Mosimane appoints new Bafana Bafana assistant as he begins second spell

Pitso Mosimane will appoint a new assistant coach for his second spell in charge of Bafana Bafana, meaning Helman Mkhalele will not remain in the role he held under Hugo Broos.

Mosimane was confirmed as South Africa’s head coach at SAFA House on Tuesday morning after several weeks of negotiations. He has signed a four-year contract that will run through to the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

The former Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly manager said his technical team would include trusted members of his previous staff, Kabelo Rangoaga and Musi Matlaba. However, the identity of his principal assistant has yet to be finalised.

A goalkeeper coach is also expected to be named at a later date.

Mkhalele worked as Broos’ assistant for five years, but Mosimane said he wanted to select the person who would work most closely with him during his own four-year tenure. He explained that coaches often bring in staff who understand their methods and cited Carlo Ancelotti’s decision to work alongside his son.

“Everyone and every coach has his own technical team, right? I’ll tell you about (Carlo) Ancelotti. Do you know who he takes with him? He takes his son, and they’ve won a lot of trophies. If I had my son next to me here in South Africa, I think you would be saying some other things, nepotism and all that, right? He’s got his son and they’ve won trophies,” Mosimane said to media.

Mosimane said the experience and qualifications of his staff would be more important than where they came from, adding that several members of his team had worked with him at the FIFA Club World Cup.

“For us, it’s the work that’s done. I have people that have done FIFA (Club) World Cup with me here. Four of them. And it’s people who understands the way I work. We work differently from South Africa and the continent and even beyond the borders of the continent. I have people that I think can support me.”

Matlaba will continue to focus on match analysis, data and player tracking, while Rangoaga will work as an assistant coach. Mosimane stressed that both are now qualified coaches, having progressed beyond the roles in which they were previously known.

“We have Musi Matlaba, who is a coach but specialises on match analysis, data and tracking of player. Then I have Kabelo Rangoaga, who is also my assistant coach. They are both coaches, by the way. The last time you knew them they were just doing their jobs as analyst and trainer, but they went further to get their qualifications and we can refer to them as coaches. They still specialise in their respective fields. We are yet to fill the gap of assistant coach who is coming, but it’s not easy because we are still checking with the TD, Mr Ntseki, to make sure we bring the right person. The challenges for this level is that we need to bring coaches who work at a high level. It’s not easy, but we will finalise that a bit later.”

Mosimane has little time to settle into the post, with preparation for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers beginning immediately. The first fixtures are due to be played later this month as he starts planning for South Africa’s latest qualifying campaign.