Johannesburg - Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says he won't replace his first assistant Cedo Janevski as he has complete confidence in Helman Mkhalele.
On Saturday, the SA Football Association (Safa) held their first National Executive Committee meeting after the National Elective Congress.
And that’s when chief executive Tebogo Motlanthe broke the news that the Macedonian had resigned, taking up a coaching post in Cyprus.
Janevski joined Bafana alongside Broos last year, the pair having formed a bond, including off the field, in Belgium during their respective careers.
During his Bafana career, Janevski helped the team to four wins, three draws and three losses in all competitions, including the World Cup qualifiers.
However, he received a lot of offers in the last few months such that Broos didn’t have an option but to give him his blessings to go and join AEL Limassol.
“It was not the first time that he got an offer. Everyone, including me, knows that Cedo is a good coach,” Broos told the media on Monday afternoon.
“He had done a lot of work in Cyprus before. He had an offer in November, but I refused to let him go. And because we are friends, he agreed to that.
“He had another offer in January from a top team in Cyprus and I refused again. And again, he agreed to stay on as the assistant coach of Bafana.
“But you can understand that when someone gets a third offer in a year, it’s difficult to refuse. That's when I gave him permission to start negotiations.
“On Thursday, he had an agreement with the club. I saw the written contract. We arranged everything with Safa on Friday, and he left on Saturday night.”
The resignation of Janevski means that Mkhalele will remain as Broos’ only deputy as the Belgian doesn’t see the need to strengthen his technical team right now.
Mkhalele was introduced into the team as a local assistant, as he knows a lot about local football. He led Bafana in the Cosafa Cup and Chan qualifiers.
“If I was going to replace him [Janevski], it was going to be, again, a Belgian because I don’t have enough information about a South African,” Broos said.
“But I am confident in what I have now. I didn’t know Helman a year ago. And that’s why you have to take someone from your country when you go abroad.
“You can trust that person 100%. You know how they are working. There’s no adaptation, but Helman helped me more than Cedo in the first months here.
“He knows a lot about local football. I know his opinions about other things. So why should I take another Belgian coach? I have confidence in him.”
Life without Janevski will begin this weekend for Broos and his team as they’ll play Sierra Leone in their first friendly, before playing Botswana on September 27.
IOL Sport