Hugo Broos has explained Thalente Mbatha’s first call-up to the senior national team, saying he is the type of player he and his technical team had been looking for, for a while.
The Orlando Pirates midfielder is one of the new faces called up by Broos for the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Uganda and South Sudan scheduled for next month.
The 24-year-old enjoyed a successful loan spell with the Buccaneers last season, playing 16 matches in all competitions, helping Pirates finish second in the league and to defend their Nedbank Cup trophy.
His efforts have seen him earn a long-term contract with the Soweto side, and also caught the attention of Broos after his assistant Helman Mkhalele who advised the Bafana coach to take a closer look at Mbatha.
“Honestly we’ve been looking for a player like him for a few years,” said Broos during his squad announcement on SABC1.
“He’s really a defensive midfielder. He’s also a guy who can pass the ball, refresh the game. I saw him in Pirates’ last three games, he did very well. He was always there to have the ball, passes are good, he’s defending good, he’s tall, which is also important.
“I was very pleased when Helman said to me ‘you know Mbatha, maybe we have to look at him, maybe it will be something good for us’. So I went to look a little bit more, concentrated on Pirates’ games and I was convinced immediately.”
Broos added that outside of the qualities the former SuperSport United midfielder possess his height is also a bonus.
“This [height] is something regular in African football, I’m a little bit surprised that every team we play against there are six, seven, eight guys with 1.85m 1.90m,” he continued.
“For a long time we were the smallest team but now we have big players. We have [Siyabonnga] Ngezana, we have [Siphephelo] Sithole, we have now Mbatha.
“In the past we were looking at those players, they are good players but where is the height because it’s important. Therefore Thalente Mbatha is the right player at the right place.”
