Samson Siasia has a tough mountain to climb to become the next South Africa coach as the race for the plum Bafana Bafana job hots up.
Siasia, who was on Tuesday shortlisted alongside seven European managers for the vacant Rwanda job, had applied for the South Africa manager’s post, which became vacant after Ephraim Mashaba was sent packing in December last year.
Siasia was one of the 32 coaches who submitted their CVs to the South African Football Association to be considered for the vacant Bafana job as of Sunday.
Former Inter Milan and Manchester City coach Roberto Mancini, who is currently out of work, former Italy manager Giovanni Trapattoni and Hassan Shehata‚ who guided Egypt to three successive titles at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2006, 2008 and 2010, were other managers who expressed their interest in the role.
SAFA, who confirmed that former Nigeria manager Siasia had applied for the post on their official website on Thursday, said the list had swelled to 62, with Cameroon coach Hugo Broos, former Germany captain and Hungary manager Lothar Matthaus and former Real Madrid manager Bernd Schuster among other big-name managers interested in the job.
Well-travelled Frenchman Claude Le Roy and former England manager Roy Hodgson have also been linked with the job.
SAFA President Danny Jordaan on Thursday inaugurated a committee including Bafana greats Lucas Radebe, Benni McCarthy and Neil Tovey “to urgently look and appoint the new Senior National Team coach”.
“We want to have the process expedited as Bafana Bafana have a bumper 2017 season in which they need to compete and qualify on three fronts – namely CHAN, AFCON and the FIFA World Cup in Russia2018,” Jordaan said.
Siasia had earlier confirmed applying for the vacant manager’s position at South African powerhouse Orlando Pirates.
The Tunisia ’94 Africa Cup of Nations winner, who has been out of work since he led the national Under-23 team to a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, is said to have mandated his agent to explore the possibility of securing him a job in other parts of the continent for a job.
