WATCH | We can raise the bar, says Mosimane as he confirms interest in Bafana job

Revered South African coach Pitso Mosimane has confirmed he has held talks with the SA Football Association (Safa) about the possibility of replacing Hugo Broos at Bafana Bafana.

Broos initially said he would retire after the recently concluded Fifa World Cup, but it seems Safa wants to keep him another year, even though the association has vehemently denied the claim.

If Broos leaves as expected, Mosimane is seen as the frontrunner to take over, and the former Al Ahly and Mamelodi Sundowns confirmed on Thursday he had spoken to Safa about a possible return to the national coaching job he first held from 2010 to 2012.

“Well, the Bafana job ... I don’t know when the contract [of the current coach Broos] is ending,” he responded when quizzed at the launch of his Youth Football Coaching Manual in Sandton on Thursday.

“Is he available or not? But I know that the federation has spoken to a lot of us about somebody to come in [with a] succession plan. What do you want? What are you going to do? What’s your plan? How do we take Bafana to a better level?”

Mosimane also seemed to dismiss the assertion that Broos, who won Bafana bronze at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and led South Africa to an historic last-32 at the World Cup, had set the bar high, reasoning the Belgian’s achievements can be replicated.

“I always say that it’s important to leave the jersey in a better place. Yeah, there’s room, right? There’s room for improvement. I left Sundowns with the Champions League title. Did they have the second one? Yes. I left after winning the treble, and how many leagues have they won since?

“Every stage and every level can be reached, can be improved. It’s not the first time we qualify for the World Cup, right? It’s not the first time we did well at the Afcon. Clive Barker won it in 1996.

“So, we can maybe talk about going into the next round of knockouts. Yes, we can celebrate that. But being in the semifinals and quarterfinals [of the Afcon], have we done that? Let’s be honest, right? So we can raise the bar and nobody is indispensable.”

Meanwhile, Safa president Danny Jordaan left the media stranded after he was pressed on the issue of the coaching position.

“No one at Safa has signed a one-year contract with Broos; it doesn’t exist. It is nonsense,” Jordaan said.

“There is a process; the technical team makes a recommendation to the national executive, and they decide on the coach.

“You cannot stop me on the street and hijack me over a decision that has not happened. South Africa must wait,” Jordaan said before abruptly ending the interview.

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