South Africa may not have a superstar like him. Victor Osimhenbut bafana bafana coach hugo blues I hope the collective strength of his team will help them overcome Nigeria African Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-finals on Wednesday.
Kickoff is 19:00 (SA time).
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“Like many teams, we don't have any star players. Look at our opponent tomorrow, Nigeria, who plays for Napoli and has Victor Osimhen, who is a big star,'' said Brus, who will play in the last four. He told AFP in an interview in the Ivorian city of Bouake, where the clashes will take place.
“We don't have players like that, so what really makes us a good team is the group.
“Everyone does their job and sometimes that's more important than having a few great players.”
The Blues are heavily tilted towards Mamelodi Sundowns, who have dominated South African club football and won the last six domestic titles in a row.
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He has been in the same starting lineup for the past four games, including Saturday's quarter-final victory over Cape Verde on penalties.
There was only one change to the team from their opening game, which they lost 2-0 to Mali, with SuperSport United's Siyanda Xulu replacing Sundowns' Grant Kekana.
Bulls believes the benefits of playing with so many members of the same club team outweigh concerns of fatigue due to lack of variety.
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“They're used to playing together so they know what they can do automatically,” said the veteran Belgian, who played in the 1986 World Cup.
“The defense is made up of four Sundowns players so they know each other very well and that means as a coach I don't have to do much.
“It’s not the same when you have four players from four different clubs, because then you really have to work on developing an understanding.
“It means it buys me a little bit of time and that's good for me, especially because they're playing in the African Champions League so they have a higher level of experience than in our league.”
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Furthermore, he added: “I'm not one to change for myself. I know rotations are used a lot in modern football, but on the other hand, for me, a team that wins is a team that has confidence, and I don't want to change it too much. It shouldn’t change.”
Second AFCON title?
Although Bulls has been active as a coach in club games, this is only his second job as an international manager.
South Africa will be hoping to match their performance against Cameroon, who overcame the odds to win the Nations Cup title in 2017.
The 71-year-old believes there are many similarities between the Indomitable Lions' campaign in Gabon seven years ago and the current team.
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“It's really strange. “We stumbled in the beginning (against Mali) and it was the same with Cameroon,” Bours said. He could emulate former Zambia and Ivory Coast coach Hervé Renard by winning the Nations Cup with two different teams.
“Like against Cameroon, we were second in the group. And we beat Senegal and Cameroon, one of the big teams, here against Morocco.
“Like in 2017, we made it to the semi-finals on penalties, so it brings back a lot of memories. I hope we can continue like this and win the AFCON.”
Written by Garyn Lambly ©Agence France-Presse
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