The new Bafana Bafana coach, Brazilian Joel Santana, jets in to take charge of the national football side on Sunday morning.
This was confirmed on Friday by South African Football (Safa) Association spokesperson Morio Sanyane, who stressed that there would be no immediate press interviews but that Santana would host his first media conference at Safa House in Johannesburg on Monday afternoon.
”His arrival will be an opportunity for photographers only,” said Sanyane.
”We have decided that it would be in everyone’s interest to hold a proper press briefing on Monday and give him the chance to meet his technical team and find his feet.”
Santana replaces highly rated fellow countryman Carlos Alberto Parreira, who shocked the country when he resigned last month citing the ill-health of his wife as his reason for not fulfilling his contract, which was scheduled to run until after the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
Santana is on a 30-month contract, which will net him R1,5-million per month — slightly less that the R1,8-million Parreira was being paid. But it is still a massive amount of money for a coach who has never coached a national team.
Santana faces a tough baptism when he leads Bafana in four back-to-back African Nations Cup qualifiers next month, kicking off with an away clash against group four favourites Nigeria in Abuja on June 1. — Sapa