Mandla Qhogi is a modest human being if you consider that he had a hand in the development of players such as Zakhele Lepasa, Relebohile Mofokeng and Lyle Foster. He might not be shouting from the rooftops about it, but 18 years spent at an institution like Orlando Pirates honing the skills of young starlets is nothing to sneeze at. However, he has since vacated the building. Qhogi was head coach of the DStv Diski Challenge side, having previously held roles in almost all the age groups at the club. Soccer Laduma's Masebe Qina caught up with the passionate mentor to discuss the turn of events, how he once 'coached' Benni McCarthy and the like, age-cheating in the youth structures, and more.
Masebe Qina: Coach Mandla, what are your plans for the 2023/24 season?
Mandla Qhogi: I've been at home and searching for opportunities that may come up since my contract (with Orlando Pirates) finished at the end of June. I've been helping some players privately, but I won't mention their names or the clubs they play for. One of the guys is with a DStv Premiership club and the other two are playing for a Motsepe Foundation Championship team. I've been helping them with their individual training and that's something that has kept me busy these past few weeks. I do players' individual training, and I will tell you one thing that people don't know… In the 2012/13 season when Pirates won the league, I was assisting coach (Augusto) Palacios with (training) the strikers. In that team, there were players like Benni McCarthy, Tokelo Rantie, Rudolf Bester, Bongani Ndulula and others. I'd take the strikers after the (main training) session to work with them individually and sometimes that would take place before the main training session. I'd work with the guys in line with what coach Palacios wanted to be achieved. Coach Palacios would call me and tell me what he wanted for a particular training session and I'd make sure that I delivered on that.
MQ: So, you were doing what McCarthy is doing to Marcus Rashford and them at Man United these days?
MQ: That's true. Benni was very professional. He knew what he still wanted to achieve even though his career was in its latter stages. He'd also get involved in terms of advising on the things he thought we needed to perfect and all that. Having said that, I was the one who organised the sessions on a daily basis.
MQ: For some it would seem an intimidating exercise to coach Benni.
MQ: Ja, look, I've been in the industry for long and being there with a coach of Palacios' calibre also helped. Coach Palacios was very helpful in terms of making sure that things always ran smoothly.
MQ: So, what's the story behind you leaving Bucs?
MQ: I think it would be best if we leave that one at that – that I left the club and that the chapter has been closed. You know when you are in an environment for long, and a club decides that it is no longer in need of your services anymore, it is better to move on. It is better to pass the baton onto people who are more capable than you are, who you are leaving behind to continue doing the job.
MQ: Doesn't sound like a convincing response…
MQ: No, I'm happy and I think I played my part at the club. What has happened isn't something that I can hold against the club and I think I did enough during my years with the club and maybe it was the right time to move on.
MQ: You joined 18 years ago.
MQ: I was working for FNB as a sales consultant and one of my friends was working for the club at the time. Coach Palacios needed coaches for his academy, the Augusto Palacios Apprentice Academy. I remember receiving a call from my friend the other morning as I was about to leave the house for work and he informed me that there was an opportunity for me to work for the club and he wanted to know if I'd be interested. My answer to him was a definite 'yes' and from there, I went to meet with Palacios and, as they say, the rest is history. I think it was in March 2005 when I started at the club, and around June, I received positive feedback from coach Palacios, who said he thought I was capable enough to be among the coaches in the development. That was when I joined as an assistant in the U19 team under coach Godfrey Malabule.
MQ: What a start to your coaching career!
MQ: There was an U19 tournament Pirates won the previous year, known as the Super-Sport Cup. The prize for winning that competition was participation in the Gothia Cup, an international youth football tournament. The tournament took place in Sweden and, on return from there, Godfrey resigned, unfortunately. I took over as the head coach to replace him. In 2006, I worked with the U12 team until 2008, having won the Danone Cup in 2007 and the Milo Cup, and we had gone to represent South Africa at the Danone Nations Cup in France. In 2008, we went to Spain to play against FC Barcelona's U14 team and, on return from there, I took charge of the U15 team. From there, I moved to the U17 team from 2010 to 2012. I had also been in charge of the club's SAB Promotional League at some point and we won promotion. The club decided to restructure in 2013 and closed the development for a year, and we came back in 2014 – that's when I took the U17 team again. I also worked with the ABC Motsepe League team, now known as Pele Pele, but at the time it was known as Yebo Yes. I joined the MDC (MultiChoice, now DStv Diski Challenge) team in 2019 and was there until the 2021/22 season while also doubling up working with the SAB League team.
MQ: Last season, you were replaced as the club's DDC team coach by Joseph Makhanya. What led to the changes?
MQ: When Joe took over, I was working hand-in-hand with coach Simon Marange in the SAB League team. To answer your question, I had been with the club for too long and I thought for me, it was also the right time for a change. Without having won the trophy with the DDC team, there was a need for someone who would bring something new to the team and fresh ideas.
MQ: How was the journey?
MQ: It has always been about dedication and loyalty to the club. Over the years, I did my utmost best to bring several players to the club – I'm talking about payers such as Zakhele Lepasa, Boitumelo Radiopane, Relebohile Mofokeng (Ratomo at the time), Thabiso Sesane, Tercious Malepe who is now with AmaZulu FC, Kamohelo Sithole and Bradley Mojela who are now both at Sekhukhune United, Kopano Thuntsane, the Bophela twins (Simiso and Simo), Samkelo Kabini who is at TS Galaxy now and a whole lot of other players. I brought Lyle Foster when he was 13 years old. I went to scout him together with coach (Johannes) "Yster" Khomane at the Union Stadium in Westbury when we conducted the trials there. We came back with him and another boy called Aiden, and I can't remember the other boy's name. I also brought Nhlakanipho Ntuli to the club and several other players.
MQ: All talented players. You should be commended for your important role in football development.
MQ: I think I played my part at the club and I am very grateful for the opportunity that was given to me by the institution. It will never go unnoticed.
MQ: How do you feel when seeing players you scouted, like Lepasa and Mofokeng, doing so well for the first team?
MQ: It is a privilege and I think it also comes down to the knowledge about the profession. It is all about the understanding of the players and what the club requires. In my many years at Pirates, we've always strived to do well with all the players that we brought to the club and developed as you can see with the list that I've given you.
MQ: What does one look for when scouting a player for Orlando Pirates?
MQ: As I'm talking to you, I am currently doing a course with IPSO (International Professional Scouting Organisation) – it's a company based in England. What is important about scouting is being fair to every one of these players by giving them (an) opportunity to showcase their talent. There are certain attributes that we look for in players and those have got to do with players fitting into the club's structure, and that is very important. Does the player know his role for the position he plays in? Does the player understand the tactics of the coach? We analyse the players on these things and more. We look at the physique of a player, pace, attitude, work-rate and technical ability. We look at the game knowledge of the player. Is the player intelligent to execute what he's been tasked with? By that, I mean does the player understand the role, opponent, as well as the field in terms of what he needs to do? So, there are a lot of qualities that we look for before deciding on the players to take, but what is more important is that the players should be taken in collaboration with the club's philosophy because all these attributes must meet what the club's philosophy requires. If you are a goalkeeper, are you a goalkeeper that can play from the back? Are you comfortable with the ball at your feet? Are you able to command your area? Are you good in terms of your distribution both with feet and hands? Those are the details that we look for from players.
MQ: Best player to have ever come out of Pirates' development?
MQ: (Thinks for a moment) It's a tough one, but for me, a player like Thabiso Sesame would be up there. Yes, he hasn't been seen enough so far, but there is a lot of potential in that boy. I won't talk about Mofokeng because he has already got the exposure. I won't talk about Lyle Foster because he is already playing overseas. I won't talk about Nhlakanipho Ntuli. But there is also a player called Azola Tshobeni, currently on loan at JDR Stars – he's one of the players that are also going to make it.
MQ: What are your experiences with age-cheating in football at grassroots level?
MQ: I think without proof that a player has cheated when it comes to his age, it is very difficult to manage. Back in those days after I arrived at the club, maybe between 2008 and 2011, there was a bit of that, but we couldn't prove it. Even if we can go to Home Affairs, the documents that the players come with, they look legit, but one would suspect that it was there.
MQ: What made you suspicious?
MQ: Sometimes it would be the action of the player. I mean, with some of the actions, you would know that it wasn't something that would be done by a young boy. For example, you would know a boy to be a 12-year-old, but the things he would do are not things that would be done by a boy that age.
MQ: What do you mean?
MQ: In terms of behaviour, the attitude. And you would find that others were doing it with ease… talking back to coaches… and then you could see that no, no, no. But like I'm saying, without proof, there is nothing much that one can do and I cannot say there was age-cheating because I cannot
prove that.
MQ: Mandla, thanks for taking the time to talk to Soccer Laduma readers.
MQ: I'd like to thank Dr. Irvin Khoza, as well as his two sons, in Mr. Nkosana and Mr. Mpumelelo Khoza, for the opportunity they granted me to be part of this great institution. To all the people that I worked with at the club, I wish them everything of the best. To the supporters, let's rally behind the club. Thank you to you too, Masebe, my brother, and the Soccer Laduma family.
