Mhlongo: I never fought with Pirates

Benson Mhlongo must have gotten his nickname during the early days of his playing career, because ‘Mayanga’ is a reference to ‘the young one’. But since the Alexandra-born man made his debut for Wits University (now Bidvest Wits) in 2001, he has metamorphosized into a character able to take care of more than just himself. Having quietly gone into retirement and with stints as Orlando Pirates assistant coach and later MDC coach behind him, he is now in charge of TS Sporting in the National First Division. In this interview with Soccer Laduma’s Beaver Nazo, Mhlongo is his usual frank self as he talks about his departure from the Buccaneers as well as life as a head coach.

Beaver Nazo: Mayanga, let us first congratulate you for getting your first head coaching gig, with TS Sporting FC, where you have been serving since the beginning of the season.

Benson Mhlongo: Thank you very much, my brother. You know, it has always been a dream of mine to give the head coaching job a go. I’ve got it now and I am looking forward to ploughing back all the knowledge I got from all the clubs that I played for and the experience I gained while I was the assistant coach and MDC coach at Orlando Pirates. This is an opportunity that was given to me by the club’s chairman, Thobela Hlomo, and I really appreciate it. We have a very good young team here and I am very happy to be working with them. They are a bunch of good and dedicated players, which makes our job as the technical team easy. The players are easy to work with. We can only see what it has for me in the future, but so far, so good.

BN: You are currently in third place, having amassed 19 points after 11games.

BM: We appreciate being there, but in the same breath, the NFD is a very tough league and I have already learnt that in the short time that I have been here. BN: How so? BM: It is a bit different to the elite league. It is a bit tough because of the way the game is played. There’s not much space afforded to a player here, whereas in the Absa Premiership, you sometimes enjoy a lot of space on the ball.

BN: What targets have been set for this season?

BM: It is to help the team to be more professional, as you’ll remember that this team was playing in the ABC Motsepe League last season. So we have to establish professionalism. We also have to keep the team in the NFD for this season. We have to help these boys to grow as players and help the team grow as well because everyone is new. That’s all we’ve been tasked to do this season.

BN: The man who promoted the team, Mfanimpela Maseko, was demoted to be your assistant coach. How is the working relationship between the two of you?

BM: When Mbombela United were promoted from the ABC Motsepe League to the NFD, we were working together and I was still a player back then. He asked me to come and help him in the last games before the playoffs to gain promotion. We’ve known each other for a long time and we have a very good working relationship.

BN: Sammy Troughton has just joined as technical director. How did you react to the news?

BM: I have no right to react. The chairman has his own ambition and vision. Mine is just to work for the club in my capacity and I cannot say who should be employed or not.

BN: Coaches get fired a lot in the NFD as teams strive for promotion or a playoff spot. Does this not scare you?

BM: I am a servant of the game and what happens out of my capacity, I cannot control.

BN: You were an assistant coach at one of the biggest clubs in the country, a club that you played for, Orlando Pirates. Rhulani Mokwena then joined the Soweto giants, after which you were moved to the MDC, before eventually leaving.

BM: I was an assistant and I went to the MDC to help make the boys play like the senior team. It was not a demotion but part of my job as an assistant

coach to go and guide the boys to the senior team.

BN: You were assistant to four coaches at Pirates – Muhsin Ertugral, Augusto Palacios, Kjell Jonevret and Milutin Sredojevic. How much did each of them value the assistant coach’s input?

BM: All the coaches that I was assisting can give you an answer to that. My job there was to assist the head coach in every way I could and I am proud to say that I did that. But in terms of how different it was working with each of them, well, every coach’s philosophy is different to the other. They all have different opinions about an assistant coach as well. They all value the assistant coach’s input in their different ways.

BN: What about reports that you, Mokwena and Micho didn’t see eyeto-eye?

BM: I never heard or saw such reports, but I think whoever wrote or published them was just guessing. My working relationship with the two coaches was very good and pro-

fessional. Even when I moved to the MDC, we were in constant communication. I left Pirates with the blessings of the chairman and everyone in the club because I wanted to explore other available options. I never had any problems with anyone during my stay there. BN: Sure.

BM: Pirates have a very good coach in Micho and a very good assistant coach in Rhulani. Me leaving doesn’t affect anything. Those two coaches taught me a lot and the team is in very good hands with the two of them in charge. I will forever be thankful to the chairman, Mr Nkosana Khoza, Mr Mpumi Khoza and everyone involved for giving me the opportunity to work as a coach at that big club and to grow. That has broadened my knowledge of the game from the coach’s perspective. It was a homecoming for me because, like you said, I played for Pirates.

BN: It is nice to see more and more former players venturing into the coaching arena.

BM: As long as you have passion for something, you go out of your way to go on and do it.

BN: Did you always know that you were going to become a coach after hanging up your size 10 boots?

BM: No, I didn’t know I would become a coach, but as a football servant, whenever football calls, I will daily answer and do the best I can. BN: Coaching is sometimes a thankless and cruel job as you are, at most times, at the mercy of trigger-happy club bosses, while also having to face criticism from supporters when results don’t go your way. You must have seen this with the coaches you played under. What made you decide it’s the right career choice for you after stopping playing? BM: When I was born, there was no career written on my forehead. What happens next I don’t have control over. I chose football because I love it and that is why I am still in it today. As long as I am in the game and contributing, I am happy. I am not just a title, but a person who loves football.

BN: TS Sporting are a fairly new project. Why do you think they entrusted you with the club’s coaching duties despite your inexperience at head coaching level? BM: I wish you can ask every coach where they started. They will tell you that you have to start somewhere. Everyone has got a starting point and this is my starting point. BN: You were known to be very vocal as a player, fighting for your rights and those of your teammates. That’s how

to know many Benson came Mhlongo the player. Let us in on Benson Mhlongo the coach. What is your coaching style? BM: I am a coach that improves each player from one point to another – that’s football. BN: Your retirement was a low-key affair. When did you know you’d had enough and it was time to call it quits? BM: I never quit football and I have never said I quit. As long as I’m in football, I am happy. I stopped playing and nothing said to me, “Retire now.” It just happened.

BN: Nobody expected you to rock up at Pirates after retirement, especially after what you’d said about the club regarding ‘insurance papers’…

BM: Here’s the confusion… people tend to create things that are not there. I never fought with the club but rather the people that are working there. But I was not fighting. I am the kind of person who will tell you when you’re doing something wrong. That’s it. I am an open person and I forgive as I also wish to be forgiven.

BN: Which one is more pressure – wearing the jersey of Pirates or sitting on the bench of Pirates as a technical team member?

BM: When you do your job completely, there’s no pressure. But if you do half a job, then you will be under pressure.

BN: You might have heard of Bongani Zungu’s tweet wherein he sang the praises of Mokwena, his former

“I was born, there was no career written on my forehead.”

“I cannot teach you something and then tomorrow you come here and tell me you know better.”

assistant coach at Mamelodi Sundowns, with many perceiving it as a dig at Micho and Pitso Mosimane. Having worked with both Micho and Rhulani, what is your take on who really runs the show on the Bucs bench?

BM: I didn’t read it because I am not on Twitter. Look, everybody is entitled to his or her own opinion. What I can say is that as coaches, we have to support one another. But seniors will always be seniors. A child cannot know more than his or her parents. I cannot teach you something and then tomorrow you come here and tell me you know better. So coach Pitso, coach Steve Komphela, coach Cavin Johnson and others are all my seniors and I still have a lot to learn from them. That’s just the reality of it.

BN: Do Micho and Rhulani work as co-coaches, in your opinion?

BM: As far as I know and even when I was working with them, coach Micho is a head coach and Rhulani is an assistant coach to him.

BN: Moving on… There was an incident involving you and Roggert Nyundu at Polokwane City in 2015. Tell us about it!

BM: I said if I had to quit the game to save the boy’s career, then I would do that. I said if I had to terminate my contract so that the club could get their money back and release the boy, then I would do that. I am the type of a person who would rather suffer than watch the person next to me suffer. Sometimes you get punished for that. The boy came from a very difficult situation and I couldn’t be the one to oppress him further. I have played the game and I have to pass on the knowledge I gained, not oppress.

BN: What was the story with him?

BM: The boy made a mistake. He wanted a lot of money so early and the deal was for the club to sign him and to get to the PSL first. The agent might have twisted his mind and made him sign too many contracts. The club was not happy and I had to help him. The club was right to say, ‘We gave you a platform in the Absa Premiership and this is how you thank us.’ Before the matter could be taken to the PSL DRC, I had to jump in and help him. I sacrificed my contract for him.

BN: Great gesture, Mayanga. Moving on, what are your views on Bafana Bafana whose request to qualify for next year’s Afcon continues this weekend against Nigera?

BM: I think the country must appreciate what they have. For us to say we are building for 2019 or 2022 is premature because our players haven’t been consistent and, until such time, I think players on form must be selected to play for the country and that is the starting point. Yes, we are too ambitious, but at the same time, we are not at a stage where we can select the same team for three games in the national team. Players that are under the age of 23 are almost guaranteed a place in the national team, but what about the performing 30-year-old? We don’t have consistent players that we can rely on, except a few players like Itumeleng Khune. The national team is not a place to develop, but rather a place to deliver. Until we get that right, then maybe we can complain about not being able to beat minnows like Seychelles. As long as we still want to develop in the national team, we lose other quality players in the process. There should be healthy competition. BN: Right. BM: If you can go from position to position, you’ll see what I’m talking about. Only Khune has been doing well consistently for Kaizer Chiefs even when they were down and out. Sometimes he does lose a bit of his form, but he is the only one who is a justified consistent selection. The national team jersey doesn’t belong to anyone and the sooner we realise that, the better. All those who perform and have South African identity documents should be considered. If we can do that, I am telling you, every player that is selected will give us 200%.

BN: What do you think of our chances of qualifying for the AFCON?

BM: Look, we just have to win our two remaining games, against Nigeria at home and Libya away. There is no other way. There should also be support from the public and SAFA to the coaches we hire for Bafana. We should stop this premature firing of coaches. If the coach signs five years, let him finish that five years and see where he will take us. For example, Pitso Mosimane was prematurely fired. Shakes Mashaba was also prematurely fired. When are we going to learn to support our coaches and see if they can deliver or not? It must come to an end at some point and we must be realistic and stop comparing ourselves with other countries that are well advanced. We must start selecting players based on performance and commitment.

BN: Let’s leave it there, Mayanga. All the best for the rest of the season.

BM: Sure, Beaver. Thank you, man. ❐