De Sa was yesterday named coach of the Buccaneers in place of Augusto Palacios, who was said to be ill after a spinal operation.
He immediately offered an olive branch to Pirates’ volatile striker, claiming to be a great admirer of the 34-year-old.
De Sa, along with his then assistant coach Eric Tinkler at BidVest Wits, clashed on the touchline with McCarthy during last December’s Telkom Knockout final in Durban. Harsh words were exchanged.
Yesterday, De Sa said: “It was a once-off. We are both professionals. I’m a great admirer of his ability. We will work as a team for the success of Pirates.”
De Sa had been offered a three-year contract.
“The mandate here is an obvious one: win silverware,” said Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza. “We are the best and need the best results. Roger is a team player who has worked in various capacities for our senior and junior national teams.”
Khoza said Palacios had been relieved of his job for health reasons. He said the former Bafana Bafana coach would go back to his original job of technical director development.
Meanwhile, Khoza yesterday described the situation where their former midfielder Clifford Ngobeni finds himself without a club “unfortunate” and blamed agents for players’ troubles.
Ngobeni has taken Golden Arrows to the dispute resolution chamber to force the team to pay his salary. He was on loan but released back to Pirates – who say Arrows are responsible for his wages.
