I’ll have a few haters MQ: What motivated you to take the job? BT: MQ: You’ve inherited the technical team that worked with Benni. Sometimes that can come with its own challenges… BT:

“We sat down and spoke about it and we made peace about it.”

At some point, it appeared as if Brandon Truter would finish the season without a club, having been unattached since parting ways with Swallows FC in November last year. Following the departure of Benni McCarthy from AmaZulu FC, the club looked no further than the softspoken mentor to lead the team on an interim basis until the end of the season. President Sandile Zungu has made it clear what the target is and Truter believes this is achievable. In this interview with Soccer Laduma’s Masebe Qina, the 44-yearold coach discusses joining the team slap bang in the middle of a hectic travelling schedule and leading Usuthu to their first league victory of the year. The ex-Cape Town All Stars man also talks about inheriting the previous coach’s technical and support staff.

Masebe Qina: Coach, great result in your first official match in charge of AmaZulu FC, the 1-0 win over Baroka FC.

Brandon Truter:

Well, getting a start like that in your new club is always great and I’m so happy. I was excited for the game and I was so excited to be back and getting a win in my first game back, and it meant a lot to AmaZulu as the team hadn’t won a game in 2022. The fact that we scored in the 93rd minute showed how badly we wanted to win. But it was really tough as we had to first go to play the Champions League game in Guinea and came back and arrived on Monday in South Africa. We had to play on Wednesday, which was 48 hours after that, and that made the victory even sweeter.

MQ: Take us through the preparation of the team after such a hectic schedule due to travelling.

BT:

Listen, I’ve got a very good staff here and the management as well with the logistics, and they made sure that everything went smooth. But there wasn’t much that we could have done from our physical point of view and even tactically, there was just no time that we could adjust to tactics and there was no time to work on fatigue. We just needed to have a good rest as much as we could. We spent about only 30 minutes on the field of play and the bulk of our ‘training’ and preparing was in the analysis of Baroka. We studied our previous game to see where we could improve, and we spent more time in the meeting than on the field.

MQ: So, how did your move to Usuthu happen?

BT:

First and foremost, I think it came as a shock to the football fraternity when the news of Benni’s (McCarthy) departure broke. It really was a surprise. Yeah, it looked like I’d spend the rest of the season sitting at home, but there have always been clubs talking and trying to find out if I was available. I was talking to PSL (DStv Premiership) and NFD (GladAfrica Championship) clubs while I was at home, but it was a case of ‘let’s wait and see what happens on the weekend’, or ‘let’s wait and see what happens in the next three games’. Funnily enough, the results came for some of the clubs, so then it went quiet again, then there was one or two bad results and we started talking again. So, yeah, out of the blue, I got a call from AmaZulu and the rest is history, as they say, and I jumped at the opportunity. First and foremost, AmaZulu is a big brand and it excited me. Secondly, of course, I wanted to get back into the thick of things and be back on the field and when I got the opportunity, I welcomed it. I don’t remember when last I stayed at home for so long… I don’t know. It was something new to me. So, yeah, I was so eager to get back on the field.

I’ve been looking forward to getting back to the game and my hunger and my passion made me want to come back. What got me interested as well is that AmaZulu have always been a big brand and I remember as far back when Cape Town Spurs were sold and a lot of players from the club went and joined AmaZulu… I am talking about guys like the late Francis Shonhai, Edries Burton and Kamaal Sait, among others. I’ve always been following AmaZulu and this is one of the big clubs in South Africa. Also, my love for KwaZulu-Natal, having worked here previously, the environment and the people, drew me to the club. I know AmaZulu and the resources they have and the quality of the players that are here. There are players here that I wanted to sign in the past and I think I have a very good squad of quality players here and that got me excited. I didn’t think twice about jumping at the opportunity to work with them when I got it.

MQ: The team is seventh on the log, before Tuesday’s games, and club president Sandile Zungu is talking about wanting to finish in the top four. Are you going to achieve that?

BT:

It’s possible. It’s very much possible. With the resources that are available at the club and with the quality players in the team as well as the support that I’ve got from the club management, the technical team and players in the first few weeks that I’ve been here, it’s very much possible.

MQ: Of course, you’re replacing Benni McCarthy!

BT:

Yho, Benni and I come from Cape Town, and he is a close friend as well. We are very much the same age as well. We came through the youth structures together and we played against each other before he went over (to

Europe). I know him personally and his family, his brother and sisters. But, that aside, replacing Benni McCarthy, who is the darling of South African football and the highest goalscorer for Bafana Bafana, is something else. He made history last season with AmaZulu and led the team to the Champions League. So, replacing a coach of that calibre was always going to be tough. Replicating what he did for AmaZulu last season is going to be very difficult. To do better than finishing second on the log means that you have to come first. He had a very good relationship with the supporters, from what I saw from social media. They loved him. Sitting down and looking at it, I have to accept that certain people didn’t like it when Benni left, or they didn’t agree with the termination. So, I have to accept it and expect that I will have a few haters. There must have been a few supporters who didn’t agree with my appointment. But talking about replacing Benni… I mean, someone replaced me at Swallows FC and this is part of football, and it will always happen as long as there is football. I wish Benni nothing but the best in his future endeavours, but these things happen. I was replaced, Benni was replaced, (José) Mourinho was replaced and everybody gets replaced.

It’s part of football.

MQ: Have you spoken to Benni since taking over? BT:

No. I think Benni left the country so quickly afterwards. Also, my appointment didn’t come immediately, and Benni left the country quickly and I don’t have his number in Europe, so I couldn’t get hold of him. But I have spoken to his brother (Jerome McCarthy) to convey the message for me to him.

MQ: Why do you think the club struggled for results under Benni? BT:

No, Masebe, that’s a difficult one to answer. Once you are outside, you can only speculate.

It’s only our opinions and the people who would know is the previous coach and the club. Sometimes you get these coaches who talk about fitness and everything and a lot of nonsense and I don’t want to be like that. I will have to go through the reports about the conditioning and fitness and do my own assessment of players on what we can do going forward. But looking at what happened in the past, I think it’s useless. For me, as a coach, I have to come in and see where I can change the situation.

MQ: On your first day in charge, what is it that you saw needed to be changed?

BT:

Of course, me and Benni, we are different tactically. He favours a different style of play, although we both like attacking and possession-based football. But there wasn’t time for me to change anything, but from what I picked up from the first game when we went to Guinea and playing at 38 degrees and after we were not allowed to train at the stadium, I saw the fighting spirit from the players. I saw the fighting spirit and the will to win against Baroka as well. When we went to Guinea, we travelled 14 hours that way, but when we came back, we travelled for 35 hours and people don’t understand that we had to travel from Guinea to Senegal and from Senegal we had to fly to Dubai over the Mediterranean Sea and from there, we had to then fly to South Africa. On our arrival in Johannesburg, we still had to drive in a bus for four hours to get to Polokwane. Players were asking to be substituted and that’s why a guy like Bonginkosi Ntuli went on as a substitute, but we had to take him off again, and that’s how tough it was. He picked up an injury which was caused by fatigue. (Luvuyo) Memela was one of the players who asked to be substituted, but he went on to score. You have to look at the goal… Memela played out to (Andre) de Jong and he had to sprint for 40 mitres before scoring the goal. That shows you the will to win that exists at this club and that’s all you can ask for from the players.

MQ: As announced by the club, you’ve been handed the role on an interim basis. How are you planning to make it permanent?

BT:

Of course, that would be to meet the targets as set out by the club. I think that was Benni’s target as well, to finish in the top four at least, and that target has remained. I think when I took over, the team was in ninth position on the log and one result has taken us to the Top Eight. So, the mandate was always to be in the top four and I was happy with that and in order to get the job on a permanent basis, I have to meet that target. Talking with the president, if there is a good brand of football and other factors, I can get the job without finishing in the top four and that’s what we spoke about. But there is a lot that goes with getting the job and there are other board members as well, and the supporters, the brand and the players that you have to win over. There are departments at AmaZulu that a lot of clubs don’t have. There’s high performance department, there’s (a) medical department, there’s a human resource department, there’s the media responsibility and things like that.

So far, the guys have been nothing but supportive. Yes, I do understand the disappointment maybe from Vasili (Manousakis) and I would have been the same if I was the assistant coach when the head coach leaves with seven games to go. I would have hoped that the management would put me in charge with seven games to go and I think that’s fair thinking and that’s what I expected from Vasili as well. We sat down and spoke about it and we made peace about it. We put everything behind us and we use our efforts to guide AmaZulu to qualify for the Champions League again. That said, the staff is amazing and I think everybody is from Cape Town. I knew Moeneeb (Josephs) for a long time and I’ve worked in the past with Justin Hamburger as well. Zunaid Crowie, who is the strength and conditioning coach, worked with me at Cape Town All Stars before. Ryan (Coert), who is the physiotherapist, is also from Cape Town. Pilela (Maposa), who is our analyst, I knew as well from football and I also knew Joshua Smith, who is the head of our High Performance Centre. The guys welcomed me with open arms and what I can tell you about these guys is that they are extremely professional and are always willing to give you more than you ask of them to do. ❐