UThongathi seeks victory
NOW that the nerves have settled after guiding uThongathi FC to their first professional match in the National First Division, coach Ronnie Gabriel is eager to kick on and establish his team as a formidable opponent in the league.
Gabriel, 41, opened his professional coaching chapter with a 1-1 home draw against regular title contenders Royal Eagles at their adopted base in KwaMashu last weekend.
He was satisfied with the performance but disappointed with the result because they conceded the equaliser in referee’s optional time towards the end of the clash.
The rookie coach reached the pro ranks in the country’s second tier after masterminding the North Coast club’s promotion via the ABC Motsepe League national playoffs in East London in June.
Since then, it has been a race against the clock to get to grips with the administrative demands of the league and prepare the squad for the technical challenges of making the switch from amateur football.
Gabriel relishes the task, although it means his transport and packaging business has been neglected.
“It’s like a dream being a football coach; it’s not like work for me. It’s a busy schedule doing training sessions in the morning, going into the office for some administrative tasks and preparing the weekly and monthly training programmes, and conducting video analysis, player assessments and scouting.
“But I love doing it and I’m happy to be in this profession. How many people get paid to do what they love?” said the uThongathi resident.
Football was always his passion, having started playing organised football as an eightyear-old for the Gandhi’s Hill FC under-14 Colts team.
As much as he loved the game, he never thought it would lead to a full-time career, even though he took the coaching steps from entry level at Safa through to his Confederation of African Football A licence, which allows coaches to work professionally throughout Africa, as well as in many leagues globally.
“I started at the LFA (Local Football Association) level, and we promoted uThongathi to the SAB regional league, and eventually to the NFD. So I’ve coached at all the Safa structures and did my apprenticeship; I wasn’t just placed here. I understand what it’s like at the different levels, and now it’s about getting familiar with the NFD,” said the coach, who also holds a Brazilian coaching diploma.
With the first game anxiousness now history, Gabriel is eyeing a first win, starting with Saturday’s opponent, Stellenbosch FC in Cape Town.
“The match against Royal Eagles was very exciting; we were looking forward to that first fixture. There were some nerves before, but we were confident enough that we had done the necessary preparations. It was just unfortunate that we dropped points in the five minutes of optional time, but it’s okay and we’ll take the result.
“We’ll plan game by game and not too far ahead. Now we want to get our first three points of the season and get a win under our belt so that it gives us confidence for our future preparations and helps with the players’ psychological preparedness.”
Gabriel eats and sleeps football and draws inspiration from local tacticians, such as Clinton Larsen (Golden Arrows) and Manqoba Mngqithi (Mamelodi Sundowns assistant coach), and internationally from Spaniard Pep Guardiola who leads English outfit Manchester City.
The technical head of the Tongaat LFA also follows Manchester United and Real Madrid internationally, and Orlando Pirates locally. Like those sides, he prefers to play the game on the front foot.
“I am more into Guardiola’s methodology and philosophy, but I like to be my own man. I’m not too rigid about formations and patterns of play. My approach is multi-dimensional, but I enjoy playing on the front foot. I prefer to play on the break attack rather than counter-attack, and take the initiative. I want to play brave football and not wait for the opposition,” said Gabriel.
Professional football has not graced uThongathi in the Premier Soccer League era and Gabriel is eager to lead his North Coast outfit to the country’s elite division.
However, that is a longer term plan, given the difficulties of playing in KwaMashu because their home base in uThongathi is inadequate for the requirements of the NFD. The immediate goal is to stabilise the team and retain their status this season, before aiming for higher honours.