Bra Tebza must listen to his head, not heart

For the first time since I have known Chippa Mpengesi – the man who has the fastest hand when it comes to firing coaches – I could not fault him when he sacked Teboho Moloi last weekend. No, don’t get me wrong. I am not one to rejoice at another’s misery and Bra Tebza’s firing is not something I enjoyed, but I was somehow not surprised.

I just hope Bra Tebza will learn from this. Before you accuse me of going around in circles, let me start from the beginning.

Football is by nature a cruel game. It is cruel because everyone has a favourite team they wish to always win and be successful and current Pirates coach Micho Sredojevic hit the nail on the head when he said football sets the people’s happiness index.

I have seen colleagues struggling to keep their personal emotions in check because it is cruel to expect someone who grew up supporting Mamelodi Sundowns to now be neutral and not show any sign of preference for the team. Some have failed to remain neutral and chosen to make public which teams they support, but that is a story for another day. Wait, I cannot write about one of us, I am sorry, but I will never tell you that story.

Now Bra Tebza grew up at Pirates. He is a Buccaneer through and through. His father played there, he played there and also began his coaching career there.

Sibongiseni Gumbi

He has said countless times that he owes everything he has and is to the club.

Football has always been kind to him but in the last three years, it showed its ugly side, its cruel side. He had to leave the team he loves dearly and find a source of income elsewhere. He went to North West where he coached an ABC Motsepe League side and all the while he kept his eyes open looking for talent which could help Pirates as you may have guessed.

He kept recommending players to them despite being fired from the team under circumstances that were unclear.

He was then hired by Chippa United where he seemed to do well and had big plans. One of the things he had set out for the team was for them to play continental football because – as he had learnt at Pirates – that’s where players grow a thick skin and their hunger for success multiplies.

He had good plans but his heart was never fully there. He is a Buccaneer at heart and that was mainly his downfall. I have huge respect for Bra Tebza but I was left unsure whether to laugh or be sad and sorry for him after the comments he made before a recent match against Pirates.

He said something about looking forward to Pirates winning something so that when he gets invited for their 80th anniversary celebrations they will have something tangible to make the moment even bigger. He said this while he was coach at Chippa and Pirates went on to beat them 4-2 in that game. I know this is not the reason Mpengesi fired him, but those words showed his heart was not in the right place.

This is why I said earlier I hope he has learnt from this and will realise he is no longer at Pirates and must focus on growing himself as an individual.