With Steve Komphela returning to Mamelodi Sundowns as the Senior Coach, many have been curious about the specific responsibilities associated with this role.
Soccer Laduma spoke to insiders at the club to shed light on the duties of a Senior Coach at Sundowns.
READ: Mayo: Why I Chose Belouizdad Challenge
Siya sources familiar with the club's operations revealed that the Senior Coach serves as an intermediary between management, players, and the technical team.
"There are many different duties that he performs for the team but the main one is training and development of players, the physical, mental and psychological aspects from all the age groups of the club until the senior team where he sits on the bench. In that duty he also monitors the junior players who are ready for the senior team as he works directly with the development structures of the club. He is an important inter-mediator between all the technical teams and their playing staff," the Siya source stated.
A second insider close to the technical team explained that the Senior Coach also acts as a communicator between senior team players and management, particularly in cases of disciplinary issues and meetings involving all parties.
READ: SuperSport Discuss Bhasera's Future
"He is a communicator between management and the team, mainly the players. He also plays the role of a manager. In Europe he could have been what they call a first team coach while the head coach could have been a manager. But here we use head coach, assistant coach and senior coach. Those are his duties. He is a very important part of the team not just the technical team," the second insider told the Siya crew.
The Brazilians are unique in South Africa for having a Senior Coach position. They were also the first team to implement a co-coaching model, with Miguel Gamondi and Neil Tovey winning the league together in the 2005/06 season, followed by Rulani Mokwena and Manqoba Mngqithi, who won the league as co-coaches in the 2021/22 season.
Komphela's return to Sundowns in this pivotal role underscores the club's commitment to maintaining a robust and well-coordinated technical team, ensuring that all aspects of player development and team management are seamlessly integrated.
