Serame heading for home
But don’t expect Letsoaka’s Celtic to go easy on his former club Stars
THERE’S another homecoming at Goble Park this weekend, where Free State Stars host Bloemfontein Celtic in one of the less glamorous derbies in the Premier Soccer League. Serame Letsoaka,
appointed Celtic coach in December, would have been allowed to show a bit more emotion when discussing his side’s trip to Bethlehem on Saturday. The former schoolteacher spent more than a decade as a player and captain of QwaQwa Stars, the name Ea Lla Koto went by until the official change in 1999 – four years after his departure. And for the first time as a head coach, he plots their downfall.
“It’s never been easy to go there and win, whether they are playing at Charles Mopeli or Goble Park. Even during my days as a player we were always tough to beat,” Letsoaka recalled. “But I have been in charge of three games now at Celtic and we are still looking for our first three points. So, I have to leave my emotions out of it and make sure we are as aggressive as possible with the chances that we create.”
This is Letsoaka’s second coaching job already this season. He got his big break to cut his teeth in PSL football when Golden Arrows came calling in June after years in the SA Football Association structures as a technical director and an assistant to Gordon Igesund at both Bafana Bafana and SuperSport United.
But his dream start was cut short by his desire to be “closer to my family”, and he now has to do it all over again at Celtic, whose winless streak stretched to an unthinkable nine matches, including Letsoaka’s three in charge so far. He never got the chance to guide Arrows against Stars. While he is desperate to finally get a victory under his belt with his new club, it is hard not to credit the one he captained for eight years.
“I definitely owe them a lot,” the coach said. “When I joined them I was also studying and it was through the club that I got a Safa bursary along with Steve ( Komphela) and David Vilakazi (youth coach). We made the most of it, which means I will always see them as a club that gave me the stage to perform. But you always want to prove a point against them to show that you have grown up, you are a man and this is what you can do.”
Stars also announced a new coach some 30 days after Letsoaka’s arrival in Bloemfontein when Italian Giovanni Solinas got the nod ahead of numerous candidates to replace Ernst Middendorp, who quit to join bottom of the log Maritzburg United.
Solinas got off to a poor start when Ea Lla Koto suffered a 3-1 defeat, coincidentally to Arrows, a game he watched from the stands due to not having a work permit. Once he got his official papers, his men bounced back in a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Platinum Stars at the weekend.
Stars are all fired up for the derby, and Letsoaka is hoping to dampen the mood, especially considering Celtic’s tough league fixtures following the regional derby. Letsoaka is eager for a win, which would set the tone for a tricky run-in.
”A win is overdue,” he said. “Our recent run isn’t good for a team like Celtic and we have difficult fixtures to follow. We host Wits and SuperSport next and then we are away to Black Aces. These won’t be easy games, but I think the players are growing and just need to be a little more aggressive.” HEADING FOR VICTORY: Ciaran Clark scores the first goal for Aston Villa in the 2-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers in their FA Cup third round replay at Villa Park and will face Manchester City in the next round.