The Romans, Pretoria Callies that is, a team that produced legendary Lucas "Masterpieces" Moripe, Patrick "Let Them Dance" Molala and Jan "Malombo" Lechaba, lay almost motionless on its deathbed during December, and critics were convinced that a priest should be summoned to perform the burial rites as the team sat bottom of the pile in the Motsepe Foundation Championship standings. Instead, in came an energised Kwanele Kopo, ready to turn the fortunes around. Now consistency is the name of their game. In this interview with Soccer Laduma's Thomas Kwenaite, the former SuperSport United assistant coach opens up on how he's masterminded the turnaround and the roles played by Collins Mbesuma and Sphelele Mthembu in the revolution, lessons learnt from Pitso Mosimane, why his playing career never took off, and more.
Thomas Kwenaite: Before coming up against your charges recently, Cape Town Spurs appeared almost invincible. How did Pretoria Callies manage to beat them away from home?
Kwanele Kopo: Cape Town Spurs is a very good club that has invested a lot in the development of players. They are led by highly knowledgeable and experienced coaches. Without going into tactics, I believe on match day we were spot on with our analysis of their strengths and weaknesses, and the players were spot on with the application of the plan. We believe we're as good as anybody else in the league, and we've challenged ourselves to perform as such. We closed down their patterns of attack and we took advantage of their defensive frailties. But I continue to give respect to them and wish them all the best in their championship pursuit.
TK: There are four 'cup finals' left, as it were. What are your expectations?
KK: God has truly blessed us and we've had a very good run this year. Maybe (these are) also the fruits of the technical investment made into the team since I arrived here. We want to win as many games as possible and finish comfortably in the Top Eight. We're in the first of a three-year plan to rebuild Callies into a competitive team within the limited budget available.
TK: You guys looked dead and buried prior to the World Cup, but are a completely different outfit now…
KK: We started off with a very young team partly because we needed to assemble and run an affordable squad. We assessed the team in the November-January break and reinforced the spine of the team with some much-needed experience and quality. I believe the signings strengthened us and the whole team has matured more in the technical, tactical understanding and application. We are playing very well, with confidence, scoring goals and not conceding a lot. I have previously stated that in a fair environment, Callies will do well.
TK: Has the closure of your home ground, Lucas Moripe Stadium, affected the team in any way?
KK: In the (home) game against TTM, we played away in Vaal and I do feel that there were some factors that affected our performance, like travel distance and field surface. Also, you lose familiarity to your ground as well as your supporters. But we've accepted it as it is, and we have to go win home and away.
TK: You have a "Shaka Zulu" in your camp!
KK: Sphelele Mthembu's experience and quality has been massive for the team and the young players. I truly admire his professionalism and personality. His qualities are suitable to the style that I want to play, and he helps in all the football moments. He has scored and created some goals since joining, but he's been out with injury for the past month and we've truly missed him. He also provides good guidance to the young players and has been a great team builder on and off the field.
TK: How important is Collins Mbesuma to your set-up?
KK: Collins is a very experienced striker that has been very successful in club and international football. We have roped him in to primarily help especially with the attackers, but Collins also has a very good understanding of the game, good analysis and great potential to become a good coach. I am trying to help him develop his coaching. He has definitely had a positive impact in the development of the players and indeed the results of the team. I have also roped in Mandla Mabena to share his experiences as a (former) top striker with the players.
TK: Tell us about your short-and-long-term plans, coach.
KK: Firstly, I am very grateful to the chairman, Mr Moses Malada, for the opportunity he has afforded me with his club after I left SuperSport United following 21 successful years. At the moment, I'm head coach of Callies until the end of this season. I'd like to lead this team to the highest possible finish in this first of the three-year vision, then I can review and plot my next step and path. I'd like to continue working as either a head coach, Technical Director or assistant coach at professional level, locally and/or abroad. I'd like to continue my work and involvement with the national teams having worked at U17, U23 and Bafana Bafana levels. I currently hold the SAFA Pro Licence and CAF A Licence, and I'd like to continue with my coaching badges. Ultimately, I'd like to coach at the highest level and win championships!
TK: Allow us to roll back the years with you. When did you decide to retire and embark on a coaching career?
KK: Unfortunately, I had to stop playing in the late '90s while at Wits University due to a lower back pain and recurring Achilles injury. I was already involved in Sports Administration at the university and so the club supported me to pursue studies in Sports Administration. Later, I went into formal coaching, starting with the female and later male student teams at the university. I also began to do my coaching badges once I completed a Diploma in Sports Management with distinction.
TK: As a player, it is said that coaches always claimed you were physically too short and too small. Did this, in any shape or form, affect you?
KK: It definitely did! I was at Wits as a student and was invited to train with the senior team by then coach John Lathan, but I was later deemed small and was sent to the reserves. This became a cycle with all other subsequent PSL coaches after him. However, I believe I was good enough to play professionally. I lost an opportunity due to being judged about my size rather than my talent. It was disappointing, but I guess God had other plans for me.
TK: Is it true that you prefer employing the 5-4-1 system?
KK: I had a lot of Dutch influences early on at SuperSport United through the partnership with Feyenoord and the coaching courses I attended in Holland. However, I prefer to play the 1-4-3-3 with its variations. But I am equally flexible to play other formations when necessary. I like possession- based football with repeated opposition box entries, with good defensive organisation.
TK: What qualities do you look for in a player?
KK: Technical proficiency, football insight, work ethic, (being) coachable and (have a) strong personality/character to perform. I want winners!
TK: How much did you learn from Pitso Mosimane in those days at Matsatsantsa?
KK: Coach "Jingles" gave me my first opportunity at PSL level as an assistant alongside my late friend, Thomas Madigage, at a very young age. I learned about analysis, preparation, player and team management. I appreciate the fact that he allowed me to coach and grow. I was never a ball boy! He truly took me to a higher level of understanding how to work as a professional. Pitso is the hardest-working coach I've ever met, and his success is evidence of that. I sincerely thank him and the late Tommy for giving me the platform and growing me to a higher level. I am who I am partly due to his guidance.
TK: The legendary Thomas Madigage… may his soul rest in peace.
KK: It's difficult for me to talk about "Chincha" and not be emotional – the wound of his passing has never healed. Tommy was a brother, a spiritual teacher and a model human being. I owe a great deal of my humanity to him. He led me to realise a spiritual side to my life that has become the guiding light of my life. He confided in me and gave me confidence that I was destined to be a great coach. He carried me on his shoulders to shine at his own expense. I will forever love and appreciate him. I truly miss him. May his soul continue to rest in peace.
TK: As coach of the SuperSport Diski Challenge side, which players did you promote to the first team?
KK: Yho, respectfully, there are a lot! Some have played at SuperSport United, while others moved on to other clubs. I've had many players promoted even way before the establishment of the Diski Challenge team, but those that have gone through the Diski (Challenge team) include Teboho Mokoena, Sipho Mbule, Kamohelo Mahlatsi, Thapelo Maseko, Tendamudzimu Matodzi, Bilal Baloyi, Athenkosi Dlala, Siphosakhe Ntiya-Ntiya, Khanyisa Mayo, Mondli Mpoto, Khanyisile Mayo and Jesse Donn, to name a few.
TK: You were also at the U17 World Cup in Chile with Molefi Ntseki.
KK: It was my first World Cup experience, the first for a South African U17 team, and a massive eye-opener, especially about the level of players from other countries of the same age. Though we did not progress to the knockout stages, the experience we gained has changed our lives, knowledge and coaching for the better. We need to catch up with the rest of the world in the early development of our players. We found that our U17 players were behind compared to their counterparts from other countries.
TK: Then you served as the U23s assistant coach at the Olympics in Tokyo…
KK: I learnt a lot, both on and off the field, about what it takes to become a successful team. I am forever grateful to SAFA and South Africa for the opportunities I've been afforded at various national teams to learn and share that knowledge and experience in my daily coaching and development of players, coaches and football staff. To see how other teams and associations prepare, to compete and measure ourselves against others at the highest level, to analyse their performances and study tournament reports and developing trends in football is knowledge and experience I've used with the young players I've coached at club level and national teams. It's such exposure that can make us better as a nation if we share and apply some of it in our daily coaching and development.
TK: How did COVID affect the technical team and players at that tournament?
KK: The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were very difficult for the SA team. We were in isolation for almost our entire participation in the tournament, locked up in our hotel rooms and couldn't train for days before games. The team split in half and we couldn't have everyone in the same change room for matches. We couldn't eat together, couldn't have team meetings together in terms of regulations. It was always going to be difficult, if not impossible, to perform well under such circumstances. But some players are now playing for Bafana Bafana having gone through such tough and inhumane conditions. We were never able to operate as a normal team, and at that level you stand no chance if you're not thoroughly prepared!
TK: Thank you very much, KK, and best of luck with the Romans.
KK: It was a pleasure chatting to you.
