Mkhalele roped into the Bafana fold
BAFANA Bafana coach Hugo Broos says his decision to appoint South African footballing legend Helman Mkhalele as his local right-hand man was based on his “impressive knowledge of the local game”.
“Broos said he was highly impressed by Mkhalele’s knowledge of the game and (that’s why he) didn’t hesitate to appoint him as his number two,” read an official statement from the South African Football Association (Safa) yesterday.
It’s been two weeks since Broos was announced as the new Bafana coach, taking over the reins from Molefi Ntseki.
During his first press conference with the media, Broos confirmed that he’ll have two deputies: a Belgian and a South African. Cedomir Janevski will come in as his Belgian assistant due to his success and close relationship over the years.
Broos was mum on his South African deputy, until he dropped a bombshell on national radio, saying Ntseki would be the assistant. Safa denied having made such a decision.
Asked about the criteria used to appoint the local assistant, Safa chief executive Tebogo Motlanthe
said at a press conference at Safa House yesterday that they presented Broos with candidates who have vast knowledge of local football.
“You don’t impose an assistant to a coach because they are going to work together. The coach came in and we presented a list of local coaches. He met with them. He interviewed them, and made his recommendation,” Motlanthe said.
Mkhalele, who's also the Under-20 national team coach, has 66 caps for Bafana. During his playing career which spanned from 1990 to 2008, he played in Turkey for clubs such as Kayserispor, Ankaragücü, Göztepe and Malatyaspor.