Shakes Mashaba's R500K pay cheque pales in comparison to some former Bafana coaches

Shakes Mashaba was the fourth-highest-paid Bafana Bafana coach of the past five incumbents in the national team hot-seat‚ earning a cool half-million-Rand per month.

The Bafana coaching job might be considered a poisoned chalice but the bank managers of the men who have occupied one of the hottest seats in South African sport are certainly not complaining.

The paycheque for the notoriously brittle position has come a long way from when in 1998‚ Clive Barker‚ found himself at the centre of a storm of controversy when he asked for a R50 000 monthly salary while negotiating a new contract.

This after Barker had steered SA to being champions of the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations.

• Shakes Mashaba fired as Bafana Bafana coach The South African Football Association (Safa) have confirmed that Bafana Bafana head coach Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba has been dismissed. 

The demand and subsequent controversy played a role in Barker’s dismissal ahead of the 1998 World Cup in France.

In the current era‚ the hiring of Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira‚ winner of the USA 1994 World Cup with his country‚ to coach Bafana in the build-up to the 2010 World Cup has pushed up the asking price that men taking the Bafana hot seat can ask for.

Parreira earned R1‚8 million per month. In an eight-month period where the coach returned to Brazil to be with his ill wife‚ who had cancer‚ countryman Joel Santana earned R1‚4 million per month taking over the Bafana reigns. Parreira returned to coach Bafana at South Africa’s 2010 World Cup.

• How Shakes Mashaba’s mouth often put him on shaky groundBafana Bafana coach Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba’s public rant against his South African Football Association (Safa) bosses after his side’s 2-1 World Cup qualifying victory against Senegal at Peter Mokaba Stadium has cost him his job. 

On his departure his assistant‚ Pitso Mosimane‚ took over the head coaching job at R800 000 a month.

As the World Cup inflation bubble deflated somewhat‚ Mosimane’s successor‚ Gordon Igesund had to settle for significantly less at R450 000 per month.

Replacing Igesund‚ Mashaba was paid R50 000 more than his predecessor. Mashaba was dismissed by Safa on Thursday following a disciplinary hearing where the coach was found guilty of ‚ “gross misconduct/professional misconduct‚ gross insubordination/professional misconduct and violation of the Safa Communications Policy”.

Salaries of the last five Bafana coaches: Ephraim ‘‘Shakes” Mashaba - R500 000 a month Gordon Igesund - R450 000 a month Pitso Mosimane - R800 000 a month Carlos Alberto Parrera - R1‚8 million a month Joel Natalino Santana - R1‚4 million a month.

 — TMG Sport