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Cape Town - "The difficulty in life is the choice," philosophised author George Moore in his writings as far back as 1900.
The choice for recently garlanded soccer coach Pitso Mosimane, who was last week named African Coach of the Year after guiding Mamelodi Sundowns to the prized and elusive African Champions League title, would be to remain with the Premier League holders or consider the prospect of making a return to the Bafana Bafana post.
Until Sundowns' "golden achievement" at CAF level, the prospect of Mosimane returning to Bafana - even after the controversial sacking of Shakes Mashaba - might have seemed as remote as a dust storm at the North Pole.
After all, Mosimane's ill-fated dismissal as Bafana coach ended amid a good deal of acrimony in the court room, with the coach known as "Jingles" jingling his coins after receiving a hefty settlement.
All that has changed, however, following Sundowns' and his own notable triumphs, with those in the SAFA hierarchy who end up making decisions placing Mosimane at the head of a hazy queue of the assortment of candidates who could conceivably take over from Mashaba before the resumption of critical World Cup qualifying fixtures later in the year.
And even billionaire mining mogul and Sundowns owner, Patrice Motsepe, seems to be leaning with one leg in that direction, declaring that as a fiercely dedicated and devoted South African patriot he would release Mosimane from a four-year contract - if SAFA wanted him for the Bafana job and the coach himself chose to make the back-flip move.
However, the indications currently are that this will not happen, with Mosimane declaring that he wants nothing more than to remain with Sundowns - while taking them a step further up the soccer ladder by making the club a world-respected force instead of one whose reputation after a dismal World Club Championship campaign remains at continental African level.
Mosimane's reaction is understandable in view of the hostility that marked his departure from Bafana after a mix-up in the rules that resulted in South Africa failing to qualify for an African Nations Cup event.
Also, the chances of Mosimane achieving his future objectives would appear brighter at Sundowns than with Bafana.
And, putting the icing on the cake as to which choice might appear more appetising, the affluent Motsepe would appear the only one capable of outbidding SAFA financially on the issues of salary and such-like.
But you never know what twists and turns the future could hold. What is more, as the inimitable Moore suggested many moons ago "the difficulty in life is the choice."
