South Africa coach Hugo Broos has revealed his desire to win the Africa Cup of Nations trophy for the second time.
After guiding Cameroon to their fifth AFCON title in 2017, Broos says the feeling of lifting Africa’s most sought-after trophy is a fantastic feeling that one would want to experience more than once. Broos has another chance to win the trophy when he guides Bafana Bafana in Ivory Coast. They will open their Group E campaign against Mali at Korhogo’s Stade Amadou Gon Coulibaly on Tuesday.
“It’s the feeling I had six years ago with Cameroon. Nobody saw Cameroon as a favourite,” said the 71-year-old coach as quoted by CAFOnline, adding: ”When you win it once, you want to win it twice. It’s a fantastic feeling winning the AFCON. I have said before that I am European but the intensity and the joy and everything around winning an AFCON is unique. It’s really unique so it was a fantastic experience six years ago and you can be sure that I dream of doing it for the second time.”
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He, however, cautioned the task ahead will not be easy by saying: “Saying it is much easier than doing it so let us start tomorrow and let us do our best to see where we will arrive.”
On having a squad mostly comprising of local-based players, Broos said: “I think that players who play in other countries have the advantage because the leagues are at a higher level but that doesn’t mean our team isn’t strong. It is not having players abroad that make a strong team. We have to show our strength even though the majority play at home.”