COACHES UNDER THE COSH
Steve or Stu, gold or blue ... intriguing quarters showdown
BOTH Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United will need a little more than just their A-games to win a trophy this season.
Today, when they face off in the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals (FNB Stadium, 6pm), only one team will keep their hopes of a league and cup double alive, while the other will only look to the Absa Premiership for silverware.
The focus will also be on the coaches – Steve Komphela of Chiefs and his SuperSport counterpart Stuart Baxter, who knows exactly under what kind of pressure his colleague is to deliver, having been in the same hot seat between 2012 and 2015.
Baxter is not necessarily under much strain at Matsatsantsa, but the expectation to bring in trophies has become synonymous with a club like SuperSport over the years.
Here we look at what progress to the semi-finals of the cup will mean for either coach, and what the consequences are if they stumble.
STEVE KOMPHELA Been at Chiefs since June 2015 Trophies: What a win means:
None
The former Bafana skipper has been much maligned from the day he set foot at Naturena to, coincidentally, replace Baxter, who’d won a league and cup double twice in his three years there.
Amakhosi fans unusually had to settle for a fifth place finish last season and contend with not having to celebrate winning a cup despite theclub reaching the MTN8 and Telkom Knockout finals only to choke when it mattered most.
A guarantee of a semi-final spot tonight is not a trophy, but with Chiefs unbeaten in 14 matches in all competitions, the odds are quite high that the wait could be finally over.
Cries of Komphela being an underachiever will once again return and again kick-start the debate that Amakhosi haven’t been up to the task against their top five rivals in the country since Baxter’s departure.
They have the momentum in the championship race, being a point behind log leaders Cape Town City, but a loss, which would effectively end their only other option for silverware, could almost be deflating.
What a defeat means:
STUART BAXTER Been at SuperSport since January 2016 Trophies: What a win means:
2016 Nedbank Cup
Matsatsantsa would be on course for a rare feat as they look to defend their cup title.
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for the club, who have slipped further down the league table to fifth position and are probably out of the championship race following three league losses in a row – all coming in the wake of the possibility that Baxter could become the next Bafana coach.
They’d take any victory regardless of the opponents at the rate things are going, but to bring down “cup kings” Chiefs would restore their confidence as they look to shake off the slump.
What a defeat means:
It could be interpreted to suggest Baxter may have lost the dressing room, and not in the typical sense that players are rebelling, but that they haven’t quite recovered from the shock that he is considering leaving.
With the awful run continuing, the chance to finish the season with a trophy would look less likely.
@superjourno