Tinkler rides in like shining knight at City
Comitis hails coach’s Midas touch
TO MANY‚ the rise of Cape Town City in the first half of this season and the success of their coach‚ Eric Tinkler‚ has been a surprise … but should it be?
Perhaps that surprise comes from the fact that City are a new club‚ formed only in June. Yet the core of the squad is made up of players from the Mpumalanga Black Aces franchise that were also third in the league this time last year‚ the same position City find themselves during the current festive season break.
Or is that surprise because they have excelled under Tinkler‚ a coach who is said to have failed at Orlando Pirates despite leading the club to two cup finals in the space of six months.
The working conditions at Pirates for coaches do not necessarily allow individuals the full reign they would like to truly stamp their authority on a team. At City‚ Tinkler has that and perhaps now we are seeing his true colours.
The victory in the Telkom Knockout final over SuperSport United on December 10 was a true statement from this side and gave Tinkler his first trophy as a coach.
But it is not only that this team has been winning games‚ but the style in which they have been doing so‚ with their quick-passing game arguably only second to Mamelodi Sundowns‚ with perhaps Chippa United also a contender‚ for excitement value in the Absa Premiership.
Certainly the least surprised person at City with the success that Tinkler has managed to gauge is owner John Comitis. He has admitted that Muhsin Ertugral was his first choice for the role of coach‚ given the fact he had worked with the core of the squad last season at Black Aces and because the two have worked extensively before at Ajax Cape Town.
But he also couldn’t believe his luck when Tinkler became available‚ deemed surplus to requirements at Pirates as Ertugral took up that hot-seat instead.
“To find such a highly qualified coach in South African football is rare‚” said Comitis.
“Most coaches are qualified by experience only‚ but Eric has a Uefa Pro Licence and is exactly what we need – a person who can structure the club to match European standards.
“He is a methodical coach who can build this club from the bottom up. He also comes with an academic way of thinking and so when he was available it became a very easy decision for me.
“That’s why I have given him a straight three-year contract – there are no options or anything like that. Because I believe that with the team I have behind him‚ he will be very successful for this football club.”
Roger de Sa‚ who had Tinkler as his assistant at both Bidvest Wits and Pirates‚ once told this reporter that there is no harder-working person in South African football than the former Bafana Bafana midfielder‚ who puts absolutely everything into his tasks‚ leaving no stone unturned.
Tinkler is meticulous in his planning‚ but also open to ideas from others. He is well-liked by his players‚ and is not one to rant at them from the sidelines.
The former Bafana Bafana midfielder tends to look and sound exhausted in post-match press briefings‚ even when his side wins‚ having put so much mental and physical energy into games as he prowls the touchline‚ figuratively heading every ball and feeling every tackle.
If City needed a coach to engage with their squad‚ which also had a number of new players to integrate into the Black Aces core‚ then they found their man.
Someone who really wants to understand what makes each player tick and how to get the best out of them.
As for how far they can go and whether they be South Africa’s ‘Leicester City’‚ the simple answer is yes. They have the players and the coach to deliver that. — TMG Digital/TMG Sport