Hugo Broos has spoken about his emotional moment with captain Ronwen Williams after Bafana Bafana‘s historic 1-0 victory over South Korea that sent them into the FIFA World Cup Round of 32 for the first time.
The Belgian coach and his skipper shared a heartfelt embrace at full-time at the Estadio BBVA in Monterrey on Wednesday, and Broos explained just how deep that bond runs.
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“There’s this, when you work five years together, there’s a connection, and it’s more than coach and player,” Broos said.
“We’ve had so many successes, good moments, that it’s more than coach and player — it’s like friends. And I as a coach who tells them what to do. It’s a fantastic combination.”
‘Maybe, who knows, we can go even further’
Broos also admitted the final stages of the match were a nervy affair as Bafana held on to protect Thapelo Maseko’s 63rd-minute strike.
“We hoped that as soon as possible the referee could blow the final whistle, that the game was finished, and that we were in the next round — that was the goal before the tournament started,” he said. “Okay, the first game wasn’t good, but we’ve become better and better.”
Despite the historic achievement, Broos is already setting his sights on going even further when Bafana take on Canada in Los Angeles on Sunday.
“In the next game we will see — we don’t have to do something, we just have to try and enjoy this and try,” he said. “Maybe, who knows, maybe we can go to the third round.”
Kick-off against Canada is set for 21:00 SA time on Sunday, 28 June.