Johannesburg – Senior members of the Safa technical committee will fly to Egypt to have a man-toman conversation with former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane in an attempt to convince him to return as Bafana Bafana head coach.
The Safa high-powered delegation comprises of Safa president Danny Jordaan, CEO Tebogo Motlanthe, technical committee members Bhudda Mathathe and Jack Maluleka.
Mosimane and SA stalwart football Benni McCarthy are neck and neck in the race for the top Bafana job, after Molefi Ntseki was relieved of his duties last week.
According to the committee’s preferences, Mosimane is the number one candidate, judging by his achievements, while McCarthy is second on the list due to his chutzpah, big stature overseas and his ability to bring the best out of young players.
The committee sat down on Wednesday and deliberated the way forward.
They cast their votes and both Mosimane and McCarthy got five votes each, heading the list. The other candidates, Manqoba Mngqithi and Gavin Hunt got three votes each.
Former Bafana coaches Phillipe Troussier and Carlos Queiroz both got a single vote each.
Other participants who attended the sitting were Safa medical doctor Thulani Ngwenya, coaches Boebie Solomons, Sudesh Sing, Greg Mashilo, Simphiwe Mkhangela, David “Going Up” Nyathi, the CEO Tebogo Motlanthe and technical committee chairperson Jack Maluleke.
The meeting was chaired by Bhudda Mathathe. Although Mosimane is likely to decline, Safa wants to have a man-to-man conversation with the Al Ahly coach and are hoping that he may put his country first and rejoin the national team. Mosimane coached the national side between 2010 and 2012.
Sunday World understands that Safa wants Mosimane to personally tell them whether he is interested, and not depend on media reports.
They added that they will also get a lot of input from Mosimane if they have a sit-down with him. “We want a coach that Safa respects, and not a coach that respects Safa,” said one member who attended the meeting.
“He needs to be strong and stamp his authority with the administration guys.
“Both Pitso and Benni have those qualities and they also turned out for Bafana as players, so they will know how to make the young players respect the SA badge. When players look at Benni, they get inspired.
“Tell me of any player who will not want to play for Pitso, the most successful coach on the continent,” he said.
Maluleke’s phone rang unanswered.
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