'South Korea defeated, new history for South Africa': Coach Hugo Broos retires in tears, "It was hard being away from family"

*This content was translated by AI.

Hugo Broos (74), who led South Africa to a new chapter in its football history by defeating South Korea at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, announced his retirement amid tears.

South African media outlet IOL reported on the 1st (Korean time) that "Coach Broos officially resigned as national team manager during a press conference held by the South African Football Association," adding that "this marks the end of his journey with the South African national team."

Broos, originally from Belgium, is a veteran coach born in 1952. He has managed prominent Belgian clubs such as Club Brugge and Anderlecht, and also built his coaching career in Greece, Turkey, and Algeria.

His first role as a national team head coach came in 2016 with Cameroon. Although he led the African powerhouse Cameroon, he did not hold the position for long, stepping down just one year later.

However, after taking charge of the South African national team in 2021, Broos ushered in a new golden era of his coaching career. Notably, he successfully restored the nation's pride by leading South Africa to its first-ever group stage qualification at a World Cup.

South Africa was drawn into Group A alongside South Korea, coached by Hong Myung-bo; co-hosts Mexico; and Czech Republic. Despite being considered the weakest team before the tournament, they recorded one win, one draw, and one loss, earning four points to finish second in the group and advance to the Round of 32. In particular, their stunning 1-0 victory over South Korea in the final group match secured their historic first-ever qualification for the knockout stage.

South Africa has qualified for the World Cup finals a total of four times, including this North American tournament. In the previous three appearances — the 1998 France World Cup, the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, and the 2010 South Africa World Cup — they were eliminated in the group stage each time.

Notably, at the 2010 home tournament, South Africa became the first host nation in World Cup history to be eliminated in the group stage, bearing that dishonor. However, in this tournament, under Coach Broos's leadership, they finally lifted their long-standing burden and wrote a new chapter of history.

South Africa was eliminated after a narrow 0-1 loss to Canada, another co-host, in the Round of 32. Nevertheless, Broos's coaching ability received high praise for leading the national team to its best-ever performance in tournament history.

However, the North American World Cup became Broos's final stage as a coach. He decided to leave football after guiding South Africa to its first-ever Round of 32 appearance.

According to IOL, Coach Broos shed hot tears during the press conference. The media explained that "Broos's coaching career, spanning over four decades, has now come to an end," and that "he held back his emotions in front of reporters while announcing his decision, putting a final period on months of speculation about his future."

The decisive reason for Coach Broos's retirement was his family.

He stated, "I have been away from my family for a long time and spent lonely moments in South Africa," adding, "Ultimately, these factors led me to make this difficult decision."

He continued, "It has been 40 years since I first appeared at the World Cup as a player for Belgium's national team in 1986. Now, returning to the World Cup finals stage as a coach felt like completing a full circle. That is why I decided not to extend my contract with the South African national team."

IOL also highly praised Coach Broos's contributions to South African football. The media stated, "Coach Broos, who took charge in 2021, restored confidence in the South African national team," and added, "He led the team to qualify for two consecutive Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and achieved South Africa's return to the World Cup finals after 16 years."

Furthermore, they noted, "Coach Broos will be remembered not only for his results but also for rebuilding the national team around young players and reviving the spirit of victory that had been absent for years. He boldly integrated new talents and built a core player group capable of leading South Africa through the next World Cup cycle."

They concluded, "Having achieved his goal of bringing South Africa back to the World Cup stage, Coach Broos leaves behind a national team that is far healthier and more competitive than when he first took charge five years ago."

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*This content was translated by AI.