Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has revealed he is baffled by Zakhele Lepasa’s struggles at club level, saying he cannot understand why he doesn’t play regularly because he always performs for the national team.
Lepasa has scored three goals and set up two more in just five games for Bafana, with his latest goal coming in the 2-1 win over Morocco on Saturday.
His goals against Morocco and Liberia earned Bafana four points in the Africa Cup of Nations qualification and he was also hailed by former South Africa midfielder Doctor Khumalo over the weekend.
“You have a player that is giving you what we had years back, your Mark Williams, your Shaun Bartlett,” he said on SABC Sport.
Broos echoed a similar tune, saying Lepasa has done very well whenever he puts the national team jersey on.
“I said it already in the past, Zakhele is always a player in his club who has problems,” he told journalists.
“He didn’t play at Pirates, now also at SuperSport he doesn’t play every game or just parts of the game.
“I really don’t understand it. I give him confidence because he is a good striker. He is a good striker but you have to give him confidence, first of all.
“Still, he has to improve. But I’m very happy, I’m very happy with him. Every game he played, he made an important goal. He scored in Liberia…
“I don’t think for defenders it’s nice to play against him, he’s always in movement, he’s quick. Things that we ask, he does. We ask him, ‘Zakhele go deep, you’re quick’ [and] all the game he did it.
“We go on with this guy and I’m very happy with him. Again, for me it’s a little surprise that’s he’s not a starting player at his clubs.”
South Africa moved to the top of Group K with seven points from four games but Morocco could finish the AFCON qualifiers on top should they at least draw with Liberia in the final game of the group.
