Jomo Sono has all but given up any ambitions of coaching Bafana Bafana when South Africa hosts the 2010 World Cup, claiming that Local Organising Committee chief executive Danny Jordaan wants a foreign coach at the helm.
Sono was interviewed last month by the South African Football Association (Safa) technical committee tasked with recommending a coach for the national team for the 2008 African Nations Cup, 2009 Confederations Cup and the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
However, he has yet to receive any further correspondence from Safa, he said, adding that his chances of being the man of choice for 2010 had all but disappeared because of Jordaan’s preference for a foreign coach.
”They [Safa] haven’t spoken to me. The major player there is Danny Jordaan, he is the one who will decide who will be the coach.
”We hear rumours that he is the one who has been bringing in these foreign coaches into the country. I think he is the one who is going to make the decision,” said Sono.
Former Ajax Cape Town coach Gordon Igesund is the only other South African Safa was interested in interviewing for the job.
Sono sees no evil in trying out a marriage between himself and Igesund as joint coaches of the national team.
”I will cross that bridge when I get there. I’m sure Gordon will want to assess me because we have never worked together.
”If it is the case that both of us are there then we have to find a way to work together. You don’t want to get into a marriage and in the middle of it want to get out.
”But I doubt it will happen because Danny loves foreign coaches, these Fifa-accredited coaches like the Carlos Queirozes of this world,” Sono said.
He asked whether there was a deeper conspiracy behind Jordaan’s mot wanting a South African coach.
”You find that when it suits them and they want money from these white companies they talk of Black Economic Empowerment [BEE] but when it comes to soccer they don’t talk BEE,” he said.
Sono might well be correct in believing the next man in the Bafana Bafana hot seat will be a foreigner.
Carlos Alberto Parreira resigned as coach of Brazil on Wednesday.
Parreira revealed to Brazilian newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo that he expected to be named as the new Bafana Bafana coach and that he would take over his duties at the beginning of next year.
Safa reportedly approached Parreira before the World Cup, offering him more than R1-million a month.
Sono has begged Safa to listen to the recommendations of the new coach — whoever that may be.
”I hope they get a coach and listen to his recommendations. Whoever the coach is we wish him the best of luck and we will support him spiritually because we want there best for our country.
”Hopefully when he comes here he is not looking at stealing the money like some of them. I hope that Danny can recommend a good coach for the country this time,” Sono said.
Safa received the list of recommended coaches from the technical committee last week.
Its final decision on who will eventually coach Bafana is to be known in the coming weeks. — Sapa