Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Last coach standing will be ...
Kaitano Tembo and Owen da Gama face off in a battle of two tacticians who proved their worth in qualifying for the MTN8 final
THE road to this evening’s MTN8 final was littered with potholes and broken glasses for Kaitano Tembo and Owen da Gama who will lead their teams in the fight for the most financially rewarding trophy in South Africa.
It’s quite fitting then that one of these men will reach the promised land at the Mecca of South African football when SuperSport United and Highlands Park do battle at Orlando Stadium. The winning coach will be understandably emotional with everything that they have gone through in their career.
Tembo had to earn his place at SuperSport, working his way up from the development structures to the reserves and the first team where he served as an assistant coach and acted in the interim whenever the head coach was given the boot. Tembo did well most times when he served as interim coach, but he was never deemed good enough until last season when SuperSport struggled to find a replacement for Stuart Baxter.
They eventually “settled” for a man who was right under their nose, a man who has coached in every structure and is celebrating 20 years at the club this season. Most companies give such people watches for their service, Tembo could give himself a priceless MTN8 gold ring should he lead his team to glory.
“Winning this cup would mean a lot to me, especially looking at where I come from,” Tembo said. “I’ve gone through the development, from the Under-17, Under-19 to the reserve team and assistant coach of the first team. I think that it also gives motivation to the coaches who are working at development level because it’s not easy to get opportunities, it’s the same thing with the players. That’s why I always try and give youngsters that hope, that if you work hard, you will get the opportunity to play for the first team.”
Tembo’s best attribute is that he knows the club inside out. He has seen it all, while some of the players like Teboho Mokoena, Sipho Mbule and Ronwen Williams grew up in front of him. He has won the players over.
Da Gama also has the buy-in of the Lions of the North players.
The glory that beckons this evening will wash away the tumultuous years he has faced, from being accused of asking players to pay to play at Platinum Stars to being snubbed by the South African Football Association (Safa) after taking the national Under23 team to the 2016 Olympics.
“Everybody goes through trials and tribulations,” Da Gama said. “Sometimes there are so many negative things, wrong things and it’s so unfair to coaches when there is wrong publicity which isn’t the truth. It’s not fair. But I am a man of God, I put God first in everything I do. I pray hard and I try to do the right thing all the time. My answer to that, whatever problems I face, I put God in front of me and He certainly sorts it out His way, the best way He can.”
The final, that kicks off at 6pm, will offer Tembo and Da Gama an opportunity to reflect where they come from and chart a way forward.
“I am really excited to be in the final,” Da Gama said. “It’s the coach’s dream to reach a final, to win it is even better. It’s another feather in my cap, but I believe that this is for the players. They must get more credit than we get, they go on the field and they sweat.”