Giovanni Solinas admits he's licking his lips and eyeing the vacant Orlando Pirates coaching job

Solinas and Free State Stars “mutually agreed” to terminate the coach’s contract at the 14th-placed Premier Soccer League team on Wednesday.

Given that there was speculation about the Italian joining Pirates ahead of 2016-17 after his first and more successful stint at Stars last season‚ Solinas has again been linked to the Buccaneers.

Pirates’ development head Augusto Palacios has served as caretaker-coach since the departure of Muhsin Ertugral in early November‚ and Bucs are hovering at 10th place during the six-week PSL break.

“At the moment I have not had contact from Pirates‚” Solinas said on Thursday. “But Pirates is a big club. It’s one of the best clubs not only in South Africa but on the African continent.

“So everyone wants to coach Pirates. To coach Pirates is a privilege and an honour.”

• Free State Stars part ways with Solinas and hire Letsoaka as new coachAs expected‚ Free State Stars have agreed to part ways with their coach‚ Italian Giovanni Solinas‚ and have directly appointed Serame Letsoaka as his replacement. 

Coaching Stars‚ who play in front of a few hundred fans at their Bethlehem base‚ and one of Southern Africa’s biggest teams are two entirely different prospects in terms of pressure.

“But pressure – we need to accept pressure in football‚” Solinas said. “Do you think at Real Madrid you don’t have pressure? It’s normal – it’s not a problem.”

Asked if he would be interested in an offer from Bucs‚ Solinas replied: “For me it’s a dream. It would be unbelievable – fantastic.”

Solinas has experience coaching at big clubs‚ notably ES Setif in Algeria.

“Setif is the same as Pirates in Algeria. They have the same colours – black and white‚” the coach said.

“They are the Juventus of Algeria. And they also have a lot of fans – 20 000 or 25 000 in the stadium every game.

• ‘Playing TKO semifinal was a gift‚’ says Solinas as Free State Stars focus on dire league situationOne consolation for Free State Stars after the heartbreak of semifinal defeat in the Telkom Knockout over the weekend is the fact they can now concentrate on lifting themselves off the foot of the Absa Premiership table. 

“They participate every season in the Champions League. They have a lot of history. I had a lot of pressure there. But it was a good club with good players. Pressure is not problem. The problem in football is when you don’t have good players.

“With Setif I got good results‚ and played in the Champions League against TP Mazembe‚ Esperance de Tunis‚ Dynamos of Zimbabwe.

“I know the Champions League and Confederation Cup. I have travelled on the continent. I went to Ghana to play Asante Kotoko in Kumasi‚ to Congo to play Diables Noirs.”

Solinas guided Stars to the Nedbank Cup semifinals last season‚ where they lost 4-2 against Pirates.

They finished 12th in the PSL before the coach left for family reasons.

This campaign the coach expressed frustration‚ having replaced Denis Lavagne after three games‚ at how many experienced players had left Stars in the off-season.

Counting against Solinas is that Pirates would consider that he did not last more than six months at his four Algerian clubs‚ a trend he continued twice at Stars.

• Solinas bemoans his team's lack of a clinical edge after defeat to PiratesFree State Stars’ Italian coach Giovanni Solinas watched his team go down 1-0 away at Orlando Pirates‚ their fourth defeat in nine matches along with five draws‚ and bemoaned his team's lack of a clinical edge in the final third of the pitch. 

However the Italian is highly qualified and has his Uefa Pro License.

A source who worked closely with Solinas at Stars told Times Media Digital that the coach has the confidence and ability to coach Pirates.

They said Solinas’s strength was his ability to meticulously analyse the resources he had within his squad and how best to utilise them.

Solinas said his immediate plan is to stay in South Africa.

“I am staying because I love this country. I love the people‚” he said.

“I have fallen in love with this country. I have travelled in Africa but South Africa has a particularly special charm.”

- TMG Digital