Brazilians support Santana's move to SA

Santana addressed the SA media for the first time since he got the Bafana coaching job

'South Africans should not worry - their national football team is in good hands.' This is the feeling of the majority of Brazilians who have come into contact with Joel Natalino Santana who will replace Carlos Alberto Parreira as Bafana Bafana coach early next month.

Flamengo Club coach Joel Santana is seen as a Messiah, but now he will leave the club on Sunday after the remaining two matches. Santana has enjoyed great success in Brazil - winning titles with the big four teams in Rio.

His current club Flamengo is the most popular in the world with more than 30 million supporters. He is relatively unknown in South Africa, but in his home-town he is treated like a hero.

In Rio, Flamengo is not called a club but a nation. Santana may just be ready for national team coaching duties. But he admits that he does not know much about South African football except what he has been told by his predecessor.