MOVE FOR THE BOYS
Failed Man U coach want Bafana job
DAVID Moyes, the man who endured a failure-infested 10month reign at Manchester United, wants to become the next Bafana Bafana coach.
Dismissed in April by United after a disastrous start to his six-year contract as successor to Alex Ferguson, the Scot is one of several high-profile names hoping to become the next coach of the 2010 World Cup host nation.
Italian Giovanni Trapattoni, Dutchman Dick Advocaat and former Chelsea players Marcel Desailly and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink have also expressed interest in the Bafana job. Both Desailly and Hasselbaink were in South Africa during the African Nations Championship in Cape Town in January.
The position became vacant when the South African Football Association announced it would not renew the contract of incumbent Gordon Igesund when it expires on August 31.
Can we afford not to get the best to help put us in the right direction?
Moyes is on holiday in Florida, in the US, and is reportedly looking for a challenge outside England after his diabolical reign at United was abruptly terminated. His only experience at coaching a national team was in 1980 when he was in charge of the Scotland under18 side. He spent 11 years at Everton before his countryman Ferguson chose him as his successor at the Red Devils.
Trapattoni previously coached Italy and the Republic of Ireland. Advocaat has coached his native Netherlands, South Korea, Russia, Belgium and the United Arab Emirates.
A Safa insider said many more big names have expressed an interest in the job and some are in Brazil with their teams at the World Cup, due to start on Thursday.
Though Safa president Danny Jordaan could not comment on the coaches eyeing the job, he said some of the biggest names in the sport have made contact this week.
‘‘All this shows that the Bafana Bafana and Safa brands remain very strong in world football,” said Jordaan from Brazil. ‘‘The calibre of candidates who have expressed interest in Bafana is really amazing and we literally have interest from all over the world.”
Asked if Safa would be able to match the kind of salaries earned by some of these coach- es, Jordaan said it would not be in South African football’s best interest not to entertain some of the candidates who are willing to come to SA when the bigger picture is to rebuild the sport in this country.
‘‘The question we should be asking is can we afford not to get the best to help put us in the right direction? That is the question here and this is why we have decided not to rush to make the appointment.
‘‘We have to take our time and make sure that we have the best man for the job. We cannot rush this.”
Jordaan is in Brazil working for the Fifa World Cup organising committee but said he might have to return to SA be- fore the final on July 13.
He said the new Bafana coach would be announced after the World Cup final.
Trapattoni and Advocaat are big names and their interest suggests that Bafana remain an attractive challenge.
At club level, the Italian has coached Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus.
He is one of only two managers — the other is Udo Lattek — to have won all three major Uefa club competitions.
Advocaat also comes with an impressive pedigree and, at club level, has coached PSV Eindhoven and Rangers.
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz, Nigeria’s Stephen Keshi, former Zambia coach Herve Re- nard and erstwhile Orlando Pirates mentor Ruud Krol are also believed to be interested in taking over from Igesund.