Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has given more details about why he finally called up Mamelodi Sundowns forward Themba Zwane.
Broos, 70, made a surprise inclusion of Zwane in his 23-man Bafana squad after previously stating the player is too old for his selection.
However, the Belgian tactician already explained on Thursday that he changed his mind on his decision and now gave further insight, saying he didn’t find the qualities of Zwane in the young players available.
“I said it already before ‘only fools don’t change their mind’. So I changed my mind because we were looking…,” he told reporters.
“I started here, and I tried to have a young team. And everybody said ‘what are you doing with these young boys, they don’t have experience’, and we were nearly, nearly in the World Cup because we did it so well.
“But I also looked at the position that Themba plays, I also looked for young players. Themba is 33, so if we qualify for AFCON, he will be 35, and I will not say it’s not possible, but you know at that age it totally can go wrong because you are at that age. That was the reason that I said always ‘no, no Zwane is 33, I will try to look for young players but I couldn’t find them, so why shouldn’t I change my mind? It’s positive for the team.
“I know what he can, I saw him many, many times for Mamelodi Sundowns. He has the qualities that we need, it’s up to him now. If everything goes ok it will not be for once. That would be stupid to take him once and then say ‘ok, now everyone is quiet and happy’.
“If I wouldn’t be convinced Zwane wouldn’t be here, even if all South Africa was shouting, not at all, I have other reasons to take players and I’m happy that he’s here.”
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Broos also explained that he didn’t yet have the time to speak to Zwane in person, but it’s definitely on his agenda.
“We get together at noon, 12pm, we had lunch at 1pm. After that I have a meeting with my stuff, so I had no time to speak with Themba, but I will speak with him, there is no question about that,” he said.
South Africa will take Sierra Leone on Thursday, 23 September before facing Botswana on 27 September, with Broos indicating he will give every player in his squad a chance to play.
Broos Explains Last-Minute Bafana Change
