Pitso Mosimane looks beyond Helman Mkhalele for Bafana Bafana assistant role

Pitso Mosimane says he will bring trusted members of his own technical team into the Bafana Bafana setup, while the search continues for an assistant coach to replace Helman Mkhalele.

Mkhalele worked as Hugo Broos’s assistant from 2021 until after this year’s World Cup in July. His future in the national team setup is now uncertain after Mosimane confirmed that longtime analyst Musi Matlaba and conditioning coach Kabelo Rangoaga will be part of his backroom staff.

Mosimane was speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, when he was formally unveiled as Bafana Bafana’s new head coach.

“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, in 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.”

The former Bafana Bafana coach said his preferred staff members understood his methods and had previously worked with him at the Fifa Club World Cup. He also indicated that his technical team had experience operating in South Africa, across the continent and beyond Africa.

However, one assistant-coach position remains vacant. Mosimane said the difficulty in completing his staff is partly because potential candidates are already tied to other clubs by contract.

“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.

Mosimane’s appointment comes with little time to prepare for his first major task. Bafana Bafana are due to face Guinea and Eritrea in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches later this month.

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.

The new coach will therefore need to settle his technical team quickly as he begins his latest spell in charge of the national side. Although Matlaba and Rangoaga have been identified as members of his setup, the identity of the remaining assistant coach has yet to be confirmed.

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