Coaches don’t get to pick their No 2
Assistant trainers sometimes forced on club mentors
Should assistant coaches be chosen by the club’s management or must the head coach select his own right-hand man?
For unity’s sake, it presumably makes sense for the coach to appoint his second-in-command, a person he trusts and who can be assigned tasks.
But some clubs opt for a different route by employing an assistant before the head coach arrives to take the reins. In the Premiership Soccer League (PSL), this has been a normal thing.
PSL clubs, who sometimes force their coaches into agreeing to accept deputies, sugarcoat the situation by claiming the decision was taken for the sake of continuity and that the coach has given it his blessing.
Kaizer Chiefs did exactly this when they hired current tactician Giovanni Solinas a week before the start of this season.
Amakhosi’s hierarchy decided that the Italian-born mentor be assisted by ex-club captain Patrick Mabedi, who had worked with Solinas’s predecessor Steve Komphela.
The axed Komphela himself found Lehlohonolo Seema already at Bloemfontein Celtic, having initially lured his former charge John Paintsil to be his deputy at Chiefs. The Phunya Sele Sele trainer was expected to get his own assistant when he joined Celtic before the start of the campaign. This may have raised the suspicion that Seema is management’s blue-eyed boy.
Former Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund feels it’s important that coaches be given the liberty to appoint the assistants they want to work with. “When you put the coach in charge, he’s the boss.
He must have staff that he wants around him. You must be assisted by somebody that you trust, an assistant who believes in your philosophy as the head coach.”
Nevertheless, the experienced technician said it’s not an entirely bad idea for clubs to offer coaches deputies, but insisted it must be a person the
new coach is comfortable with.
Wasting no time after joining Chippa United in August, Eric Tinkler brought in Vincent Kobola as his right-hand man at Chilli Boys after he had coached him at Cape Town City. “Having your own assistant gives you freedom as a coach. It’s very important to work with someone who listens to you and wants to help you,” said Tinkler.
On the lookout for a new job after leaving Free State Stars, coach Luc Eymael said coming with your own coach was advantageous. “It’s nice to have your own assistant, instead of getting one from the club. It creates a healthy environment. Actually, the whole technical team must be your own people – goalkeeper, coach and physiotherapist. In Africa, I know it happens that you find your assistants already waiting for you.”