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Mbekezeli Mbokazi’s agent Basia Michaels has finally addressed comments made by Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos after the 20-year-old completed a transfer from Orlando Pirates to Chicago Fire toward the end of last year.
In an extraordinary press conference as the national team prepared for the Africa Cup of Nations, Broos criticised the move and questioned Michaels’ decision for letting the transfer happen before the tournament.
“I know what happened, a woman who is his agent and thinks she knows football is doing what many agents are doing and thinking ‘how much can I get’. If she is a little bit clever, she knows there is AFCON and next year it’s World Cup, that there will be other teams, better for his career, to go to and not to Chicago,” the Belgian said. Broos later apologised for the comments.
Speaking to Mazola Molefe on the Behind the Boot podcast, Michaels hit back strongly at Broos, insisting the remarks crossed a line.
“For me I can tell you that there is no question about the fact that it was sexist,” she stated.
Michaels revealed that discussions around Mbokazi’s future had taken place long before pen was put to paper on his Major League Soccer switch.
“I’m not going to speak on behalf of Mbokazi, that he can do on his own. Yes, we had a conversation. We had a conversation even before Mbokazi signed,” she explained.
While Mbokazi remains confident that his performances in the United States will keep him in national team contention, Michaels admitted she is not convinced Broos shares that view – particularly given the coach’s apparent stance on Major League Soccer.
“Mbokazi is confident that his playing ability will still keep him in the [Bafana] squad. I alongside many people currently we might not see Mbokazi in the squad, but that’s Hugo’s reality.
“My mother says this all the time, ‘she who plays the piper plays the tune’ and Hugo currently can make his decisions the ways he does, doing what he wants to do the way he does, selecting the players he wants to the way he does and there is very little what very of us can do.
“It doesn’t matter how well Mbokazi plays over the next four months, it really doesn’t because he’s made his dislike for the league known, which I think is very sad.”
Her remarks are likely to reignite debate around the perception of Major League Soccer within the national team setup. Other South Africans in the United States, including Bongokuhle Hlongwane at Minnesota United and Olwethu Makhanya at Philadelphia Union, have delivered consistent performances at club level but have not always featured in Broos’ Bafana plans.
“But he’s the piper, he plays the tune, let him do it,” she concluded.
IOL Sport
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