Coaches I’ve worked with: He blew his top
When I saw the picture used from Doc’s archives this week, which is from coach Paul Dolezar’s era, I had to change my plans because there’s a very interesting story behind that picture. I will need at least two weeks to tell you about Dolezar, so consider this as Part One. When Kaizer Chiefs appointed him, I was based in the US playing for Columbus Crew. Whenever it was off-season that side, which would be up to three months, Chiefs would loan me from them for that period. The first time I met Dolezar, I walked into the change room and here comes this short guy, with a broad smile, and he greeted me in a heavy French accent, “Good morning, Dokto” and I felt like laughing right there, ha, ha, ha. We had a brief chat and then I asked more about him from Thabo Mooki and we had a laugh together with the likes of Cyril Nzama, Brian Baloyi and the other guys. We worked so well together and he told me he didn’t want to play me on either side but as an anchor, where he needed me to use my experience. What a knowledgeable, approachable and humble coach, but I’m sure a lot of people have a
completely different perception of him because of his touchline antics and his straightforward approach.
He’s the first coach to drum it into our ears and minds that we must always open the door for our ladies, whether in the car or restaurant, and make sure to pull the chair for them. A gentleman who always tucked in and he hated to see clumsy or untidy players. You also had to smell of cologne if you wanted to be in his good books. We once went to play Umtata Bucks in a league game, with Orlando Pirates waiting for us the following week in the Rothmans Cup. We beat Umtata Bucks 3-1 and our supporters in Eastern Cape, because they hardly ever interacted with the players, had organized a braai and invited the players. They didn’t inform anyone at the club other than our then PRO Putco Mafani. So, Putco called me at the hotel after the game and told me, “Eish, Doki, there’s a problem here and I think you’re the only one who can speak to the coach about it.” I asked what was going on and then he told me about the braai invite. We then went to the coach to explain the situation, “No, no, no, Putco, you’re killing me softly!” was his initial reaction, ha, ha, ha. I asked why he said that, and he told me, “Look, yes, we win, errr, but I have the big animal next week. I play Orlando the Pirates! Players must relax, not party!” We begged him to give us even an hour because we only come to EC once a year and our supporters are always travelling to support us. He then agreed to let us go but just for an hour. We went and had so much fun with our people. Long story short, Dolezar fined all of us R3000 each because when we came back, there were people who came to the hotel to take pictures with us, making noise. Dolezar stormed out of his room, with a towel wrapped around his waist, and when he saw the ladies who had their drinks in hand, he blew his top. Sometimes players can be naughty, but there was not a single guy who brought anyone to the hotel, those were just people who wanted to take pictures. Dolezar went straight to the reception, called security to chase everyone away so that we could sleep. As punishment, he made us train when we landed back in Johannesburg. We thought he was joking when he said he’d fined us, until we saw our payslips. That’s Dolezar for you! I really enjoyed working with him and we remain in regular contact even to this day.