CITIZENS’ ARREST
CAPE Town City have only been in existence for 156 days, but they’ve already achieved more than what Maritzburg United and Polokwane City have in their years in the Premier Soccer League.
And if a new leader is judged on his first 100 days in office, Eric Tinkler has exceeded expectations from the dugout. Twelve games into the season, the newbies are perched pretty on the summit of the PSL log. Friday night’s 3-2 victory at Bidvest Wits was their seventh and pushed them to 24 points.
The Citizens have clobbered Kaizer Chiefs. They’ve murdered Mamelodi Sundowns. And now, they meet SuperSport in the final of the Telkom Knockout at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Saturday. All in 156 days.
“That’s rare. You don’t get an opportunity like that often. Already, they’ve created history by winning that first league game, winning that first MTN8 game against Chiefs, finding themselves on top of the log,” says Tinkler. “They are into a cup final now. That’s history in the making.”
Owner John Comitis pitched his tent high when he bought the Mpumalanga Black Aces franchise in June.
Starting things from scratch and building something from ground zero is a concept Comitis and Tinkler are adept at. Seasoned administrator Comitis was a founding member of Ajax Cape Town when his Cape Town Spurs merged with Seven Stars back in 1999.
“It’s something similar to what I’d done at Wits,” quips Tinkler. “But there, it was creating a youth development structure. Now, it is creating a football club from the top down.”
City bequeathed a core of players from Aces. Among them were Shuaib Walters, Aubrey Ngoma, Bhongolwethu Jayiya, Sibusiso Masina, Lebogang Manyama, Judas Moseamedi and Vincent Kobola. “I inherited a good core and it became important that those you brought in were equally good,” says Tinkler.
Plenty of videos were viewed and trials held during the recruitment drive. Even Google was used to verify the authenticity of the story of new recruit Roland Putsche. The Austrian central midfielder practically landed on the club’s lap.
“He was in Cape Town conducting coaching clinics. He came to our office, told us who he was, that he’d heard about the club and he wanted to play for us,” relates Tinkler.
“He told us he was playing in the Austrian Bundesliga. We Googled him and saw that he wasn’t lying.
“After two days of trials, I signed him after seeing a strong and technically good passer of the ball, with a good range of passes. He’s aerially strong and aggressive. “That’s something we knew we needed to have. We’ve been playing him with [Mpho] Matsi and it’s working.”
Australian Matt Sim was spotted through video-viewing. Originally, City were looking for a left-back. “But we realised he was a better midfielder. We saw his ability to make play and protect the ball very well.”
Latvian centre-back Renars Rode had been brought in by Aces coach Muhsin Ertugral. A new club seeking to lure a support base must add a big fish to their arsenal.
Lehlohonolo Majoro fitted that profile. “We needed a striker who could replace Collins [Mbesuma who left Aces to join Highlands Park]; not just a natural goalscorer, but also a name. Majoro fitted that profile,” says Tinkler.
“Remember, when you’re starting a new club some of the signings you make have to be name players to try to generate a support base.
“I think when he joined we had something like 15 000 tweets immediately. For us, as a new club, that was massive. I feel that, game by game, he’s got better and fitter and quicker and has started to score goals. He’s got three in the last four games.”
On the subject of scoring, skipper Manyama is the standard performer. The City captain is always at the forefront and leads the way with a catalogue of creative play, endless energy and goals galore.
He delivered a double on Friday night, taking his tally to eight in 18 games in all competitions. His partner is Ngoma, who’s contributed five assists and two goals.
“For us Lebo does what a Ronaldo does to a Real Madrid, or what a Messi does to a Barcelona, or what an Oupa Manyisa does to a Pirates. Because of his work ethic and willingness to get a positive result, that inspires everybody around him,” says Tinkler.
“That’s something I noticed about him from day one at training . . . in the games he puts in all the effort. That rubs off on your colleagues.
“There’s something that he brings that builds the confidence and belief. He will help defensively. He has taken responsibility. Hence the armband. For me it was a no-brainer.”
More players from Tinkler’s previous cheque-payers, Orlando Pirates, have found a home at City.
“Immediately I threw in the name of Tshepo Gumede. He struggled for game time at Pirates. I felt a small club like ours that nobody will get on his back other than me. Robin Johannes came on trial. I didn’t have a good experience with him at Pirates. I kinda had that a little bit at the back of my mind. But when he came here, he was slim, trim, motivated.”
In a short space of time, City assembled a competent, competitive team. They’ve had a start Tinkler never dreamt of. “Like John, I’m also an ambitious person. I believe in this league you can beat any team.” The man from Roodepoort will hope that team will beat SuperSport on Saturday in the TKO final.
“Everyday we are living a dream, a game at a time,” says Tinkler. LEADING THE CHARGE: Cape Town City captain Lebogang Manyama and coach Eric Tinkler
For us Lebo does what a Ronaldo does to a Real Madrid or what a Messi does to a Barcelona