Mngqithi to Broos: ‘I manage my team, you manage yours”
Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Manqoba Mngqithi has responded to Hugo Broos after the Bafana Bafana coach criticised his decision to leave holding midfielder Teboho Mokoena out of the lineup.
Mokoena, who played a key role for both club and country last season, has not yet made an appearance for Sundowns this season.
Manqoba Mngqithi
Broos publicly expressed his disagreement with Mngqithi’s choice to sideline the 28-year-old, especially following Mokoena’s impressive performance where he scored twice in Bafana Bafana’s recent 5-0 win over Congo.
What Mngqithi said
When asked about Broos’ comments, Mngqithi stated, “He must manage his house and allow me to manage my house. Because nobody tells me who plays in this team. I cannot be expected to be told by another coach who to play in my team.”
He added, “The truth is we all know the quality of the players and they are going to help us. And we don’t have any problem with them. We resolved whatever minor issues we’ve had.”
Mngqithi emphasised his respect for Broos and acknowledged the progress he has made with the national team. “I respect him. He has done very well for this country. Everybody is excited. But you must understand we have a responsibility to manage our whole squads just like he manages his whole squad.”
He continued, “The best thing could ever happen is for him to call me or for us to have a call where we will talk about our situation because I never say ‘why you select that player and don’t select that player’ and I don’t expect another coach to do that – maybe administrators. With the respect that I have for him, you’ll give me a call and we discuss this thing as coaches. No one is bigger than anyone else; we are both coaches.”
Previously, Mngqithi mentioned that his choice to use Rivaldo Coetzee in the holding midfield role contributed to Mokoena’s absence from the starting lineup.
African football legend Doctor Khumalo has even suggested that Mokoena should not be called up for the national team if he doesn’t return to the Sundowns first team.
Also read: Memela: “Mofokeng could play for top clubs like Barcelona or Real Madrid”