a manager. The candidate is Pitso Mosimane, a successful South African coach. However, they know that if he comes, they will go back five years in time. Club owners and agents calling managers to influence the squad. I kicked them all out. If one called, I said bluntly: ‘I don’t talk with agents.‘,” said Broos.
‘I’ve never experienced that gratitude’
The 74-year-old added that he would forever be grateful to SAFA for the opportunity to coach Bafana Bafana and will miss the love he was given by South Africans.
“I’ve had to swallow hard a few times these last few weeks, yes. I’ve never experienced that gratitude there. Especially after we finished third at the Africa Cup, and now also survived the group stage for the first time. From my apartment to the shopping centre, that was 300 metres. That meant ten to fifteen selfies every time, cars stopping and rolling down their windows. Once, a car blocked the entire street like that: two police officers asking for a photo,” commented Broos.
‘Pitso is not an ABC Motsepe League coach’
Meanwhile, Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie has weighed in on delayed contractual negotiations between SAFA and Pitso Mosimane, demanding that the former Mamelodi Sundowns and Al-Ahly coach receive equal pay to Broos.
“We come from a country where black people were paid less than white people. Those scars haven’t healed for many people. But we, as black people, cannot do the same thing that has been done to us, where we pay the white man more,” McKenzie told the media during the SA Sport Awards on Sunday evening.
“Pitso Mosimane is not a coach of the ABC Motsepe League. Let us be straight about that issue. It’s like we are scared of white people, where we pay them more, but when it comes to black people, it’s a different story.
“Pitso Mosimane should be paid. The least they could do is start him with the same salary they started with Hugo Broos,” concluded McKenzie.
