New Chiefs coach has an unenviable task
Besides the World Cup, a burning issue has been the vacant coaching position at Kaizer Chiefs. And the longer the issue remained the more pressure the country’s most popular club felt. And they finally let the cat out of the bag yesterday afternoon.
But the problem is they took so long that the expectation was high, and announcing Giovanni Solinas was unexpected. I mean if you have taken this long in the recruitment process, you build up expectation and it has to be someone worth the wait.
It is no business of mine to say whether Solinas was worth the wait but judging by the reaction from Amakhosi fans, they are not convinced. Having had such big names as Patrice Carteron, Avram Grant and Hossam el-Badry linked with them, going with Solinas was a real anticlimax for the expectant fans.
Carteron and El-Badry opted for big money offers from Egyptian teams – or at least that was the reason given for them not coming to Naturena.
Some Amakhosi fans went on social media saying if the team wanted a “cheap” coach they could have gone with a local like Shakes Mashaba. I know this is an insult to Bra Shakes because I think he has earned his stripes and respect.
It sounded very sober when manager Bobby Motaung said
Sibongiseni Gumbi
they would not want to be in a situation where they hire a coach now and have to fire him in three months’ time when things don’t go their way. But that is also disputable because taking longer doesn’t guarantee that whoever they hire will be an instant success, instead it puts more pressure on him because he will have to be pure gold.
Solinas’ record doesn’t make for good reading but he got his badges at the acclaimed Italian Football Federation’s prestigious school of coaching the Settore Tecnico Coverciano.
He has since had stints at various clubs around the continent and, for what it’s worth, looked to be doing a good job for a while at Free State Stars. Maybe he is not a bad coach but he will be heavily scrutinised because of the expectation built up in the run up to this announcement.
Solinas will have to hit the ground running otherwise we will hear the all too familiar chants during the previous incumbent’s tenure – for him to be fired.
For a team who have so much experience and have built such an enviable brand, Amakhosi’s management really didn’t do themselves any favours this time around. Regular readers of this column will know how I have previously written on how well they handle some situations which could otherwise have been bad for the brand, but this time, I don’t think they did a good job.
They have just made an already difficult task even harder for the Italian mentor who will have no time but has to deliver because the supporters have had enough following a three-year drought. But having been here before, Solinas will know how football works in this country and be familiar with a few players. I would certainly not like to be in his shoes. Good luck to him.