Baxter looking a strong contender for the Bafana job

Carlos Queiroz, Herve Renard, Ruud Krol and Hugo Broos had at various stages all seemed strong contenders to replace the fired Shakes Mashaba.

Others such as Roy Hodgson, Giovanni Trapattoni, Claude Le Roy, Pitso Mosimane and Gavin Hunt were also mentioned as possible options.

A number of the above candidates have already been ruled out for varying reasons, while others were probably never more than media speculation. With the SA Football Association’s (SAFA) options running low and having already failed to meet several promised deadlines for the announcement of the new coach, it strongly looks like Baxter is the number one contender.

Not that Baxter is a stop-gap measure or a last choice – his credentials in South African football are all there for all to see. But with the success he has been enjoying at SuperSport, it was always going to be tricky to wrench him out of a contract which still has 15 months to run.

However, it looks as if SAFA are willing to dig deep into their pockets to get the Matsatsantsa coach on board – a local publication have quoted a source saying Baxter will be offered R1 million a month.

Earlier this week Baxter’s agent confirmed that the Englishman has been approached by SAFA. And an even stronger indicator that the former Kaizer Chiefs tactician is set for a second stint as Bafana coach came when SuperSport officially confirmed that they have given the go-ahead for their man to speak to SAFA.

“SuperSport United FC has given permission to The South African Football Association (SAFA) to engage their Head Coach Stuart Baxter with a view to him becoming the Head Coach of Bafana Bafana.

“If negotiations between SAFA and Mr Baxter are successful, and SuperSport United and SAFA agree on an early termination of Mr. Baxter’s current contract, such appointment would only be effective at the end of the current PSL season, officially commencing 1 July 2017,” a statement read.

The last part of the statement is where a rather big obstacle lies: Bafana Bafana have a crucial 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game against Nigeria in June, followed by 2018 World Cup qualifiers from August onwards.

That would mean Baxter would probably miss the match against Nigeria, and would have very little time to settle in before the World Cup qualifiers.

But perhaps SAFA may be hoping that interim coach Owen da Gama can remain in charge for now, and that he can he can report back to Baxter, whose close proximity and intimate knowledge of South African soccer would enable him to make a relatively smooth and quicker transition into the job.

It’s these details which could potentially be delaying the appointment; one has to believe that SAFA would not disrupt high-flying SuperSport’s run-in to the end of the season by approaching Baxter only to give the job to someone else.

That said, Safa CEO Dennis Mumble was quoted saying on Wednesday that four of the candidates from an original short-list of five are still in the mix, so there may yet be a twist in the tale of this ongoing national saga being eagerly watched by millions of South Africans.

Baxter’s previous period in charge of Bafana was between May 2004 and November 2005, during which time he won 10 games, drew six and lost seven, failing to ensure qualification for the 2006 World Cup. Since then, he won the league title twice with Kaizer Chiefs, and has also twice won the Nedbank Cup – once at Chiefs and once at SuperSport.

The 63-year-old has also worked at clubs in Turkey, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Japan and Portugal.