Sunday Times

WHO’S NEXT IN THE HOT SEAT?

Three South Africans Safa may turn to for the Bafana job

- MNINAWA NTLOKO

THREE South African coaches have emerged as early frontrunne­rs for the Bafana Bafana coaching seat that is set to be vacated by suspended Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba this week.

Sunday Times has learnt that Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane, former Ajax Cape Town mentor Roger de Sa and Cape Town City’s Eric Tinkler are all strong contenders to take over one of the toughest but most lucrative seats in South African sport.

The suspended Mashaba is set to be fired this week after appearing before the South African Football Associatio­n’s (Safa) disciplina­ry committee.

The next Bafana coach is almost certain to also be a South African and he will be required to hit the ground running.

He must have a deep well of continenta­l football experience, and must also be equipped with an intimate understand­ing of South African football, its players and its politics.

None of the above conditions are negotiable.

Mosimane’s African Champions League triumph with Sundowns last month, his previous experience as Bafana coach, his travels on the continent with SuperSport United, his two Premier Soccer League titles and his many other domestic titles put him very much in the driver’s seat.

Sundowns owner Patrice Motsepe has a very close relationsh­ip with the Safa leadership and Sunday Times understand­s that he would not stand in Mosimane’s way if Safa House makes an approach for his coach’s services in the coming days.

De Sa’s run to the final of the 2013 African Champions League with Orlando Pirates — where they lost 3-1 on aggregate to Egyptians Al Ahly — has been noted by Safa, and his experience both at home and on the continent also puts him in the frame.

Tinkler’s run to the final of the 2015 Caf Confederat­ions Cup with the selfsame Pirates — the Bucs lost 2-1 on aggregate to Tunisia side Etoile du Sahel — will not hurt his own chances either.

But BidVest Wits coach Gavin Hunt is not likely to make the cut as his club has often taken a lacklustre approach to continenta­l competitio­ns.

Hunt’s decision to field weakened lineups in Caf competitio­ns and preferring to prioritise domestic commitment­s in the past will now come back to haunt him.

Mashaba’s dismissal is a mere formality and the two parties will part ways 28 months into a contract that was supposed to end after the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Sunday Times has also learnt that, contrary to prevailing belief, Mashaba’s contract has several clauses attached to it and breaking any one of them provides Safa with enough grounds to sack him.

The combustibl­e Bafana coach has already committed several infringein­cluded ments in the past six months alone and there is not enough room on his charge sheet to accommodat­e the long list of infraction­s.

Mashaba was suspended last Sunday after he furiously wagged his finger at senior Safa officials — who president Danny Jordaan, CEO Dennis Mumble, national executive committee members and other senior Safa employees — after Bafana beat Senegal 2-1 in a 2018 World Cup qualifier at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane 24 hours earlier.

He accused them all of not supporting him in a rant that spilt over to a scheduled SABC television interview that had to be delayed for several minutes to give the enraged Bafana mentor time to calm down.

Mashaba was to fly with his team to Maputo to play a friendly internatio­nal against Mozambique on Tuesday but was summoned by his employers to the InterConti­nental Hotel at OR Tambo Internatio­nal Airport.

He was informed of his immediate suspension and it was only then that he apologised for his actions.

Given his many clashes with the media and the barbs he directed at journalist­s during his 28-month reign, it is perhaps poetic justice that his own words will now prove to be his undoing.

It has emerged that Safa officials regularly warned him each time he attacked journalist­s at Bafana conference­s, and his many sound bites will also form part of the comprehens­ive charge sheet.

The next coach is almost certain to be a South African and he will be required to hit the ground running He accused them all of not supporting him in a rant that spilt over to an SABC television interview

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