Siyanda Xulu: SA players need to play abroad
June 14, 2023
As South Africa prepare to go head-to-head with Morocco in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Saturday defender Siyanda Xulu has said that the Atlas Lions have done well in recent times because so many of their players ply their trade at European clubs.
Xulu, who plays for unfashionable Turan Tovuz in the Azerbaijan Premier Liqa, is just one of a handful of Bafana stars who play outside the PSL.
Reflecting on the fact that Saturday’s opponents Morocco were playing in a World Cup semi-final against France as recently as December Xulu said: “For us to improve and compete with the so-called big countries, we need to have at least 60% or 70% of the squad competing in big leagues so that it is much easier to compete.
“When you have six to seven players in your first eleven who ply their trade overseas, they know how it’s done and what it takes to win football matches at that level.
“I think Morocco have done that well and that is why they were able to compete at the higher level at the World Cup. It is because they have so many players competing in higher leagues.
“They have invested a lot in their football and taking it back to what coach Pitso Mosimane said earlier, he was brutally honest to say that we are still way behind. There is a lot of money that was spent in Morocco’s game.”
The Morocco squad that did so well at the World Cup featured stars like Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech, Ilias Chair of Queens Park Rangers, Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri and PSG’s Achraf Hakimi. For their part, Bafana boasts just a handful of foreign-based players with only six players based outside of South Africa and only three in Europe.
“I always thought plying your trade overseas gets you out of your comfort zone and it improves you as a player,” he said.
“We are seeing now with Morocco, about 90% of their players are playing in Europe. That’s why they can compete at the highest level — it is one thing we need to make sure we try to do as South Africans.
“We need to export more players so we can compete with bigger countries. Those countries have more players playing in the Champions League and Europa League.
“They have that bit of advantage of playing competitive football week in and week out. When we play against them, we don’t have that much experience but as a country, we need to take more players to Europe and compete in the big leagues,” he said.
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Siyanda Xulu: SA players need to play abroad
As South Africa prepare to go head-to-head with Morocco in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Saturday defender Siyanda Xulu has said that the Atlas Lions have done well in recent times because so many of their players ply their trade at European clubs.
Xulu, who plays for unfashionable Turan Tovuz in the Azerbaijan Premier Liqa, is just one of a handful of Bafana stars who play outside the PSL.
Reflecting on the fact that Saturday’s opponents Morocco were playing in a World Cup semi-final against France as recently as December Xulu said: “For us to improve and compete with the so-called big countries, we need to have at least 60% or 70% of the squad competing in big leagues so that it is much easier to compete.
“When you have six to seven players in your first eleven who ply their trade overseas, they know how it’s done and what it takes to win football matches at that level.
“I think Morocco have done that well and that is why they were able to compete at the higher level at the World Cup. It is because they have so many players competing in higher leagues.
“They have invested a lot in their football and taking it back to what coach Pitso Mosimane said earlier, he was brutally honest to say that we are still way behind. There is a lot of money that was spent in Morocco’s game.”
The Morocco squad that did so well at the World Cup featured stars like Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech, Ilias Chair of Queens Park Rangers, Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri and PSG’s Achraf Hakimi. For their part, Bafana boasts just a handful of foreign-based players with only six players based outside of South Africa and only three in Europe.
“I always thought plying your trade overseas gets you out of your comfort zone and it improves you as a player,” he said.
“We are seeing now with Morocco, about 90% of their players are playing in Europe. That’s why they can compete at the highest level — it is one thing we need to make sure we try to do as South Africans.
“We need to export more players so we can compete with bigger countries. Those countries have more players playing in the Champions League and Europa League.
“They have that bit of advantage of playing competitive football week in and week out. When we play against them, we don’t have that much experience but as a country, we need to take more players to Europe and compete in the big leagues,” he said.