South Africa’s Hugo Broos dodges gunshot over picking Super Eagles striker as big game player

The southern African giants had a memorable AFCON 2023 tournament in Ivory Coast, reaching the semi-finals and picking up the bronze medal.

Head coach of the South African male football team, Hugo Broos, has revealed he faced heavy criticism after ignoring Percy Tau as a player with a big impact on African football, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 72-year-old Belgian led Bafana Bafana to the semi-final of the AFCON 2023 tournament where they lost on penalty shoot-out to the Super Eagles of Nigeria. It was the first time South Africa reached the semi-final of an AFCON tournament in 24 years.

Some time ago, the former Anderlecht coach was quizzed about African players who turn out to be impactful and stamp their names on big games, and he mentioned Senegal’s Sadio Mané and Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen, ignoring South Africa’s Percy Tau.

Speaking on the Frank & Franky Podcast, Broos revealed he received heavy criticism from the South African media for not mentioning one of their own.

“They almost shot me for it, because I said that Percy Tau is not a big player. When I talk about a great player, I think of Mané at Senegal or Osimhen at Nigeria. The press then turns Percy Tau into a real star player. Strangely enough, Tau was criticized afterwards for not playing well. It is a prime example of how the South African press can be tough,” the Bafana Bafana coach said, as per Nieuwsblad.

Broos, who in recent times has been linked with a return to coaching Belgian club side, Club Brugge, has revealed that the unfair criticism he received made him think about his future in coaching the Bafana Bafana.

“I don’t want to experience the criticism I received here over the last two years again. That is always something that hurts. They accused me of having no respect for the nation and of not knowing African culture. For example, everyone knows that the competition is at too low a level. But if I said that, I would be blamed,” the former Cameroon coach added.

South Africa will lock horns with the Super Eagles of Nigeria on the 5th of June as both sides look to secure three points en route to qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Adefolahan Guerreiro

Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria. With a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience. He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.

Recent Posts

Napoli reject first official bid for Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen amid Arsenal and Man United link

Napoli have turned down an initial €65 million bid from Galatasaray for Victor Osimhen, with… Read More

15 minutes ago

Sevilla FC: Nigerian prospect Ola Great receives trial invitation from La Liga club

Nigerian footballer Ola Great has received an official trial invitation from the Spanish La Liga… Read More

51 minutes ago

Former Super Eagles midfielder reveals what Nigeria need to win AFCON 2025

Former Super Eagles midfielder, Sylvanus Okpala, has revealed what the Nigerian team need to emerge… Read More

6 hours ago

“He’ll train again tomorrow” – Alonso welcomes Boniface with open arms following scuffed Al-Nassr deal

Bayer 04 Leverkusen head coach, Xabi Alonso, has confirmed Super Eagles striker, Victor Okoh Boniface,… Read More

7 hours ago

Nottingham Forest could be tempted as Everton weigh up £33m offer for Super Eagles star

Nine-time English Premier League Champions, Everton, are looking to sign Super Eagles and Nottingham Forest… Read More

7 hours ago