Bafana’s BroosMkhalele bromance
Coach reveals the critical role his assistant plays as his right-hand man
● “I love that guy,” said Bafana Bafana boss Hugo Broos about his assistant Helman Mkhalele, adding: “Okay, not in that way.”
That’s how the bromance between Broos and Mkhalele has played out since the duo first started working together three years ago.
Broos declared his fondness for Mkhalele, a man he hardly knew when the latter was hand-picked for him by the South African Football Association (Safa) as his local assistant coach when the Belgian was appointed in May 2021.
The trust between Broos and Mkhalele developed so rapidly that the Belgian did not replace Macedonia-born Cedomir Janevski, his first assistant who decided to dump Bafana in September 2022.
By the time Janevski left, Broos already had a big trust in Mkhalele — the quiet softspoken former Bafana Bafana wing wizard who played 66 matches for the national side and was part of the team that won the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil under the late Clive Barker in 1996.
In a candid interview with the media at Safa House on Friday, a day before he left for a well-deserved two-week break with his family in Belgium, Broos poured his heart out on Mkhalele’s critical role as his right-hand man.
“I just love him, really... I love that guy, I like him very much. If anybody says something bad about him I think I’d kill (them),” a brimming Broos said of the man who earned the moniker “Midnight Express” in his heyday with Orlando Pirates in the 1990s.
Mkhalele was one of many unsung heroes in Bafana’s remarkable bronze medal journey at the 2023 Afcon in Ivory Coast, prompting Broos to highlight Mkhalele’s influence in the team. “You know, when we had to pick players for the friendly (Broos’s first game against Uganda on June 10, 2021), Helman made the selection,” he said.
“I didn’t know what to do, and which players to select, until after four months. What was important for me was the insight (on the players) I could get from Helman. I trusted him and I followed him. That’s why I told Safa I don’t need another assistant (when Janevski left).”
There was no better place to test the combination between Broos and Mkhalele than in the last five weeks at the Afcon, where Bafana arrived as underdogs and were in a group that included Mali and Tunisia, the two sides ranked above them.
Bafana, who had not made the semifinals in 24 years, came out guns blazing in a group that was completed by their neighbours Namibia. They finished second behind Mali, while Tunisia, who they held to a 0-0 draw in the final match, found themselves among African giants Algeria and Ghana, who were first-round casualties.
Broos said he never took a decision without seeking Mkhalele’s opinion. That was the case, the coach added, when Bafana had to come with a plan to contain Nigeria’s speedy wingers, Moses Simon and Ademola Lookman, in the semifinals.
“I don’t want an assistant who is there but shuts his mouth. No, he’s a coach. For instance, against Nigeria we had to play with three central defenders, but it’s not something only I decided. We talked about it,” said Broos.
While Broos is away, Mkhalele will monitor
I just love him. I love that guy... If anybody says something bad about him, I think I’d kill (them)
Hugo Broos
Bafana head coach
Bafana players in the Premier Soccer League as he and his boss look to blood new and young players to strengthen the team for Bafana’s next matches — two friendlies against Andorra on March 21 and Algeria on March 26. Broos acknowledged that his team’s average age has to come down as they pursue qualification for the 2026 Fifa World Cup in a group that has Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Rwanda and Benin.
Bafana’s next two World Cup qualifiers are against Nigeria away on June 3 and at home to Zimbabwe on June 10.
There’s been a lot of talk about Bafana players like Teboho Mokoena, Ronwen Williams, Aubrey Modiba and Khuliso Mudau possibly moving abroad after their stellar showing at the Afcon. While Broos is excited about that prospect, he cautioned it was crucial they went to the right clubs and leagues.
“You don’t want a situation similar to [Cassius] Mailula, who went to Toronto [in the American Major League Soccer], and is now struggling for game time. A player like Mokoena can easily play in Ligue 1 in France but he has to find the right club.”
Some players were not lucky enough to make the cut into Bafana’s Afcon squad, including Khanyiso Mayo, Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Njabulo Blom, Gift Links and Fagrie Lakay. Broos insists he has not shut the door on any player.
“Their level has to be better and they have to play on a regular basis for their clubs for me to consider them,” said the Belgian.