Botswana national team head coach Morena Ramoreboli has explained why Hugo Broos is fond of a striker like Evidence Makgopa.
Ramoreboli spent a brief period working with Broos, assisting the Belgian coach in selecting the squad for the team’s first matches under his leadership.
He revealed that although Broos had a strong liking for Lebo Mothiba, the forward’s shortage of playing time diminished his prospects with Bafana.
Makgopa eventually became the striker Broos trusted in the number-nine role, a choice that initially drew plenty of criticism but Ramoreboli explained the Belgian’s thoughts.
“If you check Bafana, either they score from the second ball or from crosses or combinations from wider corridors because that’s where he [Broos] has a lot of speed,” said Ramoreboli during the interview with SAFJA.
“These are some of the things when he explained to me the type of players he wanted, we had to engage and maybe check them.
“One of the players he liked, unfortunately it was during the time he started to struggle getting minutes, is Lebo Mothiba because he believes in the number 9 that can be a point of reference in his game.
“That is why, I always tell people that Makgopa is not used to score goals but to connect how the team plays. Those are the things I learnt from him when he was profiling the type of players he wants.”