It's been over 15 years and Neil Tovey still does not know why he and co-coach Miguel Gamondi were axed by the Tshwane giants after winning the Premiership title in 2005/06. Soccer Laduma caught up with the Bafana Bafana legend to talk about their title winning season with the Brazilians and why he still feels he can still coach.
How the move happened
Miguel Gamondi and I were assistant coaches at the time (to Angel Cappa). The first day was just about meeting together and having a discussion around our thought process of how we were going to turn the team around. The last time Sundowns had won the league was when I had won the league as an assistant coach to (Paul) Dolezar (in 1999/20).
Who was in the team
You need to have good players and Sundowns had good players that season. We had a sound defensive unit and we were a team that would always score goals and you'd have guys who were contributing goals from midfield. The line-up changed now and again, but we had Andre Arendse in goal and we had good back-up. The players on the bench were strong and that made training sessions competitive throughout the year. There were guys like Benson Mhlongo. The team had leadership with the likes of Benson, Michael Manzini. There were a lot of players who were able to have a say.
The co-coaching with Miguel Gamondi
It was pretty smooth going because we did not have an ego. When I needed to say something, Miguel would give me the time and I would also give him the time when he needed it. The combination of thoughts usually always worked. When you don't complicate it and don't give separate messages....our messages to the players were always similar. I was going to tell a player to loo at a space behind when Miguel was telling him to look at the space in front. There were always messages that we had discussed and we did not confuse players. There were never mixed messages. And you don't have to over-complicate the game sometimes.
Difficult conversations with the chairman
No, we didn't have difficult conversation with Patrice (Motsepe). There were some meetings where he rightly said 'come on guys, we need to step it up'. But other than that, there were not many. He was a businessman and he was a very busy businessman at that stage. We would often have meetings with him late at night because he was so busy.
Best thing about the job
It's when you are winning. We had a team that was a little bit down when Miguel and I started. They were a bit low indifferent in confidence and it was good to see them coming alive and excelling to what makes them good.
Worst thing about the job
The worst thing is that we got fired for no reason. To this day, I still don't know why.
How the team was picked as co-coaches
Well, I let Miguel have a say because there has to be one person. Then I would have a debate over a player or two, but generally we had a team that was quite stable. There were not major hassles or picks to be made. It was a team that could pick itself, unless there were injuries or something, but generally the team picked itself.
How the job opened up opportunities for me
I don't know if it. I went on and started coaching AmaZulu when I went back to Durban. But it did not open doors, not like it should have. We won the league and today there are coaches out there and you think 'how do they have a job?' I won plenty trophies as a player and I won trophies as a coach, but still club owners are looking at coaches who are not in my league. I am not trying to be disrespectful to anyone.
My last day at the club
It was like 'pack your bags and go'. It was quite sad because we had played a couple of matches into the (new) season. We did pre-season with the team and played in the top eight. There were performances that were good, but the results were a little lit not like the season before. But I think we were still third or fourth in the league. Then Gordon (Igesund) took over a team that had already done the pre-season and everything. Miguel and I had done all the pre-season for the team and everything.
Would you do it again?
Yes, 100 percent. Because I know what makes the teams tick. Whether you are a league winning team or a relegation team, I've had success.
Thoughts on the current Sundowns team
They are a very good team. Rulani has done an outstanding job there. They've won the league and you have to be commended for how they did. People say, and rightly so, that they have all the best players, but that doesn't come without its issues and challenges. There are players who are not in the starting XI and want to play and the guys in the stands who want to play. It's about managing those players and egos. That's the biggest process and you've got to give them credit.
