Broos revels in South Africa's low key status at Africa Cup of Nations
South Africa coach Hugo Broos urged his players to exploit the indifference towards them as they launch their Africa Cup of Nations campaign on Tuesday night in Korhogo against Mali.
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Broos, 71, took over from Molefi Ntseki in May 2021 and steered them through the qualifying tournament to this year's continental showpiece.
Unlike the coaches leading so-called giants such as Senegal, Morocco, Egypt, Cameroon and Algeria, the Belgian is unable to deploy players operating in the leading European championships such as the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1
"I think that players who play in other countries have the advantage because the leagues are at a higher level," conceded Broos.
"But that doesn’t mean our team isn’t strong. It is not having players abroad that makes a strong team."
Broos, who has coached in his homeland as well as Greece, Turkey and the Middle East since 1988, was hailed for harnessing an esprit de corps in an underrated Cameroon squad at the 2017 Cup of Nations in Gabon.
Bond
At the time Broos told RFI: “I’ve been a coach for 29 years and I’ve never had a group like this. This is a group of 23 friends. I never saw this in a football team.
"There is usually competition between each other, often quite a lot. But here they are just 23 friends who like to play football and who are doing everything to win the game.”
And tha alchemy was salient in the extravagant surge past more fancied teams such as Senegal and Ghana during the knockout stages as well as in the final when they came from behind to beat Egypt 2-1.
“I've got the feeling I had six years ago with Cameroon," added Broos of his latest brood.
"Nobody saw Cameroon as a favourite.”
Were Broos to pull off a similar feat in 2023, he would join Hervé Renard as the only other man to coach two different nations to the trophy.
Few analysts or pundits though have tipped South Africa for such glories.
"They are not to be underestimated,” warned the Mali coach Eric Chelle on the eve of the Group E encounter at Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium.
"They may not have a lot of players overseas but the fact that they play in the same league in South Africa means that they know each other very well, which is a great advantage in a competition like the Cup of Nations."
The clash will end the third full day of action at the tournament. Group D's opening round concludes with the game between Burkina Faso and Mauritania at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké.
And Tunisia start their Group E campaign against Namibia.
“When you win the Cup of Nations once, you want to win it twice," added Broos.
"I have said it before that even though I am European, the intensity and the joy and everything around winning a Cup of Nations is unique.
"It really is and you can be sure that I dream of doing it for the second time.”
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