No dry ink, but Parreira is in

By Sy Lerman

Johannesburg - In a carefully worded statement in keeping with his legal background, CEO Raymond Hack on Tuesday confirmed that Safa had agreed terms for former Brazilian World Cup coach Carlos Alberto Parreira to assume the role of Bafana Bafana coach.

Hack was not available to clarify whether a final contract had been signed with Parreira, but sources within Safa said the technicalities will only be sorted out when the widely-respected Brazilian arrives in South Africa within the next two weeks - after which the proposed four-year contract will become a fait accompli.

"At this stage, we have an agreement of intent with Parreira. He has signed a document to this effect. But there are many technicalities that have to be thrashed out and this will only happen once he lands in South Africa," said the Safa source.

It would appear that Parreira's remuneration, which it has been suggested ranges variously between R1-million and R2-million rand a month, is not a contentious issue and has basically been agreed.

Factors that are less clear-cut are the exact date on which the proposed contract will begin, who will comprise Parreira's technical staff and what kind of back-up he will receive generally from Safa as he attempts to resuscitate the flagging reputation of Bafana before the 2010 World Cup.

Hack described Parreira as having "the right credentials for the job".

"Not only has he won the Fifa World Cup with Brazil in 1994," added the Safa CEO. "But more importantly he guided the small Gulf state of Kuwait to their only World Cup Final tournament in 1982 - and then repeated the feat with the United Arab Emirates in 1990.

"We call upon all the stakeholders involved to give the new coach a chance to build a formidable team for 2010 and beyond."

Meanwhile, Pitso Mosimane, one of the proposed candidates for a position of assistant coach on Parreira's staff, will be in charge of the Bafana squad for a friendly international against Namibia in Windhoek on Wednesday, August 16.

Safa are apparently hoping Parreira will agree to assume the role of Bafana coach before the African Nations Cup qualifier against The Congo in Johannesburg on September 2.

But Mosimane, the long-serving head coach of SuperSport United, said he believed nothing had been sorted out in this respect.

"I have been told I have been recommended as one of the assistant coaches to Parreira but I have had no confirmation to this effect and I'm not going to speculate on my future until a definite proposal is placed in front of me," said Mosimane.

"On the one hand," he said, "I would have to consider the security of a three-year contract with SuperSport and completing the progress made at the club over the past three years. On the other, it would be an honour to work under a coach as celebrated as Parreira and become involved in the historic 2010 World Cup."

Mosimane said at this juncture he was not thinking beyond the Namibia game and choosing the strongest possible Bafana side to start the revival of South Africa's waning soccer fortunes - "and that means considering every last player at our disposal because the game is being played on a date stipulated by Fifa for international games". - Sapa