The new era for South African football coaching is promising good results for the country's development of the game.
Over the last few seasons, there have been changes in Mzansi's professional coaching landscape, with more young coaches getting opportunities at clubs and allowed to introduce new methods and ways of doing things as football has been evolving rapidly worldwide.
An example of a success story in local football is Rulani Mokwena who from October last year was appointed the head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns when the club decided to restructure their technical team to end the previous arrangement of co-coaching where he and Manqoba were both in charge, while Steve Komphela worked alongside him.
Mokwena has led the Brazilians to win the 2022/23 DStv Premiership title in a record-breaking fashion as the team still had seven matches to play.
Mokwena has been hailed for his incredible after critics had previously doubted his abilities based on his spell with Orlando Pirates between August 2019 and March 2020 when he was in charge on caretaker basis.
Mokwena has also done a great job in the CAF Champions League with Downs, while also being praised for promoting football development as more young players are getting a chance in the first team under him, with the latest being Siyabonga Mabena who made his professional debut at 16 years old.
Apart from Mokwena, several other coaches have been coming progress in their own way at their respective clubs, with former professional footballers who are getting into coaching making it their responsibility to equip themselves with the right qualifications unlike in the past.
Mark Mayambela – who is Cape Town City DStv Diski Challenge coach, has become the latest ex-professional player to do so, having obtained his UEFA B license diploma.
The Siya crew tackles the topic of new generation of coaching with Morena Ramoreboli who himself is making a name for himself with Jwaneng Galaxy in the Botswana Premier League, having led the team to remain at the top of the standings with eight matches to go.
The Good
"I think it shows that football is growing and people have started believing that coaching is not about age but it's about the ability and knowledge that one has. A practical example of what I'm talking about is that of coach Rulani as he is one of the young coaches who are doing very well. Another coach that is doing well is coach Fadlu (Davids, Maritzburg United coach), and it's just unfortunate that he found the team in the relegation zone. But when you look at their teams playing, you can see that tactically their teams are being coached. It is good when you see young coaches being given an opportunity and being allowed to express and instill their game model, their philosophy into the team. But at the same time we have to be honest that you need to be ready to take leadership at that level," said Ramoreboli.
The Bad
"Some people are being pushed to take leadership at that level while they are not being ready and that is why sometimes it creates a bit of confusion to say, 'Is it wise to give young coaches an opportunity in the Premier League?' It depends on when the coach started. If you remember the two coaches I spoke about earlier were assistant coaches at some point. Also, it is important for coaches to equip themselves and to empower themselves," he said.
The Ugly
"There is a believe that you gain experience by the period you spent in the game (as a professional footballer). But that is not true. You gain experience and knowledge by learning and improving the knowledge you have. The biggest problem with our people is that maybe after being in the professional set-up we stop learning. That is why our football is not growing because we have too many people who still believe in old methods of doing things. That is why sometimes for some coaches it is difficult to coach players who have been to Europe because they were coached properly and their training sessions were run properly," the coach said.
Summary
"Sometimes, when you didn't equip yourself or learn properly, it becomes difficult for you to run proper training sessions because football is changing. In the past, people used to run 10 laps, play 11 versus 11 and then go home. But now we talk about the important of tactics in our training sessions, the importance technique and the importance of the physical components, and also the mental aspect. If you just go and conduct an ordinary training session, your players are not going to learn anything and when players are not learning even if you win matches Bafana Bafana will suffer. At Bafana we don't take chances, we need people who can adapt to the tactics and the challenge," Ramoreboli concluded.
How Big Is The Difference In Standard Of SA Football Under New Generation Of Coaches Compared To The Past
