Phakaaathi.co.za Return of the prodigal son
MALESELA: COACH IS BACK AT CHIPPA
Former incumbent Heric moves over to development set-up.
The return of Dan Malesela to Chippa United has surprised many, especially with the number of rumours that linked him with coaching jobs at Baroka FC and SuperSport United in the last couple of weeks.
Malesela has been without a coaching job since being sacked by Chilli Boys boss Siviwe Mpengesi in the middle of the 2016/2017 season. He was later replaced by Teboho Moloi, but he didn’t last long at the Eastern Cape outfit, with Vladislav Heric taking over the head coaching role.
In a statement published on the club’s website, Mpengesi reveals that Malesela will take charge at the club, while Heric will be deployed to the club’s youth structures and former club skipper Mbuyiselo Sambu will be Malesela’s assistant for the upcoming PSL season.
“Dan Malesela will make a return to Chippa United next season, executive chairman Siviwe Mpengesi announced on Sunday, May 27,” read a statement from the club.
“Chippa United’s longest-serving coach, Dan Malesela, will take over from Vladislav Heric, who will move to development.
“Mpengesi revealed that Heric expressed an interest in running the club development project, with a partnership with a tertiary institution to be announced in due course. Mbuyiselo Sambu will assist Malesela.”
Malesela, who has also previously coached National First Division side Cape Town All Stars, is celebrated by Chippa’s supporters for their fairy-tale season in the 2015/2016 Absa Premiership season when they qualified for the MTN8 for the first time in the club’s history.
The club finished on position six with 45 points after 30 games under the guidance of Malesela. They finished above Orlando Pirates who finished in seventh place with 41 points, while SuperSport finished in eighth place with 40 points.
However, the following season, the club couldn’t keep up with the big boys as they fell to 13th place after managing to achieve only 28 points. This past season, the Chilli Boys ended their PSL campaign in 10th spot with 37 points in the bag.
With the club having failed to secure a top eight spot in the last two seasons, it is clear that Malesela’s recall to the club is to try and bring back the spark that saw them play a very attractive brand of football.