Baroka coach sets sights high while at bottom of the pile

This has been one of the most unconventional domestic seasons in many moons and who better to bring the curtain down than eccentric Baroka FC coach Kgoloko Thobejane?

Sure, there is still one more game to play in this unusually long campaign — the Nedbank Cup final between Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday — but it’s safe to say our man’s recent pearls of wisdom take the cake.

Baroka escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth a couple of days ago and the Limpopo club retained its premiership status via that unfair practice otherwise known as the relegation-promotion play-offs of the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

For those who are not familiar with what I’m talking about, the relegation-promotion play-offs offer a get-out-of-jailfree card to the team that finishes second bottom in the domestic top-flight.

Instead of being swallowed by the relegation quicksand along with the club that finishes bottom of the log, this team receives a stay of execution and participates in the play-offs against two lower-tier sides.

The two unlucky sides were Black Leopards and Stellenbosch FC and the door to paradise that was momentarily opened was slammed shut in their faces after Baroka sneaked back in at the weekend.

The Limpopo side came that close to losing it all and yet our man Thobejane told colleague Ofentse Ratsie this week that he had seen the future — he sees himself hoisting the domestic league title next season.

Ratsie nearly fell off his chair when he heard the Baroka coach’s bold prediction, but the mentor was not finished. As Ratsie was still gasping for air, the coach said his charges would also win the African Champions League next season. Ratsie was struggling to breathe at this point, but Thobejane was in his element.

‘‘We are ready for the PSL‚ preparations is as usual‚” Thobejane said.

“This is our second season in the PSL. You can’t avoid a situation in football … if you lose in football you have lost.

“Then if you find yourself in the relegation zone, you must accept you are in the relegation zone. But what you must know is that whatever is there in PSL, we are saying Baroka is there for it‚ and we are challenging for the PSL and the Caf title.” Social media nearly imploded after we published the story and fans couldn’t wrap their heads around the coach’s utterances. But it’s been that kind of a season hasn’t it?

Thobejane himself has lost the job a few times over the past few months and no one can argue against those incredulous tweeps who suggest that they’re willing to bet he will no longer be coach by the start of next season.

Hell, Baroka officials themselves have been very cryptic and they do not want to confirm with absolute certainty whether he will still be at the helm next season.

Lest we forget, the Olympic Games in Rio forced the season to start later than usual and then we saw something very special — Mamelodi Sundowns were crowned continental champions in October.

The Brazilians became the first South African team to win the African Champions League since Orlando Pirates in 1995.

Sundowns then went on to represent the continent in the Fifa Club World Cup in Japan and by the time they finally turned their focus to the domestic league, they were so far behind in the title race that many wrote them off.

But Pitso Mosimane’s charges proved many wrong and they came back strongly, pushing eventual champions Bidvest Wits till the last few weeks of the season.

Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates once again disappointed their fans and you could almost feel their frustration each time they ventured anywhere near social media.

Newcomers Cape Town City surprised many when they managed to keep up with the blistering pace set by Wits and Sundowns. Coach Eric Tinkler’s charges at least had something to show for their impressive campaign after winning the Telkom Knockout.

City owner John Comitis then shook up domestic football when he named Benni McCarthy as his new coach after Tinkler defected to SuperSport United.

It really has been a crazy season, hasn’t it?