Bafana Bafana legend Doctor Khumalo has weighed in on whether the national team head coach Hugo Broos’ public criticism of the on-going Africa Cup of Nations affected the team.
Before the team’s elimination from the tournament in Morocco, Broos was critical of several things including the organisation of the competition, logistics around training facilities and team hotel and the lack of vibe, the latter being an opinion most North Africans weren’t pleased about.
Khumalo was asked on the African Five-a-Side podcast if he thinks the coach’s comments might have brought on unnecessary pressure on him and Bafana especially for the last 16 round match against Cameroon.
The former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder believes certain things could have been addressed with respect while highlighting the manner in which Broos’ comments came out and perceived even giving the example of how the Belgian also upset South African fans prior the tournament.
“You need to be mindful of what you are saying,” said Khumalo.
“Remember, this is Africa we don’t reciprocate, nor do we receive everything said the same way. There are certain things, there are certain culture that you need to respect but above all, you need to respect the game. You need to respect the Association, you need to respect the host country and your colleagues, protect your players, [and] protect the country that employed you.
“So, there’re certain things that you can say them but with respect. You know, you don’t just say them just like that because I was wondering all of a sudden, the booing, where does that come from?
“But now, when you’re seeing this, now I understand because I saw the clip, you know about what he was saying about the host country. But then, like I’m saying that it’s all about individuals understanding, you know, the culture and what type of people you’re dealing with, and yourself as an individual, you need to lead by example, because clearly it affected you and poor players suffered because of those utterances. And I wouldn’t want to say even South Africans back at home they suffered because of that bad utterances. So, they found themselves losing the game because of the pressure coming from that because remember that 12th player plays a major role.
“Sometimes it’s not what you say, no, it’s how you say it. And this is exactly what back home the same, because now there’s a club called Kaizer Chiefs. You know their supporters were saying, you guys go to the AFCON we’re not going to be part of you guys. We don’t want to. Even when they’re playing the friendly games or the qualifiers, they were saying, no, we don’t want to go to watch Bafana because our players are not being selected. But it’s not about being selected it’s how it’s said.”
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