- Broos named 24-man squad for Afcon qualifier
- Downs produced eight players, Pirates four, Chiefs none
- Broos unhappy with Soweto giants
WHAT HAPPENED: Sundowns produced eight players for the national team preparing for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Liberia while Pirates had four and Chiefs failed to get a representative.
It is a situation that has not gone down well with the South Africa coach, who insists the two Soweto giants should be producing more players for the national team like they used to.
Broos has questioned the structures set by Bucs and the Glamour Boys in improving their quality and reducing the gap between them and Masandawana.
WHAT HE SAID: "It is not working against me hey, not at all, if you have good players from one team it is not working against me but as I said already if you have so many players from the same team that means you don’t find the same quality somewhere else," Broos told the media.
"That is not good for South African football, it’s not good when we don’t have more players from Chiefs and Pirates, top teams here in this country, it’s not good so let us hope in the future.
"Chiefs are struggling, okay a little but [are] better now, but they are still struggling to be like the Chiefs of before, Pirates, the same thing. They will have good results and then later it’s not good, so they are also not stable.
"And I was looking a little bit in the last five championships that Sundowns won before it was three, two points difference, now today it’s 20 and 17 and… this is not good, this is not good and let’s hope, as soon as possible, Chiefs and Pirates are the top teams fighting Sundowns for the [league title].
“What I feel… [Sundowns] have a plan, they have a plan, when you see the players coming to Sundowns, always the same types of players, they know what they want, they need a certain position and they look and say this guy, we need this quality and take him. So there is a plan and they have a good coach.
“I don’t know [if Chiefs and Pirates have a plan], but do you think it’s normal that Chiefs and Pirates were always [fighting for the league], and that they are now 20 points off Sundowns? There is something wrong, I don’t know what."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Downs are on course to win their sixth Premier Soccer League trophy in a row.
They are currently on 59 points on the table with eight matches to go, meaning Pirates and Chiefs have no chance of winning the title. The Brazilians are also in the Caf Champions League quarter-finals and in the race for the Nedbank Cup.
Chiefs have gone eight years without a trophy while Bucs won the MTN8 a couple of months ago.
IN THREE PICTURES:
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Backpagepix.WHAT NEXT: Chiefs and Pirates have a mammoth task to improve their squads to be more competitive next season.
