Chloorkop’s coaches
Mamelodi Sundowns have always had a history of bringing in flamboyant coaches as they tried to establish themselves as worthy contenders alongside Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates in the 1980s and early 90s. In Part 1 of our look back at the records of their former tacticians from the start of the National Soccer League in 1985, KICK OFF’s Mark Gleeson runs the rule over their coaches from the first 11 years, which includes some of the biggest names in the local game.
1985 Dave Barber P6 W1 D1 L4 GF3 GA10
Sundowns had been up in the topflight of South African football for just two seasons, a reincarnation of the famous team from Marabastad. The Mamelodi version was owned by doctors Motsiri Itsweng and Bonny Sebotsane and they had won promotion in 1983, before narrowly avoiding relegation in their first season by two points. Dave Barber was in charge at the start of the new National Soccer League era but his tenure came to a swift end as they were struggling near the foot of the table. Barber was a player at Barnsley and Preston North End in England before coming to South Africa to play at Arcadia in 1964. He stayed and moved into coaching, passing away aged 66 in 2006.
Walter da Silva P25 W5 D9 L11 GF20 GA31
The Brazilian first came to South Africa in the 1960s from Barcelona to play at Highlands Powerlines and after his playing days were done, started coaching in 1975 at Moroka Swallows. He had already coached at Vaal Professionals, Lusitano and Orlando Pirates when he took the Sundowns job, but they did not score in the first seven matches he was in charge. Later, the club was sold to mystery businessman Zola Mahobe, who looked to make immediate changes. Da Silva quit five games before the end of the season claiming Mahobe was interfering in team selection and insisting he play a new goalkeeper signing from the Bopsol league.
Ben Segale P6 W4 D1 L1 GF 12 GA7
One of two coaching brothers, Segale came in for the start of the Mahobe era, finishing the 1985 campaign with a flourish as they won their last four games to end in 11th place, a significant improvement on their previous two top flight seasons. Mahobe’s illicit millions then began the new Sundowns’ era but despite fielding five debutants in Mark Anderson, Mike Mangena, Pitso Mosimane, Mike Ntombela and William Zondi, they lost to champions Bush Bucks in the first game of the 1986 season. With ‘Screamer’Tshabalala waiting in the wings, Segale was in charge briefly before being shown the door.
1986 Stanley Tshabalala P111 W54 D29 L25 GF147 GA108
‘Screamer’ brought a flavour and razzmatazz to a club exploding with talent and had Mahobe start to buy the best in the land. He called his style of football ‘piano and shoeshine’ although what that exactly meant, it is not sure even Tshabalala understood. But the fans loved it. Sundowns finished 1986 in seventh place in the standings, having changed their colours to that of the Brazil national team, and earned themselves a new nickname in the process. By the end of 1986 they had won their first trophy as Sundowns claimed the Mainstay Cup, winning 1-0 at Ellis Park over Jomo Cosmos with an own goal deciding matters. Mark Anderson was named Footballer of the Year and the new players kept arriving, including Andries Chitja and Donald Khuse. The next season, Chiefs hammered them 6-0 on aggregate in the Ohlsson’s Challenge
semi-final and Sundowns did not win any of the four trophies they competed in but finished third in the league, just three points behind champions Cosmos, for their best-ever return. Sundowns were flying in 1988, starting the season with victory in the Top Eight as they beat neighbours Arcadia and then the same team again in the Ohlsson’s Challenge final for two quick trophies in a row. But behind the scenes, trouble was brewing and in July 1988, the players, led by goalkeeper Anderson, revolted and demanded the resignation of coach Tshabalala and his assistant Trott Moloto, public relations officer Ngamula Malewa and masseur William Mokhoba. Tshabalala promptly quit saying: “I have worked hard to make Sundowns what they are today and I’m proud of the club but there’s no way I can go back knowing the players are against me.”
1988 Mike Ntombela P4 W2 D1 L1 GF4 GA4
Captain Ntombela took over at the club while the owners looked for a new coach. By this time the free-spending ways of Mahobe were over, arrested for fraud and theft and in jail, leaving an embarrassed Standard Bank with a big hole in their accounts. They had then sold the club onto the Krok brothers, Abe and Solly, tycoons who had made their money out of skinlightening creams
Mario Tuane P16 W8 D3 L5 GF23 GA20
The Chilean was an old favourite on the coaching circuit and was working at Blackpool when Sundowns offered him the job in August 1988. He obviously didn’t fancy he would last at Sundowns, so he kept that Blackpool job too, installing his assistant Angelo Tsichlas in charge. But Tsichlas spent more time alongside Tuani on the Sundowns bench than he did at Blackpool and that is how the Greek family came to befriend the Kroks and take over the management of the club. Tuane took over a side at the top of the table and kept it there for the rest of the season, delivering a first ever championship to Mamelodi with wild celebrations at the HM Pitje Stadium when they claimed the title. In the end they deposed Cosmos by a single point but could afford to lose their last game of the season.
1989 Angelo Tsichlas P13 W5 D6 L2 GF18 GA10
Tsichlas was the caretaker coach for the start of the season with Tuane back to Chile and lost just once, at home to Wits University, in a solid start to the league as he took charge of the first two months of action. But Sundowns lost in the first round of the Top Eight on penalties to Witbank Aces and the defence of their Ohlsson’s Challenge crown ended swiftly, with home defeat to Cosmos.
Trott Moloto P6 W2 D2 L2 GF6 GA2
The Tuane era was at end when Moloto was asked to take charge of the reins while the search for a new coach started. His second game in charge was a goalless draw against Chiefs at the start of a long career for Moloto that would also see him become Bafana Bafana coach.
Stan Lapot P25 W13 D6 L6 GF43 GA28
A player with Preston North End before coming out to South Africa, Lapot was the captain of Arcadia’s glory team of the mid-70s and then later their long-standing coach. He combined the coaching post with his job in a hardware store in Pretoria. He was hired away from his beloved Arcs
Mike Ntombela by a tempting offer from ‘Downs but it was never a snug fit, although he started like a house on fire with a seven-game unbeaten run in the league. But Sundowns won only one of their last seven matches of the season and finished in fifth spot, nine points behind champions Chiefs. They also made it to the Bob Save Super Bowl final but were thrashed 5-1 in the replay by Moroka Swallows.
1990 Stanley Tshabalala P90 W59 D22 L11 GF165 GA59
Sundowns went back to the tried and trusted and re-hired Tshabalala, who took them to an exciting title triumph as they piped Chiefs on goal difference for the league crown. Sundowns had made life difficult for themselves by drawing their last two games, almost allowing Chiefs to cling to their crown. Tshabalala’s side lost only two league games all season and they did well in cup competition too. His first game back was a dream start with a 6-1 mauling of Pirates in the Top Eight Cup quarter-final and they went onto win the trophy with a one-sided 5-0 aggregate triumph over Wits University in the final. They also won the JPS Knockout Cup by edging Pirates 2-1 over two legs in the final. In 1991 Chiefs regained the title by finishing four points above Sundowns. The Brazilians also failed to get into a single cup final
1992 Augusto Palacios P23 W11 D7 L5 GF37 GA20
The Peruvian had taken the unfashionable Fairway Stars in the third place in the 1991 season and landed the plumb Sundowns job. But he resigned midway through the season after taking them to successive cup finals, losing to Chiefs in the Top Eight and then Pirates in the Castle Challenge.
Pietr Packert P28 W9 D9 L11 GF40 GA39
Angelo Tsichlas was running Sundowns at the time and turned to Greece for a new coach, pluming for the Czech Packert, who had worked at Athens giants Panathinaikos. Originally from Prague, he had played at Dukla and Bohemians and been coach of the Czechoslovakian junior national teams, before moving to Greece. He was at PAS Giannina when Sundowns recruited him but he left at the end of the season after they lost five successive league games and finished down in sixth place.
1993 Jeff Butler P91 W53 D14 L24 GF167 GA102
After much success with Chiefs, the
Englishman was being appointed as South Africa’s first national coach, but never got to take charge of a game when a false CV was uncovered. Sundowns wasted no time snapping him up, starting a lovehate relationship that lasted for years. Sundowns won the league by three points from Moroka Swallows as Butler proved just the tonic. But in 1994 they finished fourth, nine points adrift of Pirates, who claimed a ‘boardroom decision’ title. They did, however, get to participate in African club competition for a first time, in the Champions Cup where they lost in the second round to Vita Club from Zaire on the away goals rule. Sundowns also got back to a cup final for the first time in 18 months but lost to Chiefs in the Top Eight Cup decider
1995 Clemens Westerhof P41 W22 D9 L10 GF53 GA30
The flash-talking Dutchman was major fish for South African football to land, keeping up Sundowns penchant for charismatic coaching appointments. One year earlier Westerhof had won the Africa Cup of Nations title with Nigeria and taken them to the World Cup in the USA, although he had been fired straight thereafter. He made the mistake of promising immediate success to Sundowns fans but the end of his first season saw them runners-up to new champions Cape Town Spurs and without any club success. After losing their first game of the 1996 mini league campaign to Chiefs, Westerhof was shown the door.
1996 Johnny Ferreira P16 W6 D3 L7 GF17 GA18
Westerhof’s assistant held the fort for the Top Eight Cup campaign in 1996, where Sundowns lost 4-0 to QwaQwa in the semi-final, and the mini league, but lost five games of his fist seven games in charge. He was eventually let go in midMay as the campaign was coming to a close and after Sundowns were eliminated from the CAF Cup by Stade Tamponnaise from the small island of Reunion.
Mike Ntombela P2 W1 D0 L1 GF3 GA2
A second stint as a caretaker for Ntombela as Sundowns struggled in the Coca-Cola Challenge, a half season league competition held to bridge the change of season timing from inside a calendar year to an August-May campaign, mirroring the major overseas leagues.
Reinhard Fabisch P12 W3 D3 L4 GF6 GA8
The German had engineered Bafana Bafana’s downfall in 1992 while coach of Zimbabwe and had long been mentioned as a possible Sundowns coach. His debut was a home defeat at the hands of Vaal Professionals in June but that was still in the 1996 campaign and he had time to therefore prepare for the new Premier Soccer League season, which got underway in August 1996. But Fabisch proved a major disappointment and was gone after just five matches of the first PSL season, with only a single league win to his name. They also lost to QwaQwa Stars again in the Coca-Cola Cup semi-final.
Stanley Tshabalala P31 W13 D10 L8 GF36 GA29
The man for an emergency was Tshabalala again, back for a third stint at the club. But after a miserable start to the season, it was always going to be difficult and with something of a changing team, he did well to see them to a sixth-place finish.