Former Bafana Bafana striker Bernard Parker has heaped praise on the influence of coach Hugo Broos on the national team’s attacking unit.
The South African senior men’s side have had two years of massive improvement under the bustling Belgian-born mentor, and has become the most formidable side on the continent once more.
Broos has shown faith when he’s needed to, defended his group and also put them under public scrutiny when required, garnering both detractors and supporters in that period.
However, through all of those periods, Bafana have shown progress under his guidance, more especially in the attacking phase.
The domestic game, development structures and local teams have come under severe criticism for a number of years now for a lack of production of lethal strikers or natural goal-scorers.
This ‘crisis’ has been further emphasised by the dominance of foreign strikers in the Premier Soccer League over the years, with names like Peter Shalulile and Khama Billiat the pick of the bunch.
However, Bafana have begun to find the back of the net regularly, and continue to breed more attacking talent.
The national team have scored a total of 31 goals in 17 matches in all competitions this year, and has shown a style and fluidity that’s been missing for years.
Bafana’s fourth all-time scorer (tied with third-placed Katlego Mphela) with 23 goals, Parker believes it is the mentorship and style of coaching that has re-energised the national team arsenal.
“The most difficult thing in football is scoring goals. We all work so hard to be able to score that goal in a split second, and coach Hugo Broos has been very direct in his approach – and has been very direct in telling his players they have to be effective,” Parker commended.
“We now see the likes of (Evidence) Makgopa, the likes of (Iqraam) Rayners – a player who didn’t make it at SuperSport, goes back to Stellenbosch to prove himself, and has now continued that with (Mamelodi) Sundowns and Bafana.
“Coach Broos has made sure that with the attacking flair that we’ve got, we also become more effective and score more goals with the chances that we create.”
Parker then went on to emphasise the importance of the psychological improvements that Broos has instilled in his group of players.
“We as strikers, when we miss, we lose confidence. But Broos has psyched the guys up to believe that it’s okay to miss – just as long as you’re creating more.
“You create 10, you score one. Then you create 20, you score two. But the most important thing is making sure we play to get goals.”
In the last 18 months or so, Broos has handed various names an opportunity with the likes of Zakhele Lepasa, Lyle Foster, Percy Tau and Khanyisa Mayo all featuring positively.
However, it is his gradual introduction of the attention-grabbing Relebohile Mofokeng that has excited the country, with many looking forward to his progression and growth in the upcoming year. | Independent Media Sport