Lamontville Golden Arrows boss Steve Komphela has reacted to speculation linking him to the vacant Bafana Bafana coaching position by saying that an offer to lead your nation was like being called up to the army.
The former South Africa captain has been tipped as the most capable man to replace Stuart Baxter after he resigned last Friday.
Other candidates like Pitso Mosimane and Gavin Hunt played down their interest in the post over the weekend, but Komphela embraced it.
Following Baxter’s announcement on Friday, the South African Football Association (Safa) moved swiftly to announce that Molefi Ntseki had been appointed an interim coach for Bafana.
But Komphela remains the widespread favourite.
A former national captain, the 52-year-old did previously take charge of South Africa for two matches back in 2012. He admits it is a high-stakes job and has also likened it to being the president of the Republic.
Komphela was at the helm of Kaizer Chiefs for three years from 2015 to 2018. It was a job where he came under severe pressure after failing to win a trophy at one of the country’s biggest clubs.
He says that his experience at Naturena and his ability to deal with the high-stress levels may have been God-sent to prepare him for possibly one day leading Bafana.
All Safa’s national teams have not enjoyed the best of years despite qualifying for major championships.
Komphela says the mother body needs to create better systems to prevent chopping and changing amongst coaches.
With the departure of Baxter, it means Bafana will be searching for their 27th coach since readmission to the world stage in 1992, not a good thing according to the Arrows mentor…
Meanwhile, Komphela’s assistant at Arrows, Mandla Ncikazi felt that no coach could rescue South African football unless administrators were able to sort out deeper issues within Safa.
He feels that changing a coach will only look good as it satisfied the desires of critics. However, Ncikazi challenged Safa to look beyond the coach. – Report by Thahir Asmal
