Hunt: Hlatshwayo should still be Bafana Bafana captain

SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt has made a bold claim that Thulani Hlatshwayo should still be Bafana Bafana captain.

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Hlatshwayo was named Bafana Bafana in June 2017 after showing great leadership skills and proving to be a solid centre-back in the country.

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However, his move to Orlando Pirates didn’t really benefit his career as he lost form and eventually his place in the Bafana Bafana setup.

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When Hugo Broos came in as head coach, he replaced Hlatshwayo with Ronwen Williams, and overlooked the then Bafana Bafana captain altogether.

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Now, Hunt believes Broos was wrong to throw Tyson out of the Bafana Bafana setup just like that given the player’s quality and age.

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At 32, Hlatshwayo is not even in his prime as a centre-back, according Hunt, and a real coach wouldn’t have ousted a player of his calibre just like that.

TYSON SHOULD STILL BE BAFANA BAFANA BAFANA CAPTIAN, SAYS HUNT

“Tyson should still be captain of Bafana and I don’t care what anybody says,” Hunt told reporters.

“He is 32 years old and is not even in his prime as a centre back. He had a rough patch and you can’t just be throwing away a player like that, no chance. Not for me,” he added.

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Hlatshwayo featured 54 times for Bafana Bafana and scored four goals, but his chances of returning to the national team setup are very slim.

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This despite his solid performances for SuperSport United where he appears rejuvenated under the tutelage of Hunt.

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Broos has previously made it clear that he wants to build a winning Bafana Bafana team with younger players who are below the age of 30.