Carlos Parreira is back. As is Benni McCarthy. But very little has been said about the possible make-up of the rest of South Africa's starting XI ahead of their friendly against Japan at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Historically speaking, Parreira is a coach that likes to play 'two up' and with McCarthy a shoo-in to lead the line, the Brazilian must decide whether to deploy McCarthy's preferred strike partner, Bernard Parker, or start with the in-form Katlego Mphela. Kermit Erasmus and Richard Henyekane are also options albeit probably from the bench.
Parreira's biggest challenge will be in midfield where he needs to select a balanced unit that will give the necessary attacking impetus.
During his previous spell in charge Parreira showed faith in Siphiwe Tshabalala and Teko Modise and will surely be tempted to include Daine Klate in the starting line-up as the SuperSport United winger has scored seven times in his last six outings.
Parreira told the media that his overall approach will not differ too much to Joel Santana's, meaning fans can expect a compact formation and a short and quick passing game.
He said: "Me and Joel Santana are not too different, I just hope the players do not struggle to adapt to my ways of doing things - but our strength has always been technique, we cannot play physically because we don't understand that style."
What Parreira needs to do is ensure that the midfield and attacking unit play together organically. Too often under Santana the frontline found itself isolated from the midfield which lacked the creativity to offer a decent supply to the goalscorers.
Elsewhere, the withdrawal of Siboniso Gaxa and the absence of Matthew Booth leaves two places open in defence. Bongani Khumalo and Siyabonga Sangweni are favourites to fill in at centre-back while the versatile Lucas Thwala could replace Gaxa on the right.
Japan have qualified for the 2010 World Cup and are on a reconnaissance mission to evaluate conditions in the host country ahead of the showpiece tournament.
Coach Takeshi Okada believes Bafana will offer his charges a stern test.
"We're getting to play away, which is something we need to be doing," Okada told reporters in Tokyo.
"We have an opportunity to play in the country of the World Cup finals. I know they haven't had the results recently, but from what I remember at the Confederations Cup, they're a very strong side."
The Blue Samurai have a few injury problems ahead of the friendly.
Kawasaki Frontale midfielder Kengo Nakamura is ruled out with a thigh strain while Italy-based forward Takayuki Morimoto is out with an Achilles problem and has been replaced by Shinzo Koroki.
Former Glasgow Celtic star Shunsuke Nakamura is available and will be utilised as a playmaker, but with all due respect to Japan, the local and world media are focusing almost entirely on Bafana Bafana's performance.
Parreira's return to the hotseat has not been universally welcomed in South Africa and he could do with a positive result to win over the faith of the public.
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