Mosimane to seek new Bafana Bafana assistant as Mkhalele era ends

Pitso Mosimane has confirmed he will look beyond Helman Mkhalele when appointing the final member of his Bafana Bafana coaching staff, signalling the likely end of Mkhalele’s spell as an assistant with the South Africa national team.

Mkhalele worked under former head coach Hugo Broos from 2021 until after this year’s World Cup in July. However, Mosimane intends to bring trusted members of his own technical team into the national set-up after being formally unveiled as Bafana Bafana’s new coach on Tuesday.

Long-serving analyst Musi Matlaba and conditioning coach Kabelo Rangoaga have already been identified as part of Mosimane’s staff. The new coach said he wanted to work with people who understood his methods and had experience of working alongside him.

“Everyone and every coach has his own technical team, right?

“And I’ll tell you about [Italian coach Carlo] Ancelotti. You know who he takes with (to be his assistant)? He takes his son. And they have won a lot of trophies. If I had my son next to me here in SA instead, I think you would be saying some other things.

“And the world is not looking at Ancelotti and his son, right? It’s looking at the work to be done. I have people that have done the Fifa Club World Cup with me here. Four of them.

“And it’s the people who understand the way I work, the way we work. We work differently. From SA, on the continent, even beyond the borders of the continent. So, I have the people that I think can support me. And, yeah, I think I’m giving you the right answer.”

Mosimane said the remaining assistant coach position had not yet been filled because many potential local candidates were contracted to other clubs.

“We’re yet to fill the post of the assistant coach. But coaches are not easy to get. They’ve got contracts, so we are busy. We will finalise that a little bit later,” he said.

The appointment process comes with little time for Mosimane to settle into the role. Bafana Bafana are due to begin their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign later this month, with matches against Guinea and Eritrea on the horizon.

South Africa are in Group D alongside tournament co-hosts Kenya, Guinea and Eritrea. Mosimane is expected to name a preliminary squad this week, before confirming his final selection on 17 September.

His immediate priority will be preparing the team for the qualifiers while completing the make-up of his technical staff. Matlaba and Rangoaga are set to join him, but the identity of the additional assistant coach remains undecided.

Mkhalele’s departure would bring to a close his involvement with Bafana Bafana’s coaching set-up after four years as Broos’s assistant. Mosimane’s comments indicate that the new coach will rely primarily on staff members familiar with his approach as he begins his latest national-team assignment.