Hugo Broos says Helman Mkhalele's 'lack of South African mentality' is the reason he has succeeded as his assistant coach at Bafana Bafana.
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When Broos first took over the reins at Bafana Bafana in 2021, he brought along Chedomir Janevski as his first assistant coach, while Helman Mkhalele was brought in as his second assistant.
A year later and the Macedonian vacated his post and Broos decided to continue only with the man known as 'Midnight Express' although he had made an approach to bring in Belgian legend Franky Van Der Elst, who was not keen on the challenge at the time.
Broos revealed that he continued with Mkhalele as he had a different mentality to his countrymen and was able to spot the issues faced in South African football.
"I asked Frank [to be my assistant] but he wasn't keen on going abroad at the time – but the problem is that I should have done it immediately [after Janevski's resignation] I already had such a good bond with the South African [Mkhalele] and mentally he is not South African," he told Nieuwsblaad's Frank Franky podcast, as translated from Flemish to English by YouTube.
"He reasons with discipline and he also says himself that they don't work well here [in South Africa] and that is true. The first month that I was there I also saw big butts – how is that possible? He also saw that some of the players were five kilos too fat – and he is against all that.
"In the meantime, I have built a fantastic bond with that guy, so if I were to say Frank, come along, then what am I gonna do with that guy? Either Frank was going to come as the third assistant coach, or you have to say to that guy [Mkhalele] be careful I'm bringing another guy," he said.
In the same interview, Broos had indicated his desire to vacate his Bafana post just one day after winning bronze at the 2023 African Cup of Nations, as reported by Soccer Laduma.
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