Bafana coach arrives in SA

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Pretoria - Bafana Bafana coach, Carlos Alberto Perreira is back in the country to take charge of the struggling national team.

South African Football Association (SAFA) spokesperson Morio Senyane told BuaNews Perreira landed in the country on Thursday morning and at mid-day, the Brazilian will announce his firing squad which will clash against Japan and Jamaica in an international friendly next week.

Perreira's re-appointment to the national team follows the resignation of his countryman, Joel Santana, who moved Bafana Bafana from bad to worse, by loosing eight after nine matches.

The Brazilian first took charge of the national soccer team in January 2006 with a contract seeing him through to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but on a surprise move, he resigned claiming that he wanted to be close to his ailing wife.

In recent weeks, SAFA has moved Bafana's clash against Japan more than twice. It was initially planned to be played at the revamped Orlando Stadium, but it was moved to Rand Stadium.

The international friendly was also planned to be played at Moses Mabhida stadium, but on Wednesday the association announced that the match will be played at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in the Eastern Cape.

Orlando Stadium has a series of ABSA Premiership matches lined up before Bafana's clash with Japan, so there is a concern with the state of the pitch, according to SAFA.

The friendly match will still be played on 14 November at 3:30pm.

However, the international friendly match against Jamaica remains at Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein on 17 November.