Johannesburg – Cometh the Bafana Bafana coach, cometh the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Ghana, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia in two months’ time – in June to be exact, Xolile Mtshazo zooms in on three possible local candidates to take over from the fired Molefi Ntseki.
So, who is the right man to take Bafana to the World Cup in the tiny Arab Gulf state of Qatar in just over a year’s time. Will it be a local coach or will Safa cast its net wide and look abroad? The answer should come in the next few days as time is not on their side.
Benni McCarthy
With 80 international caps and 31 goals for Bafana Bafana, a record that still stands, McCarthy has played locally as an amateur and professional, and for top European clubs, winning 13 trophies with seven clubs on two continents and a Champions League trophy.
His coaching career locally has been with Cape Town City, where he won the MTN8 and is currently with AmaZulu.
Though McCarthy, 43, is Bafana’s all-time top scorer and the fifth most-capped player in South African history, his career was marred by the devastating omission from the 2010 World Cup squad on home soil, prompting his retirement from the international game. He made his Bafana debut against Namibia at the 1998 Afcon in Burkina Faso, where he fi nished as joint top scorer (seven goals) with Egypt’s Hossam Hassan. A worthy candidate.
Eric Tinkler
The former Orlando Pirates, Cape Town City and Maritzburg United coach has been vocal about being ready and willing to take over the Bafana hot seat. With Pirates, the former Bafana Bafana defender reached two PSL cup finals and the CAF Confederation Cup final during his tenure with Bucs, key achievements in his coaching CV. Tinkler, 50, took the newly formed City after the purchase of Mpumalanga Ace’s Premiership status, turning them to a force to be reckoned with in the PSL by winning the Telkom Knockout six months into the club’s existence with the likes of Lehlohonolo Majoro and Lebogang Manyama as top players. An outsider.
Pitso Mosimane
Successful former Mamelodi Sundowns coach and current Egyptian giants Al Ahly tactician, Mosimane has been at the helm of Bafana before. He knows what happens in the Safa corridors and unfortunately has made it loud and clear that he is unavailable after he was fired by Safa nine years ago.
Besides Safa, which has over the years pleaded poverty, cannot afford Mosimane, who earns in dollars in Egypt.
With an impeccable playing career abroad, calls are growing by the day pleading with Mosimane to come to Bafana’s rescue but the double treble-(Sundowns and Al Ahly) winning coach will be difficult to convince to dump Al Ahly, where he’s treated like royalty.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
Sunday World
