OPINION: Five men we believe are capable of coaching Orlando Pirates

Orlando Pirates’ chairman Irvin Khoza has said he will name a new coach on Monday‚ in the wake of Bucs’ disastrous 6-0 Absa Premiership thrashing at the hands of Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Times Media Digital looks at some candidates in world football who we feel are capable of coaching Pirates‚ within the bounds of reality:

Herve Renard

He would cost a lot. And can Bucs tempt Renard away form the comparatively cushy life of a national team coach to the daily and weekly grind of a club coach?

Also‚ would Pirates be in competition with Safa to lure the Frenchman to being a replacement for sacked Shakes Mashaba as Bafana coach?

• Sundowns humiliate hapless Pirates 6-0Orlando Pirates’ 2016-17 Premier League season was buried with a 6-0 defeat against Mamelodi Sundowns there on Saturday, amidst disgraceful scenes of chaos. 

There are a lot of question marks there. Another is that behind Renard’s calm exterior he portrays publicly‚ he has a reputation for being bristly behind the scenes.

At a complex club like Pirates‚ this can be a recipe for disaster – Muhsin Ertugral’s meltdown in November being a case in point.

But Renard is Africa’s hottest coaching property following his Africa Cup of Nations successes with Zambia in 2012 and Ivory Coast in 2015.

If the stories are true – though they were denied at the time by those close to Stephen Keshi – that Bucs were trying to lure ‘Big Boss’ to Parktown before the ex-Nigeria coach’s death in June 2016‚ then Renard would be in the same category of ambition.

Things seem so dire at Bucs right now that it might be worth breaking the bank to make a big statement.

Patrice Carteron

Again‚ the issue of cost‚ plus availability.

Recent reports in The Sowetan have been that Carteron‚ currently contracted with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia‚ is too expensive for Pirates.

• I am not going to Orlando Pirates, says Chippa United coach 'Dance' MaleselaDan Malesela vigorously ruled himself out of contention for the vacant Orlando Pirates coaching job as speculation over the identity of the new Bucs boss continues. 

Pity‚ because the Frenchman would appear a good fit. He knows how to play continental club football‚ where Pirates are hungry for success‚ having won the 2015 Caf Champions League there with TP Mazembe.

He impressed as coach of semifinalists Mali at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.

Carteron showed an even‚ calm temperament in SA in 2013. He appeared to know how to work with superstars – apparently Ertugral’s major flaw at Bucs.

Dan Malesela

The Chippa United coach seems reluctant to make the step to a big club just yet‚ despite being well versed with such environments as a 1980s captain and star defender for Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns.

Malesela is a welcome exception to the rule among many of his generation from the days of sporting isolation when South African football sparkled with superstars and entertainers‚ though most of whom have not ventured into professional coaching.

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His football displayed at First Division outfit United FC and now Chippa hearkens to another age‚ though he has shown himself in touch with modern trends too.

Seemingly‚ though‚ Malesela wants a little more time under the radar at smaller teams before taking on a task so onerous as Pirates.

Perhaps that’s sensible‚ too. Few other top six teams will allow a coach like Malesela room for his expressive brand of football‚ though.

Then again‚ this is a piece on who we feel is capable of coaching Bucs‚ not who seems likely‚ and Malesela seems to fit that bracket for us.

Samson Siasia

Granted most of Siasia’s coaching successes have come at junior international level. But as coach of the Nigerian Under-23 team he reached the final of the 2008 Beijing men’s Olympic tournament‚ losing against Argentina‚ and third place at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Top three finishes at two Olympic Games is not to be sniffed at. Siasia has limited club experience.

But he is a 1990s Super Eagle‚ from the great Nigeria 1994 World Cup team of Okocha‚ Amokachi‚ George and Yekini. Siasia has playing and coaching pedigree to match a club like Pirates.

• Palacios claims of player ill-discipline at Pirates a cop out, says chairman Khoza Orlando Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza has said that he believes caretaker-coach Augusto Palacios’s claims of player ill-discipline at troubled Bucs are a cop-out. 

Benni McCarthy

Perhaps‚ after just one year as an assistant coach watching St Truiden get relegated from the Belgian top-flight‚ Benni is not quite ready for Bucs’ head coaching job just yet‚ even if he’s recently completed his Uefa A-licence qualification.

But he’s included here because Bafana Bafana’s all-time top scorer and the only South African to ever win the Uefa Champions League (with Porto in 2004) seems a future Pirates coach.

He perhaps is worthy of a place on Bucs’ technical staff already to begin the grooming process‚ where he might form a good combination with current assistants‚ and ex-Bafana teammates‚ Bradley Carnell and Benson Mhlongo.

Not on our list:

Shakes Mashaba

Of course he’s a Pirates legend‚ but really‚ after the example as the opposite to anger-management that was Mashaba’s last Bafana tenure‚ could he make it at Bucs?

In a modern era where Sundowns‚ Wits and SuperSport’s frontlines play at a pace that leaves one breathless‚ Shakes would say his players were going to ‘Hak’ (push)‚ have some initial success through gusto and inspiration‚ refuse to research the opposition and implode after wars with Bucs’ backroom staff.

That’s our prediction anyhow‚ not to mention his well-documented shaky relationship with Khoza.

• Manyama warns that a wounded Pirates will be a side no-one wants to faceCape Town City captain Lebogang Manyama is wary of the threat posed by wounded Orlando Pirates following the Buccaneers’ 6-0 drubbing by Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. 

Giovanni Solinas

Heck of a nice guy. Good coach. Someone who brought really good ideas and football to Free State Stars. But that was Free State Stars. This is Pirates. Enough said.

Milutin Sredojevic

He lasted six months the last time in 2006. That appears to make the Serb too much of a risk no matter how well he’s fared with Uganda recently.

Luc Eymael

A few months of fancy football from an established‚ under-rated team at Polokwane City and a coach who never played or coached above the third division in his own country‚ Belgium‚ is being named as a potential coach of Pirates?

Never mind that Eymael seems something of a tempestuous nutter off the field.

Kosta Papic

Seriously.

- TMG Digital/TMG Sport