Soccer- South Africa re-appoint Mashaba for Bafana Bafana

By Nick Said CAPE TOWN, July 26 (Reuters) - Ephraim Mashaba was re-appointed as coach of South Africa's national team on Saturday, the fourth time he has taken the helm of Bafana Bafana. Mashaba, more commonly known as 'Shakes', has had two previous caretaker spells with the senior team and was the permanent coach between Aug. 2002 and Nov. 2003. His most recent role was in charge of the national Under-20 side and is currently on a west African tour with the team. The cash-strapped South African Football Association (SAFA) opted for a local coach having also received interest in the post from Carlos Queiroz, who led Iran at the World Cup in Brazil, and Stephen Keshi of Nigeria. The Dutch duo of Frank Rijkaard and Dick Advocaat were also in the running. The 63-year-old Mashaba had a tempestuous relationship with his SAFA bosses during his first spell in charge of the side and was sacked after refusing to recall overseas based players Quinton Fortune and Hans Vonk when they asked to be excused from a training camp ahead of the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations. He was also axed from the bench in the middle of that spell for a high-profile friendly against England in 2003 when he also refused to call on the country's top players in Europe. South Africa have had 17 coaches since their re-admission into international football in 1992 following a FIFA ban due to Apartheid, though five of those, including Mashaba, have had more than one go in the hot-seat. The fortunes of the national side have been in steady decline since their high of winning the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations and became the only host nation to exit the World Cup in the first round in 2010. (Reporting by Nick Said; editing by Martyn Herman)