Broos has given us a reason to start believing

Iwill be the first to admit that when Safa unveiled Hugo Broos as the new Bafana Bafana coach, I was not entirely impressed with the appointment.

That is because the general expectation was that the Association would appoint a local coach since we had not had much joy with foreign exports.

Stuart Baxter – who got the gig twice – Phillipe Troussier, Carlos Queiroz, the late Ted Dumitru, even Carlos Alberto Parriera, with all his wealth of experience, could not do much with Bafana.

In fact, he (Parreira) holds the unpleasant distinction of being the only coach to fail to advance to the World Cup knockout rounds as a host nation.

They have all failed and it felt, for a moment, that it was perhaps time to give the top job to a homebrewed mentor who’d be given all the support, patience and time, much like the Germans invested so much faith and patience in Loachim Low.

We all know he eventually won their first World Cup since West and East Germany were unified. The blueprint was there, why not use it?

But now, the straight-talker that Broos is seems to be shaping-up just fine with Bafana.

It takes a bold coach to drop the so-called top players in the country such as Andile Jali, Bongani Zungu, Kamohelo Mokotjo, Keagan

Dolly, Themba Zwane and former captain Thulani Hlatshwayo.

Really, you need balls of steel to do that and replace them with a whole new-look squad.

When Broos oversaw his first game in a 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe, the team was virtually unrecognisable.

Look, there is nothing wrong with outsiders, just as long as they bring a skill-set or experience that none of our local coaches have, and Broos has previously won the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon and has made a decent account of himself in Belgium, where he won the Coach-ofthe-Year on four occasions.

Whatever you think about Broos, you cannot help but marvel at the results he has yielded for Bafana.

It is obviously premature to celebrate since Ghana are breathing down our necks in a tough Group G but we are sitting at the summit with 10 points while the Black Stars are on nine.

We still have to face a tricky Zimbabwe side at home and Ghana away.

Providing we advance, there’s still a two-legged affair as those rounds pair group winners against one another for a final place in the World Cup.

Be that as it may, winning against Ghana and twice against Ethiopia is not child’s play, given Bafana wishy-washy tendencies.

You can argue that SA played a weakened Ghana side but whatever the case was – three points are three points.

Imagine (because chances are that it may still not happen) Bafana Bafana playing in the World Cup again?

It would certainly be heart-warming to have them counted among the finalists in the global spectacle.