Belgian Broos, 73, has long said he will call it a day after the World Cup, and might have done so sooner had Bafana Bafana not qualified for the finals on Tuesday with a 3-0 home win over Rwanda.
He will also lead the side to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco in December, but having played for Belgium at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, next year’s finals will be his exit point as a coach too.
“Don’t ask me what my emotions are for the moment; I don’t have words for them,” Broos told reporters. “I hoped, maybe more than anyone in this group, players or staff, that we should go to America, because for me it is a sentimental reason.
“You all know I was at the World Cup at the end of my career as a player and now I do it again as a coach.
“I think this is the right moment next year, after the World Cup, to stop my coaching career and go spend the next 20 years with my children and grandchildren.
“But first of all, there is work to do, and we will try to do it well.”
South Africa deserved their qualification and were the most consistent team in their pool. They would have finished four points clear had they not been docked three points by FIFA for fielding an ineligible player.
“This is a fantastic evening for everyone, not only the coach; I am just part of it,” he said. “This is about the team who worked hard for the last two years to have all those good performances and nice moments.
“I can’t forget my staff, who helped me a lot. Especially (assistant coach) Helman (Mkhalele), you all know I like him very much. Without him, we would not achieve this.
“But it is also the medical staff who work day and night to have the players ready to do big performances, the kit manager, security manager, team manager.
“We are a bunch of people who had only one goal, and that is to put in good performances and win things.”
Even in success, Broos could not help having a dig at the media, who he has often felt are too critical of his selections.
“I know you (the media) have not always agreed with the choices I made. I said already I make choices on different criteria than you,” he said. “For me, it is important to have a player with quality, with the right mentality, and a player who can do what I ask him.
“And until now, I always succeeded in doing it. Even when you (media) thought, this one, or this one, or this one needed a chance. That is not how you build a team.
“You need a plan, and you have to stick to it when you know it is the right way. And this is what we did in the last two years.”
Broos said he is glad that the World Cup qualification has put some pride back into the Bafana Bafana jersey.
“I heard someone say on the pitch after the game that everybody (used to) laugh at Bafana Bafana. We were a joke. But now we are playing at a high level, and everyone respects us.”
