Johannesburg - Now that the Africa Cup of Nations is over, it won’t be a surprise if a few more names are added to the speculative list of coaches to fill the Bafana Bafana vacancy.
With each passing stage of the tournament, a new candidate has been linked to the position last held by Ephraim 'Shakes' Mashaba.
First it was Uganda’s Serbian coach Milutin Sredojevic, then Frenchman Herve Renard, followed by his compatriot Claude Le Roy, and most lately Avram Grant who took Ghana to the semi-finals of the Afcon.
Speculation has swirled around Carlos Queiroz returning to the national side, along with Stuart Baxter and Pitso Mosimane, while the names of ex-England coach Roy Hodgson, Gavin Hunt, Owen Da Gama and Nigerian legend Samson Siasia were thrown into the mix.
Today is the first day of Mashaba’s CCMA hearing to fight for his reinstatement. Mashaba was suspended in November for misconduct and insubordination, and dismissed in December.
Public opinion is that Mashaba was on shaky ground and facing the axe since he accused Safa of not backing him in the face of media criticism after he failed to qualify for the biennial event in Gabon. Safa announced last month that the search for a new coach was underway, which suggests president Danny Jordaan and Co are confident of winning the case or prepared to pay compensation to see the back of Mashaba if they lose in the courts.
Having had three local coaches in succession at the helm of the national side, the feeling is that Jordaan now prefers a foreigner with a strong track record. The president recently penned a memo to the various Safa regions questioning whether the future of the national team was better served by the inclusion of more overseas-based players.
The debate of local versus foreign is an old one which veteran coach Clive Barker is well familiar with. The Afcon 1996 champion coach believes there are advantages for both cases.
“In either scenario it’s sensible to look at a coach’s track record and his philosophy. Sometimes you need a workaholic, sometimes a motivator and sometimes a mix of both,” said Barker.
For Barker it’s a simple choice, be it local or foreign. “If it’s local then I would love to see Hunt being given an opportunity. There ‘s also Pitso who has improved a lot as a coach.
“If it’s foreign then there are some people I spoke to about Queiroz who say he’s very talented. He already knows the pitfalls of working here."
Whichever direction Safa chooses they had better act quickly.