Publications
- SAFA president Danny Jordaan praised Carlos Queiroz as having all the credentials to prove a success as Bafana Bafana head coach.
- The Portuguese looks firm favourite to return as the next head coach of the senior men's national team.
- The new Bafana mentor will be confirmed on Saturday.
SAFA president Danny Jordaan on Thursday revealed that Carlos Queiroz has all the credentials to prove a huge success, as the Portuguese looks firm favourite to be appointed as the next Bafana Bafana head coach.
READ | Part 1: Danny Jordaan: Bafana Bafana a 'huge' brand in world football, attractive to any coach
In part two of an exclusive three-part interview with Sport24, Jordaan revealed how highly the football body holds Queiroz and how his impressive credentials would see him prove a success as the next Bafana Bafana head coach.
The South African Football Association (SAFA) announced on Wednesday that it will appoint a new head coach on Saturday. This follows the departure of Molefi Ntseki last month following the failure to qualify for AFCON 2021.
With Saudi Arabia head coach Herve Renard ruling himself out of contention, Jordaan, in a frank and revealing interview, praised Queiroz, who is perhaps the best and most qualified available candidate.
During a spell from 2000-2002, the 68-year-old remains the last Bafana Bafana head coach to guide the national team to qualifying for World Cup - the 2002 edition in Korean and Japan.
He now looks a certainty to return as the next Bafana head coach, with the task of guiding South Africa to World Cup tournaments as he did most recently with Iran.
"He still is the last man to successfully guide South Africa to qualify for a World Cup tournament," Jordaan told Sport24. "He also clinched qualification for Iran and did the same with Kuwait.
"He helped South Africa qualify and also did the same with his home country Portugal where he was the head coach for the 2010 World Cup hosted in South Africa.
"He coached a Portugal team that boasted players such as Cristiano Ronaldo with the rest of all of those world-class players.
"Another tie that links Queiroz to South Africa is that his daughter lives here, and he also owns a house over here too.
"He was born and raised in Mozambique, so has close ties to our country as with many people from Mozambique they tend to all reside in South Africa also."
Jordaan went on to list Queiroz's credentials that saw him coach some of the best players in the world at two of the biggest clubs in Europe, Manchester United and Real Madrid.
"He was the coach of Real Madrid during the Galacticos era with star players such as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, David Beckham and Roberto Carlos", Jordaan added.
"He was also at Manchester United in the role of assistant manager to Sir Alex Ferguson with the understanding that when Ferguson should eventually step down, he would take over as manager.
"He was the one personally coaching the team, overseeing the training sessions and with an influence in selecting the team.
"But when they didn't promote him as manager, he left for Real Madrid.
"So again, he has coached some of the best players in the world at big clubs, and all of those players respect him, so he has a huge profile within the game.
"He has the overwhelming credentials to prove a success as head coach of Bafana Bafana.
"We now need to see what the technical committee comes up with, but the next coach will also have a widening pool of talent with 65 South African players plying their trade in Europe."
