Former EC soccer coach flourishes as an analyst

Former Eastern Cape football coach Nkululeko Malgas has turned to football analysis as a gateway to reaching the Absa Premiership.

During his coaching days, the 42-year-old from Ngqamakhwe worked with Mthatha City, Blackburn Rovers and the National Team of Students.

However, Malgas has now found his niche in video and is working for the University of Pretoria on a full-time basis as the team analyst.

“In 2011, I had an opportunity to do a Uefa basic licence in Holland,” Malgas said.

“This is when I said to myself ‘No man, in my next move I’ll go for analysis.’

“I had a plan for myself that at a certain age I must be in the PSL as a coach but when I saw the years going, and the dream still distant, I thought let me venture into something else.

“I left the National Team of Students, having qualified to go to the World Student Games in 2015, and studied rotation analysis to empower myself more.”

Though he sometimes misses coaching, Malgas said there was much more fulfilment in his new line of work.

“What I enjoy more is the technical side of working with these gadgets because I didn’t have enough time while I was head coach to use them.

“I have a feeling that if I’d had an analyst like me back in my coaching days I would have gone far in my coaching game.

“To be the best at your job as a football analyst you first have to understand the game.

“When I return to coaching one day I will know exactly what to look for when I talk to the analyst.”