Spare a thought for Komphela; no one deserves such abuse
What could be the first thing that jumps into Steve Komphela’s mind when he opens his eyes in the morning?
Does he purr with the contentment of the cat that got the cream when he remembers he is the head coach of the most popular soccer club in Southern Africa? Or do drops of cold sweat slither down the back of his spine when the morning cobwebs clear and he recalls that his own supporters at Kaizer Chiefs have turned on him and are counting the days until they see the back of him?
I suspect it is the latter that immediately jumps into the likeable coach’s mind, given events of the past few weeks.
Think about it folks. Komphela has a job that many of his colleagues in the country and even elsewhere in the world would be willing to give their right arm for.
But as is often the case with such a gig, it is also an incredibly hot seat that has seen some former occupants lose a considerable amount of weight without even stepping into a gym. It is both a blessing and curse to Komphela because while his time at Naturena will open more doors when he does eventually depart, surviving the final weeks of his contract at Chiefs will be a huge challenge.
The man never knows what mood the club’s supporters will be in when he walks into a stadium and they have let him know exactly what they think of him in recent weeks — they want him gone.
They have pelted him with an assortment of objects after defeats and angry chants of “Steve must go, Steve must go”, for good measure.
But Komphela has maintained his dignity throughout the abuse and even defended the fans’ actions at times! Komphela has kept this up even after requiring the assistance of police officers to exit stadiums.
He has stuck to the script even when his own players have put their bodies on the line for the coach and shielded him from missiles as they rained down from the stands.
“We don’t fight back [against the criticism],” he said after a defeat to Chippa United in Port Elizabeth in December.
“You understand the frustration — because when things don’t work, the coach is accountable naturally. That’s leadership. In any position, when things are not working, a point of reference is the one in charge and you accept that in leadership.”
This has been his standard response for the past three years and I’ve often imagined him breaking down and shedding a tear or two when he was alone in a cold hotel room.
The man might be a class act but — bottom line — he is human like the rest of us and he has a breaking point. You cannot face the kind of abuse he has faced for three years and not be bothered at some stage.
The fact is that members of his family have watched the humiliating exits from stadiums, heard unprintable words shouted in his direction, heard the angry comments on radio and also seen the denigration he faces on social media almost every day.
Granted, Chiefs have been appalling in the three years he has been at the helm and there are times when they’ve played with the co-ordination of a goat on stilettos.
But surely there’s enough blame to go around at Naturena, and Komphela cannot be the only one responsible for the alarming decline of the once peerless club.
The club’s management has been complicit in the systematic destruction of one of the strongest sports brands on the continent and for their sake they’d better hope that they are able to recover from one of the poorest spells in their existence.
As for Komphela, it appears that he has made peace with his fate after he hinted at the weekend that he is preparing for his exit.
His penchant for cryptic language might make him a very difficult man to read but one thing is certain, he will walk out of Naturena with his head held high when he exits those big gates in the south of Johannesburg for the last time in May.