Former Egypt assistant coach and Orlando Pirates coach Roger de Sa believes the route taken by a number of PSL clubs to hire young coaches is merely to avoid high salary bills.
The retired former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper also revealed that he is finalising talks to be part of the 2022 Fifa World Cup with a country that he would not reveal at this stage. News reaching Sunday World is that the country courting De Sa is from the Middle East and that they caught a glimpse of his abilities when he was assistant coach to Carlos Queiroz during the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Cameroon in February.
De Sa is back home after he severed ties with the Pharaohs after the Afcon. Egypt, led by Liverpool’s talisman Mo Salah, were defeated in the finals by Sadio Mane’s Senegal.
“I have noticed the new trends with the local clubs. They are doing something by employing young coaches because that helps them to save a lot of money,” said De Sa. “Look at the situation with Kaizer Chiefs and Chippa United, they got Arthur Zwane and Chippa have promoted Daine Klate. If I come or Pitso Mosimane enters the fray, they say he was coaching in Egypt and he is expensive, but the salary must be according to the demands of the job. It must not be about the reputation or where you coached before.
“If the project with the young coaches works, the club bosses are going to get a pat on their backs and will be called masterminds – it will be a win-win situation for them. But if it fails, they are going to say that we tried giving young local [coaches] chances and it did not work. Pirates tried with the local coaches and it did not work, and they got their new coach from Spain.”
De Sa is running his business in Cape Town and says he is looking for a project that has serious ambition. “I am not looking to coach a club that will be fighting to avoid relegation. I want a big project that will be worth the while, then I would leave my business and family and come to Johannesburg. But right now I am finalising things for the World Cup.”
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