If it were not for Clinton Larsen, there is a player at Magesi who would not have celebrated the Carling Knockout title on Saturday because he was close to quitting football before the start of this season.
That player, a soldier for Larsen, is Malawian defender and experienced campaigner Limbikani Mzava, who was a colossal figure at the back as Magesi recorded one of the biggest upsets in PSL history by coming from behind to beat Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1 in the final on Saturday.
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The 31-year-old's last club in the top flight was AmaZulu, a side he left in 2022. So, with nothing coming his way in the PSL, Larsen revealed that the defender was considering calling it quits.
Mzava, interestingly, was at Bloemfontein Celtic with Larsen when Phunya Sele Sele beat Sundowns 1-0 to lift the Telkom Knockout title in 2012.
"Mzava was very close to quitting. But I gave him a call during pre-season. My fitness coach follows him on Instagram and he was keeping fit in the gym. He never let himself go. I knew it would take a short space of time to get him right physically," Larsen said after the game.
"After calling him, he agreed to come down for an assessment and, from the first day, I could see it was the same old Mzava I knew at Bloemfontein Celtic when I signed him as a 19-year-old. He has come in with that maturity and leadership. He is another beautiful human being. He is so great to have around the club, giving advice to this young group of players and he is making my job a lot easier as well."
There are so many beautiful stories to tell at Magesi and Larsen revealed that he used the story of assistant coach Papi Zothwane, a former player who never had an opportunity to play in a major knockout competition final.
"I worked with coach Papi at Golden Arrows for three years. He was one of my DDC coaches. I saw the talent in him then. And then when I was at Summerfield Dynamos, Papi started coaching in the NFD (National First Division) with Uthongathi. We played them in friendly games and in the Nedbank Cup. I understand Papi's brain and he was such a classy footballer. Actually, I used his story to motivate players. A great player like Papi Zothwane, (who) played for big clubs like Sundowns and Arrows, in his entire career did not play in a cup final. So, that should tell you how rare these occasions are and how difficult it is to reach a cup final. He has been a great assistant, along with Jacky Ledwaba.
"He (Ledwaba) is a selfless human being. What a lovely person. I have two young coaches who are learning as they go along, but have very intelligent minds."
Larsen revealed that the victory over Sundowns on Saturday ranks higher than the one in the Telkom Knockout 12 years ago and gave his reasons for that.
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"This one was a lot more difficult. Back in 2012, we were not playing against the national team. This felt like playing Bafana Bafana. Six of these players started the other day (against South Sudan) and a few were on the bench, so they have so much quality. Also, I thought I had a lot more experience in that Celtic team in 2012, with guys like John Arwuah, Kurt Lentjies. In this group (at Magesi), six of my starters have six games in the PSL. In terms of collective experience, we are low in that department, so I think this ranks right up there as my best achievement as a coach.
"It's been 21 years as a coach. I started in the 2003/04 season in the NFD with Durban Stars. It's been a long while and I have been to two cup finals. That alone should tell you how difficult it is to get to a cup final. I am happy that I've been to two and I've won two, so a 100 percent record."
