Ted Dumitru might be one of the few soccer voices not proclaiming in a loud and clear manner his imminent elevation as Bafana Bafana coach for the coming African Nations Cup tournament in Egypt — but the canny Romanian is predicting a major shake-up in the national team’s ranks nevertheless.
”I say this not as the next Bafana coach,” said Dumitru, ”but as a member of the Safa [South African Football Association] technical committee that is determined to find ways and means of taking the national team out of a slump that has resulted in a run of nine games without a victory.”
Safa CEO Raymond Hack has announced that a Bafana caretaker coach in succession to the resigned Stuart Baxter will be announced on Friday, but most pundits have declared Dumitru an odds-on favourite for the post.
Indeed, the media almost en masse have come out openly and proclaimed that the former Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates coach already has the job in his back pocket.
In the circumstances, much of the speculation in the media has centred on who Dumitru will incorporate on his technical team. He has openly stated that if he is appointed Bafana coach, he will insist on having his ”own men” helping him.
Names bandied about in this respect include former Bafana captain Lucas Radebe, Supersport United coach Pitso Mosimane and South African Under-23 coach Steve Komphela.
And perhaps the man who can clear the air in this respect is Dumitru — in his capacity as a member of the Safa technical committee, of course. — Sapa