- Bafana were held by Liberia
- Pressure continue to mount on coach Broos
- Kannemeyer feels local legends are better with Bafana
WHAT HAPPENED? South Africa’s 2-2 draw with Liberia in last Friday’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier has seen pressure mounting on current coach Hugo Broos. The result placed Bafana’s bid to qualify for the Afcon finals at great risk.
It brought back the debate about whether Broos is the right man for the 1996 African champions. Kannemeyer has now joined a bandwagon of those who feel local football coaches should be the ones at the helm of Bafana.
WHAT KANNEMEYER SAID: “As ex-professional players, we are not getting opportunities because people feel threatened when they employ us,” Kannemeyer told Touchline News.
“You can see that it’s hurting our football when legends are not involved in the game – we have the same dilemma at the national team level because how many ex-professional players are involved with youth teams?
“You can’t tell me that we are incapable of doing the job. Benni McCarthy was fired by Amazulu and he is now at Manchester United, Quinton Fortune is working in Mexico [for Deportivo Guadalajara] and Bradley Carnell is in America [Major League Soccer] working for a big team.”
AND WHAT MORE? The former Chiefs left-back has questioned if there is a plan with informer footballers to help return the national team to its old glory days.
“If we can’t employ our former players, who played the game at the highest level, and prefer to bring in coaches from outside – what is the plan for our ex-players then?” said Kannemeyer.
“No disrespect to coaches who come from abroad – why are we not using our people? Look at all the African countries at the Fifa World Cup – it’s all ex-players. And what is stopping us from doing the same when we have all the experience in the world?
“We are always complaining that we don’t have strikers. Where are Mark Williams, Pollen Ndlanya, and Shaun Bartlett? Why can’t we employ them on our national teams? What about Lucas Radebe and Mark Fish? If we don’t wake up we will not qualify for another World Cup.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: South Africa has been producing coaches who are making waves abroad. Apart from Fortune, Carnell and McCarthy who has been credited for his work on Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, there is Roger de Sa who is Carlos Queiroz’s assistant with the Qatar national team.
A member of the 1996 Afcon winning squad, De Sa has been gaining experience having also been with Egypt and Iran national teams.
Another former Bafana star Pitso Mosimane has also been recognised in Saudi Arabia where he is with Al Ahli, having also worked with Egyptian giants Al Ahly. Steven Pienaar is slowly making his way up in coaching and is currently with the Ajax Amsterdam development side.
WHAT NEXT FOR BAFANA? South Africa are in Monrovia where they will face Liberia on Tuesday as they seek to seal qualification for Ivory Coast 2023.